Disabled individuals in England face inconsistent access to funding for personal assistants’ travel costs when seeking to travel abroad, prompting calls from MPs and disability campaigners for nationwide guidelines to ensure equal rights. Current policies vary significantly across local NHS care boards and councils, creating a patchwork of rules that can restrict disabled people’s ability to use their care budgets outside the UK.
The controversy has come to light through cases involving two men with the same health condition who live just 40 miles apart but are subject to different approaches by their respective local integrated care systems. Joel, 40, from Cheshire and Merseyside, has been prevented for eight years from using his NHS care funding to contribute to the travel expenses of his two full-time personal assistants (PAs) when travelling overseas. Although he can cover his own travel costs, the inability to fund his assistants effectively bars him from travelling abroad. In contrast, David, 25, who lives nearby in Greater Manchester, has been able to use his care package funding to cover PA travel costs after initially being denied. David succeeded in overturning the Greater Manchester care board’s refusal last year by citing NHS guidance and human rights law.
Joel described the situation as “brazenly discriminatory,” emphasizing that travel freedom is a fundamental human right that should not be denied to disabled people based on where they live. Disability rights advocate Jane Campbell echoed this sentiment, criticizing the “ridiculous care restrictions” as lacking common sense and suggesting that local authorities controlling budgets act as though disabled individuals are undeserving of the same experiences as others.
The variation in policies exposes a broader problem: while some boards formally allow funding personal assistant support abroad, the practical application can make overseas travel prohibitively expensive for many disabled people. Cheshire and Merseyside’s newest policy, approved recently, states that while individuals can request assistance with travel expenses for PAs, such payments “would not ordinarily” be made, with the board citing obligations to use NHS funds “fairly and equitably.” Meanwhile, NHS Greater Manchester has no formal policy governing holiday travel funding for personal assistants, leaving decisions to be made on a case-by-case basis.
The issue has attracted political attention, with Debbie Abrahams, chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, warning that these restrictions could violate the United Kingdom’s commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the UK has ratified. Abrahams stressed that disabled people should enjoy the same freedom to travel for work, family visits, or holidays as others. Former Minister for Disabled People Marsha de Cordova also criticized the current system, stating that disabled people’s rights to travel should not depend on the discretion of local officials.
The Department of Health and Social Care noted that integrated care boards are expected to assess travel funding requests individually in accordance with national policy but did not indicate any plans to introduce uniform guidance. Advocates and lawmakers alike are urging the government to implement clear, consistent national rules to prevent local disparities that restrict disabled people from pursuing travel opportunities and preserving their independence.