The Disability Scorecard is a tool to grade the major political parties on their policies for the upcoming General Election based on the Disabled peoples manifesto.
The Green Party returned their Disability Scorecard ahead of schedule with a majority of “yes” responses to the questions posed to them, suggesting the Green Party are committed to meeting the needs of the 16 million Disabled people residing in the UK.
Some of the asks the Green Party gave a yes to include:
- Accessibility: will you develop new accessibility standards for buildings and streets which meet the needs of Disabled people?
- Employment: will you introduce a right to flexible working from day one of employment?
- Education, will you commit £3 billion extra per year to support all disabled children?
- Rights: Will you make Disability Hate Crime a criminal offence?
- Social Care: Will you stop social care charging?
On some of the asks, the Green Party expanded on what else they would do. For example, on housing, when asked about introducing a national requirement for all new build homes to be accessible and 10% to be wheelchair accessible, the Green Party stated “We support improvements to the planning system and building control to ensure all homes are accessible in a range of ways. This includes accommodating wheelchairs, although we don’t have a policy on a fixed percentage. We would champion the right to housing under the principles of universal design.”
The Green Party also said yes to championing the full implementation of the BSL Act, so it is recognised, promoted, and protected on par with English. This is despite not having a BSL interpreter at their manifesto launch. The Greens also said yes to legislating to fully incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) into UK law despite not mentioning this in their manifesto.
However, on balance, it appears the Green Party want to co-produce an accessible and inclusive society for Disabled people. “The Green Party has endorsed the social model of disability where there is a recognition that society has put up barriers which prevents Disabled people with different impairments from becoming and being full and active citizens. The Green Party is strongly committed to valuing, empowering and supporting people with illness and disabilities. It therefore follows that co-production of a strategic approach to tackling root causes is essential.”
The Disability Scorecard allows disabled people to judge each party on what issues matters most to them before casting a vote in the General Election UK 2024. Disabled people represent 22% of the UK population and we are asking our political system to start engaging with us and our policy asks in the Disabled peoples manifesto.