Government recruiting a fashion disability champion

The Department for Works and Pensions has announced that it will be recruiting a new fashion industry disability champion to help tackle the issues disabled people face as consumers.

Announced on International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) the Government stated that there will be six new disability champions, who will use their influential status as leaders in their industries to promote the benefits of being inclusive to disabled people across fashion, technology, countryside and heritage, website accessibility, food and drink and product design.

The Government is calling on people who are passionate about accessibility to apply, stating that they will have to use their influential status as leaders in their sectors to drive improvements to the accessibility, and quality, of services and facilities in their sector.

The fashion champion will use this influence to highlight the need for clothes to be designed for disabled people, as well as promote the work of designers in this field to encourage clothing designers and retailers to consider this customer base in future clothing ranges.

The new champions will join the existing 14 champions who are already driving improvements to the accessibility of services and facilities in a range of sectors, including arts and culture, banking, music, tourism, leisure and media.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Sarah Newton said in a statement: "There are nearly 14 million disabled people living in the UK. By showing other businesses the importance of making disabled customers a priority, our new champions will ensure disabled people aren’t missing out on experiences and services which many take for granted.”

The appointment will be made by the Minister for Disabled People, and will be for 1 year initially, but can be renewed twice to give a total period of 3 years.