Downing Street has announced that the Minister for Disabled People will no longer be a stand-alone role and that no-one will be appointed to take over from the former Minister for Disabled People, Tom Pursglove, who was moved to another role last week. Instead, the proposal is to add the duties of disability minister to an existing role.
At a time when Disabled people are experiencing deep poverty, and the services that support us are being reduced - the failure to appoint a dedicated disability minister is unacceptable. This decision will have a disproportionate impact on Disabled people who are already facing winter in a cost-of-living crisis as disability benefits fail to cover our additional costs.
Not appointing a sole Minister for Disabled people tells us that Disabled people’s needs aren’t a priority for Government. The PM must urgently reconsider this proposal and instead move quickly to appoint a dedicated disability minister.