The Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund has been extended to help cover the 2015 General Elections and local elections.
Launched in July 2012, the fund offers individual grants of between £250 and £40,000 to disabled people who are planning to stand for election. The money will help with the additional costs, such as extra transport or sign-language interpreters, that a disabled candidate may face in standing for election as a local parish or town councillor.
The fund has just been extended to cover the year to 31 March 2015 and has also been extended to cover elections to town and parish councils.
There is also a training and mentoring programme available for aspiring candidates.
For more about the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund go to http://www.access-to-elected-office-fund.org.uk/
The Government Equalities Office and Department for Culture, Media & Sport have produced case studies of disabled people's personal stories in political life, as part of the Government’s Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Strategy. You can view these at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-life-disabled-peoples-stories
The Local Government Association (LGA) is currently running a programme for disabled aspiring local politicians which gives them the opportunity to receive training and one to one mentoring in advance of standing for election.
This opportunity has been made available through DCMS funding and is being supported by Disability Rights UK, Equality 2025, Action on Hearing Loss and Scope.