Over 20,000 in Hartlepool have a disability

Figures from the census in March 2021 show 21,145 people in the area said they had an impairment – 22.9% of the population.

The Equality Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a "substantial and long-term adverse effect" on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

In Hartlepool, 10,635 people (11.5%) said their disability stopped them from carrying out regular activities 'a little', while 10,510 (11.3%) said it did so 'a lot'.

The overall proportion of disabled people is down from 2011, when 24.7% said they had a disability.

There were 12,660 households with at least one person with a disability – including 3,570 with two or more.

As of March 2021, 42.8% of Hartlepool residents described their health as 'very good' – up from 41.3% in 2011 – and the proportion of people describing their health as 'very bad' fell from 2% to 1.9%.

Across England and Wales, the proportion of people with a disability has fallen from 19.5% in 2011 to 17.8% at the last census – despite the number of disabled people increasing from 10 to 10.4 million – because the 2021 census explicitly mentioned mental impairments.

Craig Moss, research manager at disability equality charity Scope, said: “It is high time society was more inclusive of disabled people. They are repeatedly forgotten by Government, business and society, with workplaces, pubs and public transport not accessible.”