The UK’s Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith has called on more Welsh sporting clubs and organisations to include disabled people in their activities.
On a two-day visit to North West Wales with Ynys Môn MP Virginia Crosbie, the minister urged local organisations to look at ways to make themselves more accessible to the disabled community, after seeing inclusive sports clubs in Anglesey.
During her time in Wales, the minister took part in a training session with the Anglesey Hawks Wheelchair Basketball Club in Holyhead and visited the Anglesey Group of Ynys Mon Riding For The Disabled, meeting one of their blind dressage riders.
The Minister made her visit as the figures show there are 1.3 million more disabled people in employment since 2017, with employers across the UK creating more inclusive and diverse workforces through government schemes like Access to Work and Disability Confident. The minister spoke to the organisations she met about how including people with disabilities in work and leisure benefits the wider community.
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith MP said: “Disabled people deserve the same opportunities as everyone else and I urge all Welsh sporting organisations and clubs, big or small, to be more inclusive of everyone in their wider community.”
“Both the Anglesey Hawks and Anglesey Riding Centre are two wonderful examples of inclusive organisations and it was a delight to see how they are harnessing the power of sport and physical activity, excluding no one.”
“Exercise can have a transformative effect on both your physical and mental health and it is imperative there is equal access for everyone.”
