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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 7 February 2022 to Question 113192 on Candidates: Disability, what progress his officials have made towards enhancing support and guidance for disabled councillors following their talks with the National Association of Local Councils and the Local Government Association.

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

DLUHC has developed a new scheme to support disabled people seeking to become local candidates and to support those who have been elected to local public office. This work is a part of the 2022/23 local government improvement programme, delivered largely by the LGA, launched in April this year.

The scheme includes:

• a coaching programme for disabled councillors to support them as resilient and confident leaders of their communities
• a campaign to attract more people with disabilities to stand for council elections and a new ‘Be a Councillor’ guide for disabled candidates who are considering standing for the 2023 elections
• a bespoke leadership development programme for disabled councillors, which provides councillors with unique networking opportunities and support

The full 2022-2023 Sector Support Offer for local councils is available on the LGA website: https://local.gov.uk/publications/sector-support-offer-2022-23