Covid restrictions end

James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said:

“Disabled people having to rely on the personal choices of others and having no control over their own freedom and safety isn’t ‘living with covid’, it’s living with fear.

“The Prime Minister claims that we are moving towards protecting ourselves without losing our liberties, but what he fails to consider are the liberties of disabled people. Many will be feeling forgotten by this announcement.

“Ending self-isolation and phasing out testing will leave some disabled people ‘rolling the dice’ every time they leave the house, go to work or meet friends. Even going to the supermarket could be a life-threatening situation.

“Free tests have meant that anyone can access them whenever they need to, allowing people to test before visiting disabled relatives in care homes or carers to test before working with disabled adults and children.

“Putting a cost on covid tests will create a barrier for some people, especially those struggling with their finances during a cost of living crisis."