As Parliament rises for its Summer recess, Chairman of the CDG, Peter Hand reflects on some of the recent achievements of the Conservative Government to improve the lives of disabled people and their families.
The Conservative Disability Group is committed to achieiving a more inclusive society where people with disabilities have opportunities to flourish and reach their full potential. Fundamental to our approach is a deeply Conservative philosophy as to the empowerment of disabled people - ensuring everybody has the freedoms, opportunities and support to live their lives, in the way they choose.
It is an approach that is leading to improvements for disabled people and the CDG is proud to be associated with recent announcements made by the Conservative Government.
Clearly there will continue to be areas in need of improvement and where further progress has yet to be made – but since the Prime Minister and the Government she leads are ambitious in the changes they want to see, and committed to achieving them, this should not be a surprise to anyone.
Blue Badge Parking Scheme Extended - Only today the Government have announced that it wants to see the blue parking badge permits explicitly extended for people with hidden disabilities, a move that has been welcomed by disability charities and campaigners from across the country, who say it will make a significant difference to hundreds of thousands of people across England.
New Inclusive Transport Strategy - Earlier this week the Government published its new Inclusive Transport Strategy which included a number of new measures that will help to make transport fully accessible for all passengers by 2030. Up to £300 million will be made available for improvements to the network, including the provision of more Changing Places Toilets at major railway stations.
First Global Disability Summit - On Tuesday 24th July London hosted the world’s first ever Global Disability Summit, with International Development Secretary - Penny Mordaunt MP – setting out how UK funding is making a difference to disabled people in developing countries; providing education – particularly for young disabled girls – so they can have the same opportunities to succeed and progress as their non-disabled peers.
British Sign Language - To reiterate her own personal commitment to inclusion for disabled people, Penny Mordaunt MP opened the conference by using British Sign Language (BSL) and no doubt she will continue to be a strong advocate for the importance of accessibility. This builds on her previous contribution in the Commons when she became the first Member of Parliament to use BSL from the Frontbench (and did so with confidence).
Personalised Benefits System - The Government is also committed to creating a personalised benefit system which takes full advantage of a digitised system and earlier this month the Work & Pensions Secretary - Esther McVey MP – delivered a speech to the think-tank Reform, where she explained how the Government had simplified the system, “so it is easier to navigate, by creating an easy point of contact – both online and through the system, but also by introducing dedicated one-to-one work coaches.”
A Million More Disabled People Into Employment By 2027 - With a strategy in place to get a million more disabled people into employment by 2027 – at a time when we now have record numbers of people into employment at 75.7% - it is important that the skills and talents of disabled people are not overlooked by employers, hence programmes such as Disability Confident.
Extra Resources In The NHS For Mental Health Services - The Government have also announced a significant amount of new resources to fund the NHS – including pay rises for highly dedicated and committed front line staff – along with new funding to support mental health services, including for children.
New Inter-Ministerial Working Group - The Minister for Disabled People, Health & Work – Sarah Newton MP – has also recently created a new inter-ministerial working group “to bring the full force of the Government behind ensuring that every disabled person in our country has the ability to reach their full potential. It is by working across Government that we will tackle issues such as the one that he has just raised.”
Access To Elected Office Fund - This is combined with this the Government’s recent announcement of funding of £250,000 to support the Access to Elected Office Fund to support Disabled Candidates standing in the local elections in England in 2019 – this will help support to the reasonable adjustments many disabled candidates will face. The CDG welcomed this announcement and is working with colleagues in the Conservative Party to support disabled candidates in other ways also. The CDG have also been working with the EHRC in this area of work.
Green Paper On Social Care - Later this year we are also expecting the Government to publish a Green paper on the future of social care, and this will be an important opportunity to look at how we can use the social care system more effectively to support not only older people, but also working age disabled adults too.
The CDG is proud to be associated with these and many other measures and will continue to champion these successes and work in partnership with Conservative MPs, Peers, Councillors, Ministers, MSPs, AMs and our members from across the country to improve opportunities for disabled people and their families.
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Access To Work - On 31st July the Government announced there would be increased funding to support businesses that provide extra employment support for disabled people with the greatest barriers to work.
When the Work Choice employment programme ends in March 2019, ongoing support will be offered to individuals working in “supported businesses” through specially designed new elements of the government’s Access to Work scheme. For 2 years from April 2019, supported businesses will receive increased funding of £5,000 a year from Access to Work for each individual in a Work Choice Protected Place.
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NHS England - On 9th August 2018 NHS England announced that 'autism and learning disability' will be one of four clinical priorities in their upcoming ten-year plan to improve health services in England - often known as the ‘long term plan’.