Government removed Disabled children’s rights during the pandemic, Covid-19 Inquiry learns

Nuala Toman of Disability Action Northern Ireland, who represented Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) including Disability Rights UK and Disability Wales during Module 8 of the Covid-19 Inquiry, spoke about the terrible effects of the pandemic and government decision making on disabled children and young people.

“What we saw was a regression in children’s rights. And these changes were enacted without consultation. And often parents, children, carers found out after the event”, Toman told the Inquiry.

The rule change meant that local authorities were only required to make “reasonable endeavours" to secure provision for children with EHCPs. The removal of the statutory requirement led to delays and barriers to basic support for disabled children and families.

Toman also highlighted the importance of listening to children themselves when making decisions about them. “One of the most serious aspects of the pandemic is the lack of voice that was given to children and young people [...] Disabled people, children, families and carers were best placed to advise on what they required during the pandemic, and yet their voices remained largely unheard.” she stated.

The government made sweeping decisions about which disabled children could attend school and how support should be provided without consulting with children and families. Many were left fighting for support they were entitled to, or to have their problems noticed at all.

“For disabled children and young people, the withdrawal of education was just not about access to school, it was about access to sensory experiences, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language, and I think the lack of access to all those services [...] was invisible in terms of any planning steps that were taken forward by government across all of the jurisdictions.”

Many young people lost out on services that were necessary to their development during the pandemic, and suffered permanent effects because of it. The progress lost during lockdown is now irretrievable, and children have been set back massively as a result.

DPOs engaged with many young people who had struggled during the pandemic. Toman told the Inquiry how, “a young man with Down’s syndrome, could speak and articulate, you know, prior to the pandemic. He is no longer verbal because of the lack of access to speech and language therapy.”

DPOs work with and support disabled people as much as possible, and often come across young people who are still living with negative effects from the pandemic. Problems incurred during lockdowns continued long after the pandemic ended.

While describing how things could have been handled better, Toman said, “One of the weaknesses throughout the pandemic was the lack of engagement with organisations and with people with lived experience. And services are better designed if they're delivered collaboratively with the people they impact on, so that’s a significant lesson.”

This echoes a recommendation that DPOs have made throughout the Inquiry; any services concerning disabled people should be designed with them, not simply about them.

Toman highlighted that the pandemic’s effects on disabled youth should be looked at through multiple lenses. “It’s important to remember that disabled children and young people are not a homogeneous group but comprised of different types, and that there are intersectional impacts on disabled children and young people in terms of gender, race, socioeconomic disadvantage and all of those other impacts.”

The Children and Young People’s module will continue to run until the 23rd October 2025. DPOs are a core participant in this module and submitted a written statement to the Inquiry before the module began.

Nuala Toman answered questions about the DPOs statement during a session on 1st October, which is available to watch on the Inquiry’s YouTube channel: UK Covid 19 Inquiry - Module 8 Hearing - 1st October 2025 AM.