APDAWG's: Championing Standards, Breaking Down Barriers

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Next month we proudly join up again with Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) & Assistance Dogs International (ADI) to host our annual evening meeting, which this year will focus on addressing the key challenges facing assistance dog partnerships & setting out our emerging solutions.

Every day, thousands of disabled people who are partnered with an assistance dog are refused entry to shops, restaurants, transport & other essential services. This is not only debilitating, distressing & incredibly disruptive, it is also discriminatory. 

At the heart of the issue is incomplete & outdated legislation. The Equality Act (2010) fails to provide a clear & comprehensive definition of assistance dogs, setting no expectations around training or welfare standards. 

Attendees will hear more about the central problems this causes from the perspectives of both assistance dog partnerships & service providers, before ADUK & ADI set out their principal solutions. 

It is clear that legislative reform is needed. At the meeting ADUK & ADI will also set out their call for both a clear, legal definition of ‘assistance dogs’, as well as clear legal expectations around training & welfare, informed by a sector-wide approach to developing standards. 

Since APDAWG's parliamentary drop-in & meeting last Nov, ADUK & ADI have been working closely with the assistance dog sector, incl. both owner-trainer & independent trainer reps, to start building a consensus around the need for a proportionately designed, standards-based approach.  

Speaker line-up includes: 

• Dr Amit Patel, Diversity Equity & Inclusion Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Broadcaster & Author

Dr Amit Patel is an award winning Diversity, Equity & Inclusion consultant, keynote speaker, broadcaster & best selling author. A former trauma doctor specialising in emergency medicine, he lost his sight in 2013 & brings a unique perspective shaped by both his medical career & lived experience of disability. Amit works with orgs to create more inclusive cultures, products & services, helping them move from intention to action. He is the author of Kika & Me, plus a regular contributor across TV, radio & print media. Through his speaking, consultancy & advocacy, Amit challenges perceptions, champions accessibility & inspires meaningful change.

• Steve Darling MP
• Noah Caborn - Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) Ambassador 
• Daniel Johnson-Morris, CEO of Assistance Dog Council 
• Jane Cooper, Cabinet Office Appointed Disability & Access Ambassador for UK Tourism
• Vicky Worthington - Executive Director at Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK)
• Steph Atkin - Development Coordinator - Assistance Dogs International (ADI)