Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to support disabled parliamentary and local government candidates.

The Government recognises that disabled people are likely to face greater costs when seeking elected office due to their disability which is why we launched the EnAble Fund for Elected Office to help cover disability related expenses.

The Fund is time limited and was set up to cover scheduled elections between December 2018 and March 2020. Officials are exploring how the Fund might support Police and Crime Commissioner and Local election candidates after 31st March 2020.

While financial support for candidates in elections is also a matter for political parties the Government is considering what support it might provide to succeed the current EnAble fund. The Disability Unit is considering options in connection with the National Strategy for Disabled People, which is due to be published in 2020.