Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

National Disability Strategy

Wednesday 30 November 2022 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The High Court declared the national disability strategy unlawful in January 2022, and the Government has been granted permission to appeal this decision.
  • The Government has paused certain policies related to the national disability strategy to comply with the High Court's declaration.
  • The Minister expressed gratitude for questions regarding the warm home discount and emphasized the Government's support for individuals facing cost of living challenges through the energy price guarantee.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mohammad Yasin Lab Bedford
Benefits & Welfare Standards & Ethics
Context

The High Court declared the national disability strategy unlawful in January 2022, and the Government have been granted permission to appeal this declaration. The question arises from a need for compliance with court orders.

Question

What recent progress has the Government made on implementing the national disability strategy?

Answer from Tom Pursglove

In January 2022, the High Court declared the national disability strategy unlawful. We have been granted permission to appeal this declaration, but to ensure compliance with the Court's declaration we are obliged to pause a number of the policies referred to in the strategy or are directly connected with it.

Answered
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Q2 Mohammad Yasin Lab Bedford
Energy Benefits & Welfare
Context

Research from Scope indicates that life costs more for people who are disabled, and 91% of those surveyed are worried about energy bills this winter. The UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed over the weekend.

Question

Would the Minister work with his cross-departmental colleagues to revise the eligibility criteria for the warm home discount to reinstate eligibility for the 300,000 disabled welfare claimants?

Answer from Tom Pursglove

I am very grateful to the hon. Member for his question. It is fair to say that this is a Government who have consistently been supporting people during the significant cost of living challenges that they face. Of course, we have the energy price guarantee, which is a significant part of that package, but I am sure that Ministers in Departments across Government would be very happy to engage with him on the particular point he raises about the warm home discount.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister acknowledges the cost-of-living challenges and mentions the energy price guarantee without directly addressing the specific request for revising eligibility criteria for disabled welfare claimants.

How: Under Consideration, Engage With Him On The Particular Point

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Q3 Tom Hunt
Education Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

A key challenge for many young people with disabilities is getting assessments to determine their conditions, such as autism. A constituent has been told they must wait up to 18 months for an assessment.

Question

Is there an opportunity in the national disability strategy to better enable and fund the accessibility—and accelerate the completion—of those assessments?

Answer from Tom Pursglove

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important point. The autism strategy is in place, having had a refresh launched in July 2021 and £74 million of funding in the first year. With the first year having concluded, we will publish our second implementation plan to make further progress on delivering the actions in the strategy. As part of the deliberations on that, we will consider the interesting point that he raises.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister acknowledges the importance of the issue but does not provide a direct commitment or timeline for improving accessibility and accelerating assessments.

How: Considering This, Deliberations On That

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