Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission entitled Progress on disability rights in the United Kingdom: 2023, published on 17 August 2023, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report on the rights and living conditions of disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

We note the report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission entitled “Progress on disability rights in the United Kingdom: 2023”, published on 17 August 2023.

This Government is committed to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to improving the lives of disabled people.

We have implemented numerous policies and programmes to tackle the barriers faced by disabled people, including investing in employment support initiatives, improving social care support and the accessibility of homes and transport. In March, the Department for Work and Pensions published the Health and Disability White Paper, which sets out the Government’s plans to reform the welfare system and make it better meet the needs of disabled people in Great Britain.

The Government supported the passage of the British Sign Language Act 2022 which recognises BSL as a language of England, Wales and Scotland in its own right. To further improve accessible communication, we have appointed the non-statutory BSL Advisory Board.

In July, we launched an accessible 12-week consultation on our new Disability Action Plan, which is part of this Government’s commitment to create a society that works for everyone, where all can participate and be fully included. The Disability Action Plan will set out the immediate action the Government will take in 2023 and 2024 to improve disabled people’s lives, as well as laying the foundations for longer term change, and it complements the long-term vision set out in the National Disability Strategy.

We will be shortly setting out our plans for taking forward individual commitments in the National Disability Strategy, to make the greatest possible impact for disabled people.