1 Most Political parties seem to have a plan to get disabled people off employment related disability benefits like incapacity benefit, without tackling the problem that employers are reluctant to employ disabled people – How will you address this? If disabled people are compelled to seek work, what will be done to compel employers to employ some disabled people?
Liberal Democrats have a five-point plan for helping disabled people into work:
2 Do you think Care should be paid for by all of us – like the health services, prisons, the armed forces etc - or just by the people that need it – what are your plans for care?
Liberal Democrats will convene a cross-party commission to agree a fair long-term sustainable solution to the problem of providing quality care.
In the short-term we propose to provide a week’s respite care to the 1 million carers in England who currently provide more than 50 hours of care every week instead of Labour’s flawed Personal Care at Home policy. Each carer will be entitled to receive a personal budget each year equivalent to the average cost of a care home’s weekly charge (£510) to redeem with whichever local service they choose.
How you use your personal budget will depend on your own circumstances. The money can be used to take one break or a series of breaks, for example: to get someone to take over caring for several weekends while the carer takes a break; payment towards the cost of the person you care for going away leaving you to take a break at home; arranging for someone to look after the person you care for at home while you go away; payment towards the cost of a break for you both together.
3 The Disability Discrimination Act has been with us for decades yet buildings are still built in Wolverhampton and elsewhere that treat disabled people as second class citizens who need to use the back entrance or secondary facilities. Also people with Assistance Dogs are often asked not to come into a venue with their dog. What do you believe must be done to ensure that disabled access is central to all building projects and service provision?
Both of these issues are against equality law so people with disabilities could claim against incidents of this nature.
4 Disabled people tend to have poorer health, less access to exercise facilities and less access to dietary and fitness information that takes account of their impairments. Many disabled people have argued for the restoration of free swimming or gym passes, what do you think can be done to address disabled people’s unequal access to health and fitness information and facilities?
Free swimming or gym passes for people with disabilities are certainly something which could improve the health of people with disabilities but are not something we could afford in the current economic climate. However, Liberal Democrats did welcome the announcement that disability sports will get £3.5m as part of the government's "legacy" plans for the 2012 Paralympic Games which could prove to be a great encouragement for people, with or without disabilities, to become more active.
5 Disabled people are increasingly the victims of hate crime and bullying, but responses from authorities (police, social services, housing providers, schools etc) to incidences of bullying or harassment are patchy and can range from telling a person to stay in their home, to addressing the problem, to doing nothing. What can be done to ensure a more even and supportive approach to this?
Liberal Democrats take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime. We will put 3,000 more policemen on the streets, ensure that robust action is taken when a hate crime is reported and make sure that victims are given the correct advice and support.
6 How well do you think bringing most disabled children into mainstream education has worked, and what more needs to be done?
Liberal Democrats have always argued that children with disabilities have a right to an inclusive education. We need an education system which gives every child, regardless of their background, a fair start in life. We would ensure that disabled pupils are catered for in their most suitable choice of setting. To achieve this we would direct our £2.5bn Pupil Premium to schools who could use it in a way that is most beneficial to those in need. Amongst those receiving the initial payments of Pupil Premium would be those with special educational needs and disabilities from 5-16 to ensure that there is a continuum of financial support for disabled students in mainstream education.
7 Do you think that people who by reason of disability are unable to end their lives, should have the right to chose to have someone to help them with this?
Yes, absolutely. (This is a ‘Free Vote’ issue in the House of Commons so it would not be ‘whipped’ by the Party).
8 BSL was recognised as an official language on 18th March 2003, but it still does not have any legal protection, so Deaf Sign Language users do not have full access to vital information and services, including education, health and employment. Does your party advocate this view and why?
You may already be aware that my Liberal Democrat colleague, Malcolm Bruce MP, tabled a parliamentary motion calling for the legal protection and promotion of sign languages in 2007. We believe that with an estimated 200,000 people communicating in British Sign language (BSL), many of whom who use it as their first language, it is important that government does all it can to protect this language and raise public awareness of the need for more interpreters and signers in all walks of life. Tens of millions of pounds go every year to supporting Welsh and Gaelic. No comparable support exists for sign languages which are just as important and part of British culture.
9 What can your party do to help more disabled people to become MPs?
Last year, all three of the main party leaders supported Scope’s Time to get Equal Campaign with the aim of encouraging more disabled people into Parliament. It is high time that shine a light over all that is wrong with our out-of-date and out-of-touch political system - including the woeful under-representation of disabled people in politics.
Disabled People deserve the same opportunities as everyone else and our politics will be better for there being more disabled MPs. A number of barriers prevent disabled people running for political office. These include a lack of financial support to fund equipment or information in alternative formats, a lack of peer support networks, as well as deeply entrenched perceptions that disabled people don’t make good MPs. As a party we will continue to challenge these stereotypes and the introduction of our preferred electoral system, the Single Transferable Vote, will go some way towards increasing representation of all minority groups including people with disabilities.
10 In Wolverhampton it can take up to 2 years to have an adaptation to your house, yet a report from the Office of Disability Issues, states that there are massive savings to the health service in making these preventative measures available much sooner. What do you think?
I think it’s safe to say that everyone agrees that prevention is better than cure but this is an issue for the local authority to address. However, our policy to integrate health and social care (bringing together, by law, the local authority and local health board, which will replace PCTs) has the potential for more long-term preventative decisions to be taken on adaptation issues as budgets will be combined.