Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to make a decision on the future of the Access to Elected Office Fund; what assessment she has been made of the potential merits of reinstating this fund; and what information the Government holds on the (a) number of disabled candidates who have stood for office in each of the past five years and (b) the proportion of candidates who have stood for office in each of the last five years who have disabilities.

Representation of disabled people in our Parliaments, Assemblies and councils remains far too low. Data collected by the Electoral Commission in 2017 suggests that people with a disability or health problem are also under-represented in standing for office, although the data in the form requested in the question is not held centrally.

We believe it is primarily political parties’ responsibility to support their candidates properly, just as they must also support disabled employees, but within this, there will be ways the government can help too.

That is why the Minister for Women and Equalities has recently announced that over the next 12 months the Government Equalities Office will, with others, undertake a programme of work to help political parties to best support their disabled candidates and to consider how independent candidates can be supported, too.

While that work is under way, we will provide up to a quarter of a million pounds to support disabled candidates for elections in the forthcoming year.

These arrangements replace the Access to Elected Office pilot fund, which closed after the 2015 general election: further announcements will be made about them in due course.