All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology

Election Notice

From 6 November to 12 December 2019, while the House is dissolved in the lead up to the General Election, All-Party Parliamentary Groups must not be active.

Groups will resume their work and reconstitute from 13 December onwards.

Smart Homes and the Future of Social Care Roundtable

APPGAT has played host to a roundtable discussion on the impact of smart home technology on disabled and older people living with care and support needs.  

Read more about the smart homes and social care roundtable here. 

Office for Students Adopts APPGAT Recommendations

The Office for Students has taken forward a number of conclusions from a roundtable on inclusive technology practice in higher education hosted by the APPGAT in April. Recommendations from the meeting were incorporated into the higher education watchdog’s recent survey of universities which looked at current practices in supporting disabled students.  Our findings informed questions about the availability of assistive software at each institution, whether disclosure of a disability on digital forms automatically triggers signposting to support and the use of alternative formats to deliver course content.  The roundtable was attended by parliamentarians and representatives from universities, HE sector organisations, technology developers, and the Office for Students.  

Inclusive Practice in Higher Education

In April the APPGAT held a roundtable on Inclusive Practice in Higher Education to help inform the Office for Students (OfS) on their upcoming review of support for disabled students. The meeting was chaired by Lord Low CBE and attended by Amy Norton of the OfS along with associate members and representatives from universities to explore the particular and vital role of technology in implementing inclusive practice.  

Read more about the Inclusive Practice in HE outcomes here. 

Minister addresses EdTech Symposium

The Minister for Children and Families Nadhim Zahawi MP has delivered the keynote address at a symposium to mark the publication of the Government's new EdTech strategy hosted by APPGAT in the House of Lords.

Read more. 

Smart Home Expo

APPGAT manager Clive Gilbert and APPGAT associate member Hereward College's Paul Doyle joined forces last month to deliver a seminar on assistive technology and independent living at the Smart Home Expo.

Read more

Digital Services Must be Inclusive

We must ensure that digital services are "accessible and inclusive for everyone", our head of Industry Technology and Innovation, Robert McLaren, told the Science and Technology Select Committee. Following the publication or the APPGAT's recent report on web accessibility, Robert was called to give evidence to an ongoing inquiry into the way the government provide services online. 

APPGAT report: new regulations require digital accessibility in education

The APPGAT has published its first report: Accessible Virtual Learning Environments. The report makes recommendations to both the government and the education sector to ensure that new digital accessibility regulations are used to improve teaching and learning for all students.   

"I personally can’t emphasise enough just how much assistive technology helps me in my everyday life"

At the last APPGAT parliamentary meeting of 2018, Georgie Hulme addressed MPs, Peers and associate members of the group on her experience accessing assistive technology. In her insightful talk, Georgie reflected on her journey to gaining access to assistive technology and the difference it's made for her. Georgie also identified the barriers that still remain for those who use AT, both in terms of using services and wider societal attitudes toward disability and alternative ways of communicating.  

A Child’s Right to Talk

In collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University, the APPG for Assistive Technology hosted a daylong conference to explore the findings of I-ASC, a three-year NIHR-funded* research project. It explored the decision-making process of matching the child to the most suitable communication aid. Addressing the findings of the study, Keynote Speaker John Bercow said: “We have to recognise that there are all sorts of different needs. And policy needs to adjust to needs rather than expecting those people with the needs to adjust to a preordained policy”.

*NIHR: Health Services & Delivery Research Project: 14/70/153 - Identifying appropriate symbol communication aids for children who are non-speaking: enhancing clinical decision-making