Originally, it was intended that assessment of the changes in life outcomes for disabled people, following implementation of the Disability Strategy, would draw heavily on a comparison of the findings of the 2006 post-census Disability Survey with the 2001 post-census Disability Survey. The 2001 survey is a pre-Disability Strategy benchmark of the life outcomes of disabled people. Unfortunately, the release of the 2006 post-census Disability Survey data was delayed and did not coincide with the timing of this review.

This review, therefore, draws primarily on qualitative information to identify changes in the lives of disabled people over the last five years. This includes qualitative information from review interviews with disabled people, parents of disabled children, consumer-membership organisations and, as appropriate, providers. To widen this evidence base, literature from 2005 onwards, which describes the lives of disabled people, is also included. Where available, and appropriate, quantitative data from 2005 onwards, for which there is a pre-Disability Strategy benchmark, have also been presented.

In considering these assessments, recognition needs to be given to:

• Changes experienced by disabled people and others may not be directly attributable to the implementation of the Disability Strategy.
• Changes to disabled people’s life outcomes may not be experienced by all disabled people.
• All changes in disabled people’s life outcomes will not be captured. This reflects the diversity of disabled people, the scope of the review and the data available.
• The different perceptions of disabled people and central government agencies about the extent to which change is occurring.