Last year, Deputy Mayor Asher Craig announced that a new Disability Equality Commission would be established in recognition of the inequalities faced by Disabled people in our city, in addition to the particularly negative impact the Covid-19 pandemic is having on Disabled people.

We are now recruiting for the independent Chair of the commission to lead the establishment, development and delivery of the Bristol Disability Equality Commission and embed Disability Equality in policy and practice across the City. Following the appointment of the independent Chair, they will then lead on the procurement process to assign the organisation that will hold the Disability Equality Commission and recruit the Commissioners. It is hoped the commission will be officially launched by Autumn 2021, when it will be handed over to a Disability Equality organisation in Bristol who will help to support and co-ordinate the commission’s work.

If you are a Disabled person, a Disabled staff network, an organisation of Disabled people, or an organisation working on Disabled people’s issues and would like to be included in the initial consultations please email: mayor@bristol.gov.uk 

Apply for Bristol’s Disability Equality Commission Chair role by the deadline of midnight on Thursday 22 July 2021. If you have any questions email mayor@bristol.gov.uk   

Over the coming months the commission will hold a series of consultations to listen to Disabled people in Bristol. Engaging Bristol’s diverse and under-represented Disabled people in meaningful dialogue about their experiences and issues that affect their lives and what they feel the priorities should be e.g. transport, employment, housing, social care support. There will be discussions about the implications of current government policies around choice and the importance of recognising how to empower communities through engagement, building and strengthening effective working relationships for ongoing partnerships with stakeholders and service providers across the city.

These consultations will support the commission to identify an initial list of priorities to review and develop a strategic plan to tackle disability inequality in Bristol, including through influencing future decisions and presenting recommendations to the Mayor and One City boards.

Bristol’s Disability Equality Commission will be a Mayoral commission, alongside our Women’s Commission and Commission on Race Equality. It will likewise receive support from the Council, but will focus on the whole city and will therefore be firmly rooted within the One City approach, involving and accessible to everyone to start a more inclusive conversation about disability.