Today’s Blog post is written by Rob Trotter, research officer at Scope and former intern at Runnymede

Work by the Runnymede Trust has found that by 2051 there will be around 3.8 million black and minority ethnic (BME) people over the age of 65, a huge increase on current estimates. One key effect of this ageing population will be the impact on how many disabled people there are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Older societies often have more disabled people, so as the BME population ages, we can also expect the numbers of BME disabled people to increase.

Research published today by Scope and the Equalities National Council (ENC) presents new evidence about this community, drawn from statistical analysis and focus groups with nearly 60 care users.

The report – Over-looked Communities, Over-due Change - confirms what others have found: that BME disabled people face a range of difficulties in their everyday lives.

People told us about money worries, and trying to make do on low incomes without being able to find a job. Our statistics showed that at least half of all BME disabled people live in household poverty – and the true picture is likely to be even higher.

Others told us about the challenges they faced trying to get care and support through services. Many people spoke about being lonely and isolated, and so struggled to find out what help they were entitled to. Others reported local services translating only very basic materials for care users.

Lord Patel of Bradford highlighted this week the disproportionate numbers of black and minority ethnic (BME) people suffering from mental health issues. Speaking in a House of Lords debate, the crossbench peer called on the government to introduce targeted prevention strategies in order “to continue the work of the previous government”.

Responding, Earl Howe announced that the government will be publishing a new mental health strategy in “a few weeks time” following the end of the Labour government’s “Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care” programme in January of this year. He added that “a tremendous amount of information came out of it”, stating that this will help inform the government’s new strategy.