Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data his Department holds on trends in the level of (a) political participation and (b) civic engagement by disabled people.

The Government does not collect data on levels of political participation and civic engagement in relation to disabled people or any other group.

In December 2017, the Government published its Democratic Engagement Plan which set out our strategy to promote democratic participation amongst all groups, including disabled people. This included plans for National Democracy Week, which took place in July this year and included activities and events run by our partners from a number of civil society organisations, such as RNIB, Mencap and Scope.

On 30 August 2018, the Government published the response to its Call for Evidence on Access to Elections. This includes actions to address barriers and further support disabled people to participate in elections. The Cabinet Office is also leading further work to make the electoral registration and elections systems more accessible to people with disabilities. This includes the development of an easy read guide which sits on the Register to Vote Website and provides support on the online application process.