Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy published 28 July 2021, what steps his Department has taken to date towards considering how it can best support those standing for public office and those who hold public office.

It is the Government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office.

Officials in the Cabinet Office Disability Unit continue to work with colleagues at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DHLUC) on this issue. DHLUC is developing a new scheme to support those seeking to become candidates and to support those who have been elected to public office. That work is a part of the 2022/23 local government improvement work which will be launched from April this year.

Officials are also speaking to the National Association of Local Councils and the Local Government Association about enhancing support and guidance for disabled councillors.