Conservative Candidates’ response:
Julie Rook (Wolverhampton North East)
Ken Wood (Wolverhampton South East)
Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West)
Disabled people still face unacceptable barriers in many areas of their lives which hold them back from living independently. It is our job to break down these barriers and ensure that disabled people have the same chance to succeed in our society as non-disabled people.
The key priorities for a future Conservative Government will be to help support more disabled people into work, enable them to lead more independent lives by giving them more control over the services that they receive, recognising and supporting the role of carers, and addressing the prejudice and stigma that still persists amongst some in our society towards disabled people, particularly those with mental ill-health.
Early Intervention. Health visitors often play a crucial role in spotting warning signs of disability early and providing sound support and advice to parents. The next Conservative government will radically increase the number of health visitors across the country, giving every parent professional support.
Simplification. The complexity of the current benefit system often perversely puts off some disabled people who need the most help and support from applying for what they are entitled to. We are examining ways in which we can simplify the benefits system for disabled people.
Personalisation. We want to give disabled people greater control over their care and the funding spent on it. We want to see a greater use of individual budgets for people with disabilities across the UK.
Education. We want to make sure disabled children get the best start in life, so we will make sure that each individual child's needs are taken into consideration. We will stop the ideologically-driven closure of special needs schools to make sure disabled children and their parents have a choice over their education.
Support to Work. We will make sure that disabled people on out-of-work benefits are no longer written off. Those who are able to prepare for work will be given access to a range of support including a personal adviser who can help plan their return to employment.
Protecting Disabled Pensioners. We will protect Disability Living Allowance for the over 65s and Attendance Allowance for disabled pensioners to give them the chance to have an independent life with the freedom to tailor their care to their needs.
Access to Public Life Fund. The evidence suggests that disabled people are under-represented in public life (Office for Disability, Civic Participation Fact Sheet). We will set up a £1 million fund to provide financial support to approved candidates for public office who need help with meeting the additional costs associated with their disability. Disability charities would be invited to tender to establish the full eligibility criteria for support and to administer the Fund. The Fund would be funded out the Government Equalities Office's existing £84 million budget.