Discrimination against Disabled People

Mr. Connor Rand, the Labour MP for Altrincham and Sale West, asked the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms, what steps the government is taking to help end discrimination against disabled people. In response, Sir Stephen Timms stated that the government wants a more inclusive society with less discrimination, and their election manifesto committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all they do. As a first step, the government is legislating to deliver equal pay for disabled people, with disability pay gap monitoring for larger employers. Mr. Rand followed up by highlighting that a huge part of tackling discrimination against disabled people is challenging preconceptions about what they can achieve. He then congratulated Joseph Adams, a 21-year-old with Down's syndrome in his constituency, who recently ran ten 10 km races in ten different countries in just five days as part of his "no limits" challenge, raising a staggering £400,000 for a disability sports and employment programme in the local community. Sir Stephen Timms expressed his delight in congratulating Joseph and welcomed Mr. Rand's drawing of his achievements to the House's attention. The Minister also shared his own inspiring experience of spending a few days at the Paralympics in Paris, where the UK came second behind only China, ahead of the USA and all other European countries. Sir Stephen Timms acknowledged the importance of this issue and stated that the government will work with disabled people and their organisations to make sport more accessible and remove the barriers that are too often in place.