A/HRC/43/41/Add.3 makes it difficult to inform, design and monitor adequate rights-based policies and responses for the diversity of persons with disabilities. 22. To address these challenges, in 2015 the Directorate launched an online tool to systematize available administrative data on persons with disabilities and give a better overview of their situation to governmental bodies and local administrations. Statistics Norway and the Directorate are also developing new statistics on persons with disabilities, to be published annually from 2020 onwards, using an innovative methodology which combines sociodemographic data with administrative information collected from different official registries on health expenditure, services and benefits received, disaggregated by type of impairment. The Special Rapporteur looks forward to learning more about this methodology, which could help other countries to gather more accurate data on the situation and living conditions of persons with disabilities. B. Inequalities in access to rights and services 23. The Special Rapporteur noted significant disparities in access to social protection, user-controlled personal assistance, employment and education, depending on where a person with disabilities lived. As the availability and quality of services varies considerably from one municipality to another, persons with disabilities often have no other option than to leave their communities to gain better access to their rights elsewhere, sometimes very far away from their families and environment. There is an urgent need to enhance and guarantee effective and coordinated implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities in all counties and municipalities across Norway. 24. In that regard, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the Local Government Act of 2018, which requires municipalities and county authorities to establish councils for persons with disabilities as advisory bodies that could help identify the gaps and challenges in protection that persons with disabilities may face. However, she heard from members of such councils and other interlocutors that the councils are not yet operating properly and the authorities often neither take their recommendations into account nor allocate the necessary funding to enable them to function effectively. 25. The situation of indigenous Sámi with disabilities is particularly worrying, as they do not have access to the same services and opportunities in their own languages or within their own culture. Sámi with disabilities often have to choose between gaining access to the necessary health and other services they need by moving elsewhere, or maintaining their languages and culture but without access to such services. In practice, many feel they have no other option than moving to areas where few or no other Sámi live, where access to Sámi languages in schools and contact with Sámi social circles and family are very limited, in order to have better prospects of life. Sámi with disabilities, especially women and those with intellectual disabilities, are also particularly vulnerable to bullying, hate speech, violence and abuse.7 C. Accessibility 1. Accessibility to the physical environment 26. The State places accessibility and universal design high on its agenda as a means of eliminating existing obstacles and barriers in the physical environment. Policy in this area is governed primarily by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act, the Planning and Building Act and related technical regulations. The latter require that all new public and private buildings open to the public, including workplaces, have universal design. This requirement also applies to existing buildings that undergo renovation. Since 2003, the Government has adopted three consecutive action plans for universal design and increased accessibility, and a new plan of action for the period 2020–2025 was being finalized at the time of the visit. As the planning authorities and service providers, municipalities are the 7 6 See www.samedigge.no/Politihkka2/Saker-og-dokumenter (in Norwegian).