Disability 

• The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defines a disability as 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [a person's] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.
• There are 9.8 million people with a  disability in the UK , which represents one person in seven, and is more than the combined population of Wales and Scotland. (Source: Disability Rights Commission)
• This group's annual spending power totals £50 billion. (Source: Disability Rights Commission)
• In 2001, approximately 3.5 million people with a disability were in employment. This makes the employment rate nearly 50%, compared with 81% for non-disabled people. (Source: Office of National Statistics)

For further information, see Links on disability.