Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2019 to Question 217059, on Candidates: Disability, what plans her Department has in place for expanding the EnAble Fund to support deaf and disabled candidates in the event of (a) a General Election called before March 2020 or (b) the exhaustion of the Fund.

The EnAble Fund for Elected Office is an interim fund and is therefore time bound with limited funding. It is primarily for the forthcoming English local elections in May.

The Government is clear that political parties are responsible for supporting their disabled candidates (as defined by the Equality Act 2010). We are undertaking a programme of work to help parties to put long-term sustainable solutions in place.