Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when the Government plans to provide further information about the operation of the Access to Elected Office and EnAble funds schemes.

It is the Government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office and is taking positive action to promote disabled people’s participation in public life, including working directly with parties and protecting disabled people through the Equality Act 2010.

Building on the experience of the Access to Elected Office fund and the EnAble fund, DLUHC with the LGA launched a new scheme in April 2022, to support those seeking to become candidates in local elections.

We have been clear that the responsibility for supporting disabled candidates sits with political parties and that the EnAble Fund was an interim measure to give parties time to put their own support in place.