A word from our Chief Executive

Our impact from 2017 to 2023

We’re Scope. We won’t stop until we achieve a society where all disabled people enjoy equality and fairness.

2017 was the beginning of a transformational period for Scope. We launched our Everyday Equality strategy, and we made some fundamental changes to the way we operate and respond to the needs of disabled people.

Disabled people were telling us that the challenges they faced were changing. We needed to change to meet those challenges with them.

We transferred our regulated day services to other providers and we started to build a ‘new look’ Scope. We wanted to be a bold voice campaigning for social change. And an organisation focused on the issues that matter most to disabled people and their families.

Everyday Equality was, and still is, about fairness, justice and rights – at home, at school, at work and in our communities.

Our Everyday Equality strategy had 3 themes, reflecting the things that disabled people told us are important to them.

They were: 

1. Getting the best start in life
2. Living the life I choose
3. Being financially secure

This impact report shares what we have achieved over the last 6 years.

We think that we’ve seen some fantastic progress. We’ve sought to touch the lives of millions of disabled families with our information and support. We’ve also provided highly tailored, specialised services that have reached fewer people but have made a significant personal impact on their lives. And we’ve aimed to ensure that disabled voices are heard on a national scale.

But there have been unexpected twists and turns, including the shock of the global pandemic and the increasing cost of living. We needed to face these challenges with courage and determination. We adapted our services to keep them running and we campaigned relentlessly for the needs of disabled people.

Over the last 6 years, we have:

• aimed to put disabled people at the heart of everything we do
• redesigned our information, advice and support, reaching millions of disabled people  
• sought to bold in challenging government and supporting businesses to tackle inequality 
• worked to influence policy, public attitudes and markets
• developed a robust evidence base through pioneering research projects on extra costs, attitudes, families, and technology
• worked in partnership with businesses, charities and community organisations to make change happen
• co-produced projects with disabled people
• developed our first Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy.  

We’re now looking to the future and how we continue to evolve to meet the needs of disabled people. Disabled people still experience inequality, negative attitudes, and prejudice every day. And there is more we must do to achieve our mission for equality.

There’s a long road ahead to achieve our vision for a fairer future. That’s why we’re embarking on an exciting new 10-year strategy. We’ll be setting out the transformational change we think is needed to truly change society for all disabled people in the UK.

Mark Hodgkinson

Chief Executive