Unavailable health services Concerns around upholding the right of disabled people to enjoy the highest attainable standards of health have been raised in many submissions. Some of these concerns relate specifically to providing care to people who have tested positive for the virus, and others relate to wider issues with access to high quality health services for disabled people and their whānau during the pandemic response. Numerous submissions highlighted the positive contributions of Māori and Pacific providers. However, there have been considerable difficulties for disabled people and their whānau in accessing support through mainstream general practice services despite reliance on these for essential COVID-19 information. In addition, access to mental health supports has been limited, concerns have been raised about accessing essential hospital-based services, and messaging and approaches between DHBs throughout the country has varied. Lack of support in education settings This phase of the Inquiry has heard several concerns about education settings ranging from Early Childhood Education (ECE), to schools, and to Tertiary Education Organisations (TEOs). Issues were raised about education settings for disabled people and their whānau, especially where they have not been included in planning. Submissions cite a disconnect between policies and directions issued from the Ministry of Education and how these are implemented in schools. Each setting appears to interpret the rules differently, and at times in ways that impact negatively on disabled students and their whānau. The variable ways that schools and TEOs support (or do not support) online learning for disabled students who feel unsafe in education settings due to Omicron, featured in many submissions. Lastly, submissions emphasised the importance of school-based supports for many disabled people and their whānau. Many of these supports have reduced or disappeared in the past few months, or are inaccessible to students who need to stay at home to avoid the serious risks of COVID-19. A systemic approach to ensuring that as many of these supports can continue to be available to disabled students and their whānau is missing. Recommendations and observations Since this Inquiry was launched on 11 March 2022, increased attention has been paid to disability in the government’s COVID-19 response. This includes initiatives such as working to make it easier to locate disability information, a greater number of stakeholder meetings with the community to gather feedback, and the Ministry of Health contracting resource to assist in rapidly addressing gaps. However, the wide range of concerns shared through submissions reinforce the need for further attention to ensuring the rights of disabled people and their whānau are protected throughout the government’s COVID-19 response. This must be done in a way that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In advance of this Report release, and recognising the urgent need for action, the Commissioner has shared the high-level recommendations with Government. Some recommendations have already been partially or fully actioned. All recommendations are set out here for completeness. 8 Inquiry into the Support of Disabled People and Whānau During Omicron