b. Make care and support available to disabled people and their whānau who are opting for selfisolation as a protection against COVID-19. The specific care and support must be determined in partnership with disabled people and their whānau. c. Explore support packages for all disabled people and their whānau to provide respite care, with a focus on flexibility in use and location, that works even when COVID-19 restrictions are in place. Accessing this support needs to be as simple as possible, with minimal bureaucratic hoops. 4. Government agencies increase supports to disabled people and their whānau in education settings, especially as disabled children and young people return to in-person learning. This includes: a. Exploring whether teacher aide supports (funding, available hours) are sufficient. b. Ensuring disabled students in schools and tertiary education have access to the technology required to continue distance learning if they choose to self-isolate to protect from the risks of COVID-19. c. Supporting consistent rights-based communication of key education messages across Aotearoa, and reducing the possibility of misinterpretation of crucial education policies, to ensure schools uphold the rights of disabled people. Preparing for the continued responses to COVID-19 5. Government agencies with COVID-19 responsibilities must ensure the rights of disabled people and their whānau are protected throughout all stages of the pandemic response. This requires: a. A commitment to ongoing planning for disability support service disruptions and providing workable alternatives and mitigations. b. An assurance that a disability lens be applied across all work. This needs to be at the wholeof-government level as well as within specific sectors (such as Health, Social Development, Education). As Cabinet has already directed government agencies to include consideration of the impacts of policy proposals on disabled people in all Cabinet papers where relevant, this recommendation relates to improving the quality of this advice and ensuring that that the perspectives of disabled people and their whānau have been incorporated into advice. c. Participatory approaches to ensure disabled people and their whānau are part of COVID-19 decision-making both in central government and in regional or local decision-making. 6. Government agencies should give further consideration to the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal in its 2021 Haumaru report into aspects of the COVID-19 response including: a. Funding and resourcing Māori service providers to reach communities, particularly in providing targeted support in rural areas and with the continued vaccination programme. b. Providing targeted support for tāngata whaikaha Māori, including through self-isolation and caring for Māori with COVID-19. c. Prioritising work to improve the quality of quantitative and qualitative data on tāngata whaikaha Māori, in partnership with Māori disability care providers and community groups. 7. Government agencies ensure that public health measures, including those around vaccinations, are applied in a way that does not disproportionately impact disabled people and their whānau. 10 Inquiry into the Support of Disabled People and Whānau During Omicron