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Campaigners have welcomed government plans to create a new unit to help departments co-ordinate and develop disability policies.

John Knight, head of policy at disability charity Leonard Cheshire, said that the Office for Disability Issues announced last week was an "important development that has the potential to make a real difference".

The office would help enable better working between ministers and civil servants from various departments and would look to involve disabled people. It would also seek to focus government on disability as a distinct subject.

"Policies from all government departments can affect disabled people so having an office to co-ordinate policies and ensure unified goals is extremely important," Knight said.

The unit was proposed in last week's Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report on disability services.

It would be "owned" and have its work planned by the departments of health, work and pensions, education and skills, transport and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

• Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People from www.cabinet-office.gov.uk