Our impact from 2023 to 2024

For best viewing of this report on a mobile, first download Microsoft Word from the Apple Store or Google Store. Please view in print layout mode when you open the report in Word.

We provided disabled people with support and advice

• 4 million disabled people were supported through our services, our online advice and online community forum. That's almost 300,000 more people than the year before. 
• Over 1.8 million people found support and information through our online advice and support pages. 
• 78.6% of online customers told us that they found the information useful. 
• Almost 2 million people visited our online community forum. 
• 32,000 disabled people received information and advice through our helpline. 

Sharing experiences through the online community

Aaron’s employment journey has been full of successes. But as a disabled person, he has faced significant barriers. 

We raised awareness of the devastating impact of the cost of living crisis. 

Our Cost of Breathing Crisis campaign showed how disabled people are being hit hardest by the cost of living crisis. Our TV advert featured 6 disabled actors. It was inspired by the real stories that our helpline colleagues hear from disabled people and their families every day. We wanted to let disabled people and their families know that Scope is here to help.  

The campaign reached over 10 million people with the message that life costs more if you’re disabled. This campaign was made possible by support from ITV and Clear Channel, who donated TV advertising and outdoor media space. 

We supported people to manage extra costs. 

This year, our Disability Energy Support with Water service identified an estimated £3.4 million in energy savings for disabled people. That’s £1.5 million more than the year before. We gave vital information and advice to 8,883 customers. And we gave out £185,000 in emergency fuel and food vouchers. 

We set out what needs to change

Our 2023 Disability Price Tag research shows that disabled households face extra costs. This is on average £975 a month to have the same standard of living as a non-disabled household. Our Price Tag figure is often referenced in Parliament and in the media. This figure is updated yearly. Check the latest figure.

Our Life costs more report and Extra burden of essentials report show how disabled people have been affected by the cost of living crisis. 

And we gave our recommendations to government on supporting low-income disabled households. This includes the importance of introducing discounted energy bills. And fixing our broken benefits system. 

We partnered with utilities companies to support disabled people

Not all disabled households can simply reduce their energy usage and cut back on costs. We wanted to make sure that disabled people knew the options available to them. And to make sure that they were getting access to the support they are entitled to.   

We ran our ‘Get winter ready’ digital marketing campaign. We reached over 1.5 million people with tips, advice and signposting to further support. 

We influenced change in the utilities sector

We continued to work with organisations in the utilities sector to create better outcomes for disabled people. We do this by helping them to better understand disabled customers’ needs and the barriers and extra costs they face. 

Managing extra costs

When Keisha had a major stroke, it completely changed her day-to-day life. She now relies on electronic equipment, such as her wheelchair and oxygen machine.  

This equipment helps her to be independent and do the things she loves, like cooking. But it also means she faces many new extra costs, including higher energy bills. 

When the rising cost of living made it difficult for her to manage, Keisha contacted Scope’s Disability Energy Advice (DES) service.  

We worked with utilities companies to remove barriers to inclusion

Our innovation challenge event brought together industry experts and disabled people. Together we identified some of the challenges disabled people face. And worked together to find solutions. The event was sponsored by Salesforce, Experian and Charis Grants.

We collaborated with employers to improve workplace policies, practice and culture

We trained 32 companies to be more inclusive. Almost 60,000 users accessed the disability inclusion resources on the Scope for Business website. 

We explored the reasons that disabled people are more likely to leave their jobs 

Our workplace retention report offered our recommendations on how the Government and employers can better support disabled employees. 90 employers, policy makers and MPs joined us at an event to discuss the findings. 

Information and advice

• 1,556 families had tailored advice, information and emotional support from our family services team. 
• 164 disabled children were supported to take part in activities such as Brownies, drama groups and after school clubs.  
• 129 activity providers had support to make their activities more inclusive for disabled children.   

We campaigned for inclusive and accessible playgrounds

Our Let’s Play Fair campaign called for local authorities to work with disabled families to create inclusive playgrounds. So that every disabled child can play. Scope campaigners assessed 1,004 local playgrounds to create the Playground accessibility map. The interactive map helps parents and carers to see whether a playground might be accessible and inclusive for their child. In July 2023, the Government started a consultation on guidance for inclusive playgrounds. A campaign win for Scope and our campaigners! 

Sam’s amazing efforts have inspired others to get involved too. Scope’s Playground Accessibility Map and Inclusive Playground Guide can support you to make inclusive playgrounds happen in your community. We hope more people will continue to use these tools to campaign for inclusive playgrounds in their communities. 

We called out negative rhetoric about disability benefits

The previous Government’s autumn statement included rhetoric that demonised disabled people who are unable to work. We responded quickly. We held the Government to account for promoting negative attitudes towards disabled people. Scope’s statement was featured in almost every national newspaper. And interviews with Scope spokespeople and storytellers featured across all major broadcasters.  

We empowered local people to create change in their communities

Our Youth Community Collective and Community Engagement members delivered 95 projects. Over 5,000 disabled people took part across the UK. These projects were designed to improve the lives of local disabled people and to create change in their communities. Projects included a series of events in Cardiff to mark Disability Pride Month. The events included a mass cycle ride and an art exhibition at Cardiff central library. The exhibition featured art and creative writing exploring the question ‘What does Disability Pride mean to you?’.  

We worked with the Department for Transport to create a new one stop transport rights guide  

The Right to Ride guide helps disabled people to know their rights. And to be empowered to act when things go wrong.  4 years ago, we called for this guidance to be made available. And we worked with the Government to create it. A win for Scope campaigners! 

In January 2023, we launched our 3 year Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy. Our colleagues, members, and Scope volunteers shared their experiences to help us create this strategy. It outlines our ambitions and details how we will take action to build a culture that is accessible and inclusive. 

We made a number of changes to our internal processes, including: 

• We have removed barriers to employment at Scope. This includes improving the accessibility of our job adverts, our website, and our application forms. And we now share interview topics with candidates in advance.  
• We made disability equality training mandatory for all new colleagues. 
• We continued regular EDI roundtables for colleagues. These offer a safe space to explore various topics, including faith inclusion, sexism, social class, and LGBTQ+ inclusion. 
• We renewed our status as a Level 3 Disability Confident employer. This is the highest level of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. 

We explored how reframing disability in media campaigns can improve attitudes

Our pioneering What Works research involved an experiment with over 5,000 participants. We looked at the impact of different messages. We found that only 1 in 10 respondents had seen a disabled person who was Black, Asian or minority ethnic on TV in the last 12 months. We worked with Paralympics GB to share our findings and recommendations. And we worked with high profile supporters Shani Dhanda and Fats Timbo to share their experiences with ITV News. Almost 250 people attended or joined the livestreamed event. Our findings were also referenced in a Parliamentary debate. 

We grew our membership to represent the diversity of the disabled community

We increased the diversity of our membership, with 24.9% of Scope members identifying as Black, Asian, or minority ethnic, up from 17.8% in May 2023. Our members attended events including ‘Celebrating Black History Month Together’ and ‘Disability and the South Asian Community.’ 

We know we cannot achieve our vision and goals alone. We are part of a larger, diverse movement that is seeking to end injustice for the 16 million disabled people in the UK. We want to provide a platform to disabled people and amplify their voices, as well as mobilise wider society in support of justice and equality. 

Together we have achieved some incredible things: 

• 71,000 Scope campaigners took over 29,000 actions. They signed petitions, emailed local MPs, and shared information with others. 17, 000 new members joined us this year. 
• 2,300 Scope members helped to shape our strategy and our work. 
• 2,500 research panel members expressed their views and experiences. Contributing to reports and research on a range of topics. And guiding the development of projects.   

We cannot achieve an equal future without our: 

• colleagues 
• partners 
• trustees 
• supporters 
• donors 
• volunteers  

Thank you for being part of this diverse movement. 

Celebrity ambassadors  

• Sophie Morgan 
• Shani Dhanda 
• Alex Brooker 
• Nicolas Hamilton 
• Samantha Renke 
• Lee Ridley 
• Ben Elton 
• Richard Herring 

Charity ambassadors  

• Neil Blackley 
• Peter Brewer 
• Isabel Hudson 
• James Melville Ross 
• Mark D Smith 

Corporate partners 

• Amazon 
• Barclays  
• Bupa 
• Clear Channel 
• Deloitte 
• Howden Holdings 
• HSBC 
• M&S 
• NBC Universal  
• Sainsbury’s  
• Tesco 
• Trainline 

Organisations supported by Scope training  

The following organisations have used Scope’s expertise on disability inclusion. Scope’s support has included content accessibility, digital accessibility audits, disability inclusion training, and access to Scope's research panel of disabled consumers.

• Academy of medical sciences 
• Accurx 
• Angela Martin 
• Art Fund 
• Barbican 
• Barratt 
• British Heart Foundation 
• CCA 
• Creative Equals 
• Department for Business and Trade 
• Energy UK 
• Essex County Council 
• Evan Evans 
• Fundraising Everywhere Ltd 
• FutureNet 
• Gettinge 
• Gillibrand  
• Hill & Knowlton Strategies 
• Hockerhill College 
• Houses of Parliament 
• JD Williams 
• John Lewis 
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation 
• Jury’s Inn 
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine  
• London School of Economics and Political Science 
• Man Group Operations Limited 
• Motionspot 
• National Physical Laboratory 
• National Energy Action 
• NHS North East London 
• NHS North West London 
• NHS Sussex 
• Nouvana 
• OC and C Strategy 
• Oxford Languages 
• Pharmacy2U 
• Pinsents Masons 
• Pladis 
• PPGF Sunswap 
• SCRAP Car 
• Skanska 
• Skipton Building Society 
• Spectrum Life 
• Step Change Debt Charity 
• Three Hands 
• Toronto Dominion 
• Toyota 
• Virgin Money 

Scope Utilities Members  

We work with our Scope Utilities Members with the aim to reduce costs and improve utility services for disabled people. And tackle the everyday issues they face paying for bills.   

• Anglian water 
• BU UK Ltd 
• EDF Energy 
• Eon Next 
• Outfox the Market 
• OVO Energy 
• SGN 
• Shell 
• South East Water 
• UK Power Networks 
• Wales and West Utilities 

Trusts and foundations

Scope is grateful for the support of over 70 trusts and foundations including: 

• People's Postcode Lottery   
• British Gas Energy Trust (BGET)   
• Energy Savings Trust (EST)  
• The National Lottery Community Fund
• The Zochonis Charitable Trust     
• The TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation 
• The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation 
• Houghton Dunn Charitable Trust