PHIL FRIEND

I hadn’t been to NAIDEX for a long time. Years, in fact. So when I wheeled into the NEC in Birmingham last week, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I found was extraordinary. And not just for the reasons you might think. Standing or sitting room only I was there to speak. Three of us on a stage — me, Simon Minty, and Abbie Brown — on the subject of employment. The stage was open to the exhibition floor. There were stands all around us, people rolling by, the general hub

New figures this week show that one in eleven disabled people is now unemployed. That's the highest rate in six years. And disabled people are losing jobs at nearly ten times the rate of non-disabled people. The government is concerned. Charities are alarmed. Reports are being written. But here's the thing. We're not short of explanations. We've known for decades that disabled people face discrimination at the very first hurdle — the job application. Cardiff University rese