Coronavirus and the social impacts on disabled people in Great Britain

Commenting on these findings, Iain Bell (Office for National Statistics- ONS) said: “It’s vital to understand the needs of everyone in our society at times like these. Our analysis gives insight into the experience of disabled adults, and where there might be issues that arise for some of them that differ from the experience of non-disabled people. We recognise these findings will not reflect the experience of all disabled people, given how wide-ranging and complex a range of conditions the term encompasses. It is also worth noting that this survey asked adults about their own experience of disability rather than those relating to caring for another disabled adult or child.”

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published weekly data looking at how society is coping during the Coronavirus pandemic and impact it is having. Today’s release looks at responses from disabled adults (see below) between 27 March and 13 April 2020, to identify any differences in experience between disabled and non-disabled respondents.

ONS analysis found that:

• Disabled respondents were more likely to say they were very worried about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on their lives - 45.1% compared with 30.2% of non-disabled adults.
• All adult respondents were concerned about the impact on their well-being, but this was higher (65%) among disabled respondents compared with non-disabled (55%).

Go to ONS release