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Initiatives that bridge the fields of ageing and disability are considered critical internationally but to be limited in practice. Taking Ireland as a case, and focusing on social care, this article reports on a study investigating the separate organization of older people's and disability services as perceived by those working in policy-making, service provision and advocacy. In Ireland, as in many countries, social care is administered separately for disabled people and older people. Perceptions of those working in social care are thought to play a role in successful boundary-crossing initiatives. This study suggests that while participants often perceived the administrative and funding boundary between the fields of ageing and disability as illogical, inflexible, and not delivering person-centred care or support, the divide between the two sectors is underpinned by conceptual issues, including the lack of a concept of disability with ageing. The article argues that ways are needed of articulating what it is to experience disability in older age that are shared between older people's and disability sectors. It discusses bio-psychosocial models of disability as a means of doing so, one that avoids a return to an equation between older age and impairment, disability or decline. It concludes that more interrogation is needed of the separate philosophical underpinnings of disability and older people's sectors, argues for greater linkages between the two fields and for more exploration of social constructions of the experience of disability in later life.

Context: People with prior health conditions are susceptible to severe and sometimes fatal outcomes of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, that causes the disease COVID-19. The protection of the capacity of systems for social care was thus an important consideration for governments in the early stages of the global pandemic. Objectives: This paper reports and discusses the results of a rapid review of international early policy responses for the protection of social care systems after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that SARS-CoV-2 had evolved into a pandemic. Literature was collected in March 2020. Method: Rapid online review of government responses to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic using official government statements and press reports from 13 countries. Findings: The analysis of early responses in and about social care to the pandemic suggested an initial focus on avoiding the outbreak of the virus in care homes, with first steps being to limit visitors in these contexts and considering ways to isolate residents with symptoms or a confirmed infection. Responses to protect people receiving social care in their homes and schemes to support informal or family carers were less prominent. Limitations: Only publications in the public domain and in local languages of the 13 countries were considered for this analysis. It is possible that further strategies and responses were not made available to the public and are therefore not included, which limits this article's scope for analysis. Implications: The findings of this article can support reflection on the trajectory of policy responses to the threats that SARS-CoV-2 poses to social care. They can thereby potentially inform planning and policy responses for enhanced pandemic preparedness and stronger social care systems in the future.

Article 30 of the UN Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges States Parties to ensure accessibility of cultural goods, services and heritage and to adopt measures enabling persons with disabilities to utilize their artistic potential. However, people with disabilities experience barriers to engagement in cultural life as audiences and as creators. This article presents a narrative literature review that classifies barriers and facilitators to cultural participation identified in previous studies. It does so under five headings: (1) lack of effective/adequate legislation, policies and legal standards; (2) lack of funding and/or of adequate services; (3) negative attitudes; (4) lack of accessibility; (5) lack of consultation with, and involvement of, persons with disabilities in cultural organisations. This provides a novel contribution to the state of art by synthesising findings from different yet related fields. It forms the basis for future multi-method research addressing barriers to participation in culture.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a ground-breaking treaty that constitutes persons with disabilities as holders of rights and active members of society, and encompasses civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Article 30 of the Convention provides for the right of persons with disabilities to participate in cultural life. The importance of this provision lies in its detailed normative content, and also in that it sheds a light on the need for appropriate policies and practices that enhance cultural participation of persons with disabilities. By investigating the extent to which Article 30 of the Convention has been implemented across five European states (Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden), this article identifies common narratives and counternarratives related to the realization of the right to participate in cultural life. It adopts a socio-legal approach and a blended methodology combining desk-based and empirical research. It contrasts official narratives, which highlight good practices and steps taken to improve access to culture, with counternarratives that reveal a fragmentary approach to cultural participation of persons with disabilities, persisting barriers, limited recognition of artists with disabilities, and the perpetuation of stigma and stereotypes.

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Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) requires States Parties to ensure accessibility of cultural materials, activities and heritage. It also obliges them to 'enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual potential', highlighting the need for appropriate policies to enhance cultural participation of persons with disabilities. The chapter argues that Article 30 CRPD plays a pivotal role in the realization of the 'human rights model of disability' embedded in the Convention. By examining States Parties' reports, related Lists of Issues and Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the chapter detects trends, challenges, and gaps in States' approaches to cultural rights of persons with disabilities. It then discusses new paths to operationalizing the human rights model of disability in the cultural field.

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