Disability Assessment in European States ANED Synthesis Report

Abstract

The focus of this synthesis report is disability assessment, and specifically how disability is assessed in the context of a variety of benefits and support schemes across European states. Assessment of disability is widely used to determine eligibility for entitlements, services and benefits. This synthesis report explores different aspects of disability assessment from a European perspective. The report is structured as follows. Part I of the report follows on from this introduction to explore various aspects and dimensions to disability assessment mechanisms from a generic perspective. On the basis of a literature search, this section first seeks to identify and discuss various different approaches to assessing disability. Part I concludes by considering the guidance that the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, linked to the CRPD, has issued on disability assessment in its Concluding Observations to States Parties. Part II of the report explains the methodology used to collect information from ANED country experts relating to national disability assessments and provides a short overview of the overall findings. Part III contains the synthesis based on the information provided by a number of ANED country experts, making use of the template on national disability assessment mechanisms. In Part IV, elements of assessment mechanisms which can be regarded as good practice are identified, and the impact of the CRPD, as well as the compatibility of various assessment methods with the CRPD, are discussed. It is worth noting that elements of the overall evaluation that determine eligibility for a particular benefit which are not directly or indirectly related to disability, such as an individual’s history of social security contributions, are not considered in this synthesis report, although they may be covered in the related country reports.