Kate Nicholls appointed hospitality sector’s disability ambassador

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls has been appointed the hospitality sector’s disability ambassador as part of the government’s £1.6b national disability strategy.

The three-point publication follows last year’s UK disability survey and seeks to improve the quality of life for disabled people in the UK, put disabled people at the heart of government policymaking and service delivery, and details the actions each government department will take to improve disabled people’s everyday lives.

The government will publish an annual report by summer 2022, while in the meantime focusing action on accessible products and services, tackling crime against disabled people and social participation.

Nicholls said: “I am honoured to have been appointed as the hospitality sector’s first disability ambassador, a role that I shall use to ensure that our sector becomes even better at accommodating customers with disabilities, as well as providing employment – there is huge potential for great jobs and careers for those with disabilities. This will boost the difference that we can make to deliver on our previous commitment in the Tourism Sector Deal, to make our sector more accessible and to work to broaden public understanding of disability and accessibility, beyond simply visible disabilities.

“Our sector has always striven to welcome team members and customers from all backgrounds and levels of physical or mental ability but today’s announcement will hopefully provide the basis to improve yet further our ability to do so.

"The ongoing reopening of venues has underlined the prime objective of hospitality – to make people feel safe, welcome and comfortable, in order to enjoy good company and great food and drink. There ought to be no impediments to the nation’s 14 million people living with disability to miss out on the same pleasures that hospitality brings to the rest of the nation, either as a customer or as a valued member of staff, and so we welcome today’s strategy to that end.”