Oral Answers to Questions

Connor Rand Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am afraid I did not catch all of the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I am happy to discuss it with him further. I have met my counterparts in Northern Ireland. I recognise our shared challenges and want to ensure that we work constructively across the devolved Governments on areas of concern.

[Mr Connor Rand (Altrincham and Sale West) (Lab)]

4. What steps she is taking to help end discrimination against disabled people.

[The Minister for Social Security and Disability (Sir Stephen Timms)]

We want a more inclusive society with less discrimination, and our election manifesto committed us to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all we do. As a first step, we are legislating to deliver equal pay for disabled people, with disability pay gap monitoring for larger employers.

[Mr Rand]

A huge part of tackling discrimination against disabled people is challenging preconceptions about what people can achieve. Will the Minister therefore join me in congratulating the phenomenal Joseph Adams, a 21-year-old with Down’s syndrome in my constituency, who recently ran ten 10 km races in ten different countries in just five days as part of his “no limits” challenge? He has raised a staggering £400,000 for a disability sports and employment programme in my community.

[Sir Stephen Timms]

I am delighted to congratulate Joseph, and I welcome my hon. Friend’s drawing his achievements to our attention. I spent an inspiring few days at the Paralympics in Paris not long ago. It was partly inspiring because we came second behind only China—ahead of the USA, and ahead of all the other European countries as well. My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance of this issue. We are going to work with disabled people and their organisations to make sport more accessible and to remove the barriers that are too often in place.