Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Action 1 in her Department's Disability Action Plan, published on 5 February 2024, whether he plans to establish a temporary fund in 2025 to support disabled general election candidates in England and Wales with their disability-related costs.

The Disability Action Plan aims to support more disabled people into elected office roles. As part of this, the Government has committed to establishing a new fund, which will be launched in 2025 following design and development work and close engagement with disabled people. Importantly, this will ensure that we create a long term solution that meets the needs of its users and learns lessons from previous elected office funds.

In the meantime, while this work is underway, the Disability Unit will develop and publish new guidance by summer 2024 on how political parties can best support disabled candidates. This will help to improve support in the short term while we establish a new long-term approach.

Political parties still have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that their disabled members who contest any political position are not disadvantaged and can take part in the same processes and opportunities as non-disabled people.