MPs and peers call for guaranteed right to travel abroad for disabled people in UK

MPs and peers have called for disabled people in the UK to be guaranteed a right to travel abroad, following reports of individuals being barred from taking holidays because of restrictions imposed by local NHS care boards and councils, according to The Guardian.

The lawmakers said further cases had emerged of people who require full-time personal assistants being prevented from using funding for their round-the-clock support teams for breaks and work trips abroad, the report said. They described some of the rules as "ridiculous."

Leading figures cited by The Guardian called on the government to introduce clear national guidelines to ensure disabled people who need personal assistants are not blocked from taking their support workers with them when travelling internationally.

According to the report, there has been outcry over what were described as "brazenly discriminatory" funding practices among some NHS integrated care boards, which oversee healthcare funding decisions in their areas.

The push for reform comes as advocates argue that inconsistent rules across different local authorities and care boards have created what amounts to an effective barrier preventing some disabled people from leaving Britain, the report said.

The Guardian did not specify further details of the government's response to the calls in the excerpt reviewed for this article.