Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Timms Excerpts

Wednesday 9th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

5. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement the recommendations of the Cass review.

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[Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)]

T3.   Accessible transport is a major challenge for my constituents, especially accessing rail stations on the Tyne valley railway line. Will the Minister work with the Department for Transport to ensure that Great British Railways puts disabled access at the heart of its plans?

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

Yes, we will. Accessibility is at the heart of the Government’s passenger-focused approach, and with a unified rail network, we will be able to meet accessibility needs more reliably and consistently and plan how best to improve accessibility across the entire network.

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

The Government have made a number of commitments on the implementation of the Cass review. Will they commit themselves to ensuring that trans people do have access to the healthcare that they need, and to ensuring that waiting lists are brought down as soon as possible?