Disability History Month

Sarah Coombes Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for securing this debate, during which we can reflect on the treatment of disabled people in the past and on how we can learn from the experiences of our constituents to shape a better future.

As we focus on this year’s theme of disability, livelihood and employment, the optimists among us like to think that the arc of history tends towards progress. We have heard about the important 1944 and 1970 Acts, and the fact that 2010 was a landmark year in disability history, with the introduction of the Equality Act. Prohibiting discrimination against disabled people, the Equality Act is still one of the most progressive and long-standing legacies of the previous Labour Government.

Unfortunately, in 2024, after 14 years of Conservative Government, it feels like we are going backwards. In March this year, the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities found that we have a system that “devalues” disabled people and that which results in

“hate speech and hostility”

towards them. A fragmented and inaccessible system that undermines human dignity is not one that this Labour Government stand for.

Today the disability employment gap—the difference in the employment rates for disabled people and non-disabled people—stands at around 25 percentage points in West Bromwich. That is slightly less than the national average, but it is still far too large, which is why I am pleased that the Government are addressing this disparity and listening to disabled people regarding how to do that.

It is clear that the employment support system for disabled people is not working properly, which is why the Government’s recent White Paper has a focus on enabling disabled people to find long-term work and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock said, well-paid work that they can thrive in. I am glad that the Government are investing £115 million next year to deliver Connect to Work, a new supported employment programme to match disabled people with job vacancies. It is hoped that from 2026 onwards the programme will support nearly 100,000 people a year. I can think of many very qualified disabled people in my constituency who do not have the jobs that they deserve and would do well in.

In the Budget, the Government also addressed an issue that affects many disabled people: the carer’s allowance. The previous cap was trapping people in poverty and penalising them like criminals for earning just a few pounds over the threshold. We have raised the earning limit on carer’s allowance, meaning that it is easier for people who are caring for loved ones, many of whom are disabled, to go out and work. We should be clear, though, about the scale of the challenge that many disabled people come up against when looking for work, or just going about their daily lives, whether it is the social barriers presented by other people’s perceptions of their disability or the physical barriers presented by public transport, as my hon. Friend mentioned.

Disabled people are more likely to rely on buses to get around, but unfortunately our bus system is just not good enough. The new Government are doing something about that, and I hope the Minister will say more about that in his response to the debate. Unfortunately, the 45 bus service from West Brom to Walsall, which I campaigned to save, is still so unreliable that it often leaves passengers stranded or forces them to abandon their journeys; the loss of the 46 bus means that elderly and disabled people on Old Walsall Road now have to navigate an enormous hill; and the fact that there are no direct buses to the train station from Oakham means that many residents find it hard to work further afield, go shopping in the city centre or take part in sport.

I will touch on sport, as other Members have, because it is worth mentioning areas where progress has been made. Of course, we have a long way to go to make sure that all sport is accessible, but I will pay tribute to a few people in my area. In West Brom, we are proud that our local football club is famous up and down the land, but there is one part of the club that is not so widely known. West Bromwich Albion are the reigning champions of at least one league—the national league premiership for powerchair football. Their goalkeeper and player-manager Chris Gordon, who has spinal muscular atrophy, has a career and livelihood that is centred on sport—not despite his disability but because of it.

Another local champion of sporting opportunities for people with disabilities and learning disabilities was Norma Hyde from neighbouring Halesowen. In 1983 she set up Special Olympics Sandwell, for which this year she was rightly recognised in the King’s birthday honours list.

Finally, Blind Dave Heeley—as he calls himself—is a local legend in West Brom. Having lost his sight at a young age, he committed himself to fundraising through sport. He recently cycled 1,000 km along the western front in Europe, and once did seven marathons in seven days on seven continents, becoming the first and only blind person in the world to achieve this. In the process, he raised millions of pounds.

Of course, not every disabled person needs to be inspiring, run marathons or be at the top of the league to deserve fulfilling employment, a decent livelihood and access to transport. As parliamentarians, we must put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of what we do and work towards a future that is truly inclusive for everyone.

Carer’s Allowance

Sarah Coombes Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

For millions of unpaid carers in West Brom and around the UK, life is hard enough. They are the backbone of our care system, yet they are woefully under-supported and under-recognised. Taking care of someone is the most generous act of human kindness, but the former Government repaid those acts of service with hostile interviews and demands for repayments and by fighting carers in the courts. I welcome this new Government’s independent review, which recognises the invaluable contribution that carers make. The review will investigate the over- payment of carer’s allowance: how it was allowed to happen in the first place and, more importantly, how we can make sure it never happens again.

I know what it is like to witness the care that one person can show to another, whether that care is paid or unpaid. My grandmother—my nanny, as we called her—was looked after in the final years of her life in a care home. The team there provided tender care 24 hours a day, and they made life fun. My nanny was Irish, and even into her 90s, she was very partial to half a pint of Guinness, which the care home always provided. They always made St Patrick’s day good fun. That care did not stop when she finally passed away: when the cars went past the care home on the day of her funeral, all the staff were lined up with Irish flags to wave her goodbye. This Labour Government are going to give paid and unpaid carers the recognition, rights and pay that they deserve and create a sustainable national care service, and I am very proud to be part of that.

In my borough of Sandwell as a whole, the percentage of people providing over 20 hours of unpaid care a week is well above the national average, and for many people in my constituency, caring for their loved one is more than a full-time job. Those who are able to go to work find themselves having to restrict their hours for fear that they will inadvertently overstep the earnings limit. During the election, I met a woman in West Bromwich who was in exactly that situation: she worked as a cleaner in addition to caring for a family member. She was really struggling to make ends meet, but felt trapped, for fear of the penalty she would incur if she went even a few pennies over the earnings limit.

The motion tabled by the Liberal Democrats is right to condemn the previous Government for failing to address the scandal of repayments. Lots of carers were not even notified that they had exceeded the earnings threshold. For some, their allowance was stopped without warning, causing severe financial difficulties; others will spend years repaying, with the anxiety and stress that that brings. On top of all the other responsibilities that unpaid carers take on for their loved ones, they have been made to feel like criminals—can you imagine? As such, I support the Government’s intention to quickly get to the bottom of carer’s allowance overpayments and consider how we provide support for unpaid carers, many of whom have been pushed to breaking point just for looking after the people they love.