Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the EnAble Fund for Elected Office is available to (a) parliamentary candidates (i) seeking selection for the next General Election, (ii) standing in parliamentary by-elections; and if she will publish the Equality Impact Assessment conducted on the scope of that Fund.

The EnAble Fund for Elected Office is an interim fund primarily for the forthcoming local elections in May. It is available until March 2020 or until its total of £250,000 is exhausted, whichever is sooner.

The fund is therefore timebound. No general election is scheduled for the time period of the fund. We have however committed to consider parliamentary by-elections on a case by case basis should they arise.

We will publish an impact equalities assessment on the fund in due course.