Supported needs and disability passport launched

The Minister for Equality, Employment, Culture and Tourism, Christian Santos, recently announce the launch of a new Supported Needs and Disability Passport.

The passport is based on a similar tool used in various NHS hospitals in the UK, but Gibraltar’s version includes sections on education, care and employment to provide a fuller picture of the person and their journey.

The Ministry of Equality’s Supported Needs and Disability Office has worked with the Gibraltar Health Authority, the Department of Employment, the Care Agency and the Department of Education to design a document intended to give professionals the information they need to interact more effectively with persons with supported needs, medical conditions and disabilities.

Individuals can complete the sections that are relevant to them and choose who they share the passport with. It can be downloaded from www.disability.gov.gi/forms and completed electronically or printed and filled in by hand.

Use of the passport is not compulsory but is being recommended by the authorities.

Mr Santos also told the conference that the Supported Needs and Disability Office hopes to convert the passport into an app in 2026, and invited members of the public to send suggestions on how to make it more effective by emailing sndo@gibraltar.gov.gi before the digital version is developed.