On 6th October 2023 Centenary Action, Disability Rights UK, Disability Policy Centre and Elect Her submitted the below response to the government’s Disability Action Plan consultation:
Centenary Action, Elect Her, Disability Policy Centre and Disability Rights UK held an online roundtable for disabled women in politics to inform our response to this consultation. There was a strong message that the extra costs associated with being disabled were a barrier for women seeking selection and election. Candidates who had been able to access previous versions of the fund or other sources of funding spoke about how valuable it had been for covering costs such as transport or buying assistive tech. Women also spoke about using the fund for personal assistants or support staff. Access to funding enables disabled candidates to contest elections on a level playing field.
Disability Rights UK ran the previous EnAble Fund and the average application ranged from £300 to £500. Reinstating the fund could have a significant impact for disabled representation without incurring huge costs. However, it is also important that candidates with more expensive requirements, such as those needing BSL interpretation or people with multiple impairments, are still able to access support.
Women spoke about the difficulties they had experienced with accessing the previous fund and that any new fund would need to be designed to be more accessible. It also needs to be well publicised as some of the women we spoke to had not heard of the fund when they were contesting an election.
The women we spoke to stressed how much representation matters and the need to see disabled MPs and councillors as role models to inspire other disabled people to contest an election.
Disability Rights UK helped to run the previous scheme and the feedback they received from beneficiaries demonstrated the impact and effectiveness of the fund. We believe action needs to be taken now to reinstate the fund and another review is unnecessary.
As well as emphasising the value of having a fund, women also noted that costs do not stop once a candidate is elected. Women expressed concerns about the complexity of making Access to Work applications. Access to work needs to be available to everyone holding political office. Clarity is also needed over the impact of councillor allowances on means tested benefits.
The women we spoke to also felt that more could be done to make serving in office more accessible. For example, old council buildings can be inaccessible making it hard for disabled councillors to do their jobs. One example given was of a stair lift that didn’t work but council meetings weren’t moved to a new venue. Greater use of hybrid technology also has a role to play in increasing access to elected office. For example, hybrid meetings and the use of online voting. However, hybrid can’t be the only option for disabled people. Elected members need to have physical access to meetings and offices.