UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Parliamentary debate

24 November 2022

On Thursday 24 November 2022, Marsha De Cordova MP led a Backbench Business Committee debate on the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

In preparation for the debate, she asked to hear from the public about their experiences, concerns and suggestions related to disabled people.

She thanked all those who responded during the debate:

"669 people contributed to this debate by sharing their experiences, which demonstrates just how important it is.

"I want to thank each and everyone of those people, and acknowledge their thoughtful, moving and detailed responses which have helped me prepare for [my debate] today..."
Marsha de Cordova MP

Watch her full thank you message:

Full transcript available further down the page

She and several other MPs addressed many of the points contributors raised, including:

Energy prices, particularly the costs of heating and powering specialist equipment
Benefits and financial support, including the disability cost of living payment and carer’s support allowance
Other cost of living issues
Accessible transport
Employment
Stories about the circumstances and achievements of specific disabled people
Engagement with disabled people in designing and evaluating policies and programmes.

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Read the debate transcript:

Hansard: UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Watch the debate:

Watch the debate with British Sign Language interpretation:

The Government's response

The Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, Tom Pursglove MP, responded to the debate. He addressed the Government’s current policy agenda and future ambitions related to disability.

Watch or read his full speech for details on a range of topics including:

The appointment of new disability and access ambassadors in July 2021 and January 2022
Extension of the warm home discount scheme, which gives a rebate on energy bills of £150 to approximately 3 million low income and vulnerable households, to 2025-26.
The Social Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Act 2022 and British Sign Language Act 2022
Government initiatives aiming to increase employment for disabled people, including the Access to Work and Disability Confident schemes
The implementation of an Assistive Technology (ATech) needs assessment to establish the needs of disabled people and better understand the market capacity for providing ATech that matches these demands
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, ratified in the UK in 2009
The UK’s involvement in events such as the Global Disability Summit and the 15th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Several initiatives from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), including: An FCDO disability inclusion and rights strategy published on 16 February 2022. A six-year £30 million Disability Inclusive Development Programme
£15 million funding for local responders in Poland and Ukraine the most vulnerable impacted by Russia’s invasion, including the elderly and disabled people

For an overview of Government policy, see the following publications from the House of Commons Library:

Introducing the debate, Marsha De Cordova MP gave the following statement:

"The UN International Day for Disabled People will take place on 3 December, and this year’s theme is about looking at transformative solutions and innovative ideas to continue to create a more inclusive, accessible and an equitable society for disabled people.

"There are approximately 14 million disabled people in the UK, and if you add carers to that, the number rises to 20 million. We already know that the impact of the pandemic and other challenges such as the cost of living has fallen heavily on disabled people.

"I strongly believe that we all need the opportunity not only to celebrate the many achievements of disabled people, but also to discuss and debate some of those creative and innovative solutions to actually improving their lives."
Marsha De Cordova MP

Parliamentary portrait of Marsha De Cordova MP

How it works

What are Backbench Business debates?

Backbench Business debates give backbenchers (MPs of any party who are not ministers or shadow ministers) an opportunity to secure a debate on a topic of their choice, either in the House of Commons Chamber or in Westminster Hall.

MPs can make a request for a debate to the Backbench Business Committee, who hears and decides which debates to schedule.

The debates can either be general debates (which do not end in a vote) or be on a substantive motion (which calls for an action and can end in a vote). This will be a general debate.

Committee pages: Backbench Business Committee
MPs' Guide to Procedure: Backbench Business Committee debates.

How your contributions are shared

In these exercises, members of the public who have signed relevant petitions or are subscribed to related parliamentary newsletters are invited to share their experiences and ideas.

These are passed on to the MP leading the debate, who may refer to them directly in their speeches.

Find other petitions on the Petitions website, or see more examples of public contributions being used in debates below

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What happens next?

If you shared your email in the survey, we’ll send you an update after the debate with links to watch it, read the transcript, and information about the Government's response.