Election day is here, so let's take one final look at what each of the parties is offering for people with a disability in their manifesto! Facts and figures are used from Disability Rights UK's fabulous election resource.
Labour
Contents of the Labour party disability manfesto
The disability manifesto is 28 pages and its chapters include:
Ensuring an adequate standard of living and social protection
Work and employment
Education and training
Accessible environments
Health and social care
Access to justice
Participating fully in political, public and cultural life
Contents of the Labour party main manifesto
Benefits
scrap the punitive sanctions regime
scrap the Bedroom Tax
increase Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) by £30 per week for those in the work-related activity group
scrap the Work Capability and Personal Independence Payment assessments and replace them with a personalised, holistic assessment process that provides each individual with a tailored plan, building on their strengths and addressing barriers
implement the court decision on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) so that there is real parity of esteem between those with physical and mental-health conditions
end the privatisation of assessments (Atos, Maximus, Capita)
end the pointless stress of reassessments for people with severe long-term conditions
repeal cuts in the UC limited capacity for work element
increase Carer’s Allowance by £11 to the level of Jobseekers’ Allowance.
scrap cuts to Bereavement Support Payment.
reform and redesign UC, ending six-week delays in payment and the ‘rape clause’
guarantee the state pension ‘triple lock’ - throughout the next Parliament. It will rise by at least 2.5 per cent a year or be increased to keep pace with inflation or earnings, whichever is higher
Winter Fuel Allowance and free bus passes will be guaranteed as universal benefits
protect the pensions of UK citizens living overseas in the EU or further afield
Education and Skills
scrap Conservative plans for schools to pay the apprenticeship levy
extend schools-based counselling to all schools to improve children’s mental health
deliver a strategy for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) based on inclusivity, and embed SEND more substantially into training for teachers and non-teaching staff, so that staff, children and their parents are properly supported
restore the Education Maintenance Allowance for 16 to 18-year-olds from lower and middle income backgrounds
free, lifelong education in Further Education (FE) colleges, enabling everyone to upskill or retrain at any point in life
replace Advanced Learner Loans and upfront course fees with direct funding, making FE courses free at the point of use, including English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses
set targets to increase apprenticeships for people with disabilities, care leavers and veterans, and ensure broad representation of women, BAME, LGBT and people with disabilities in all kinds of apprenticeships
maintain the apprenticeship levy but ensure high quality by requiring the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to report on an annual basis to the Secretary of State on quality outcomes of completed apprenticeships to ensure they deliver skilled workers for employers and real jobs for apprentices at the end of their training.
set a target to double the number of completed apprenticeships at NVQ level 3 by 2022
reintroduce maintenance grants for university students
abolish university tuition fees - Labour has now said that students starting university this September will have their first year fees written off if Labour win the election
Equality and human rights
Labour will legislate to make terminal illness a protected characteristic under the Equality Act
give British Sign Language full recognition as a recognised language
Hate crime
ensure that under the Istanbul Convention, disability hate crime and violence against women with disabilities is reported annually, with national actions plans to address these issues
Heating
introduce a Homes Fit for Heroes programme that will insulate the homes of disabled veterans for free
Winter Fuel Allowance guaranteed as a universal benefit
Housing
make new three-year tenancies the norm for private renters, with an inflation cap on rent rises
remove government restrictions that stop councils building homes and begin the biggest council building programme for at least 30 years
ditch Conservatives’ ban on long-term council tenancies to give council tenants security in their homes
scrap the Bedroom Tax
reinstate Housing Benefit for under-21s
suspend the right-to-buy policy for council and social housing to protect affordable homes for local people, with councils only able to resume sales if they can prove they have a plan to replace homes sold like-for-like
Poverty
Labour will introduce a new Child Poverty Strategy
Social care and health
increase the social care budgets by a further £8 billion over the lifetime of the next Parliament, including an additional £1 billion for the first year.
implement the principles of the Ethical Care Charter, already adopted in 28 council areas, ending 15-minute care visits and providing care workers with paid travel time, access to training and an option to choose regular hours
create a National Care Service, which will be built alongside the NHS, with a shared requirement for single commissioning, partnership arrangements, pooled budgets and joint working arrangements - in its first years, the service will require an additional £3 billion of public funds every year, enough to place a maximum limit on lifetime personal contributions to care costs, raise the asset threshold below which people are entitled to state support, and provide free end of life care.
ensure that everyone with a long-term condition, such as those with diabetes, will have the right to a specialised care plan, and access to condition-management education
commitment to making Britain autism friendly
Work
commission a report into expanding the Access to Work programme
strengthen access to justice for people with disabilities by enhancing the 2010 Equality Act, enabling discrimination at work to be challenged
work with employers, trade unions and public services to improve awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace and in society
give all workers equal rights from day one, whether part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent
ban zero hours contracts
raise the Minimum Wage to the level of the Living Wage
ban unpaid internships
abolish employment tribunal fees
Conservatives
Accessibility
review disabled people’s access and amend regulations if necessary to improve disabled access to licensed premises, parking and housing
create a new presumption of digital government services by default and an expectation that all government services are fully accessible online, with assisted digital support available for all public sector websites
roll out Verify identification service, enabling one single, common and safe way for people to provide verification to all parts of government online services by 2020 - using own secure data that is not held by government
Verify will eventually be made more widely available, so that people can safely verify their identify to access non-government services such as banking - expected for 2025
Benefits
no plans for further radical welfare reform in this parliament but continue the roll-out of Universal Credit
maintain the Triple Pensions Lock until 2020, and when it expires introduce a new Double Lock, meaning that pensions will rise in line with the earnings that pay for them, or in line with inflation – whichever is highest
means test Winter Fuel Payments - the money released will be transferred directly to health and social care
re pensioners - maintain free bus passes, eye tests, prescriptions and TV licences, for the duration of this parliament
Equality and human rights
enact a Great Repeal Bill, converting EU law into UK law
once EU law has been converted into domestic law, parliament will be able to pass legislation to amend, repeal or improve any piece of EU law it chooses, as will the devolved legislatures, where they have the power to do so
will not bring the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights into UK law
will look into repealing or replacing the Human Rights Act once the process of Brexit has finished
commitment to remain signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights for the duration of the next parliament - however British troops will in future be subject to the Law of Armed Conflict, which includes the Geneva Convention and UK Service Law, not the European Court of Human Rights
Social care and health
align the future basis for means-testing for domiciliary care with that for residential care, so that people are looked after in the place that is best for them
the value of the family home will be taken into account along with other assets and income, whether care is provided at home, or in a residential or nursing care home
single capital floor, set at £100,000 - no matter how large the cost of care turns out to be, people will always retain at least £100,000 of their savings and assets, including value in the family home - Theresa May has stated that there will be an “absolute limit” on the amount that people pay for social care
extend the current freedom to defer payments for residential care to those receiving care at home, so no-one will have to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for care
forthcoming green paper will also address system-wide issues to improve the quality of care and reduce variation in practice (see page 65 of the manifesto)
increase NHS spending by a minimum of £8 billion in real terms over the next five years
give patients, via digital means or over the phone, the ability to book appointments, contact the 111 service, order repeat prescriptions, and access and update aspects of their care records, as well as control how their personal data is used
first new Mental Health Bill for thirty-five years
publish a green paper on young people’s mental health before the end of this year
recruit up to 10,000 more mental health professionals
specific task to improve standards of care for those with learning disabilities and autism - will work to reduce stigma and discrimination and implement in full the Transforming Care Programme
new GP contract to help develop wider primary care services
reform the contract for hospital consultants to reflect the changed nature of hospital care over the past twenty years
make it a priority in Brexit negotiations that the 140,000 staff from EU countries can carry on working in the UK - but commitment to continue training more staff within UK
new NHS numbers are not issued to patients until their eligibility has been verified
increase the Immigration Health Surcharge, to £600 for migrant workers and £450 for international students
Work
target to get 1 million more people with disabilities into employment over the next ten years
legislate to give unemployed disabled claimants or those with a health condition personalised and tailored employment support
for businesses employing former wards of the care system, someone with a disability, those with chronic mental health problems, and those who have been unemployed for over a year, will be given a holiday on employers’ National Insurance Contributions for a full year
give employers the advice and support they need to hire and retain disabled people and those with health conditions
harness the opportunities of flexible working and the digital economy to generate jobs for those whose disabilities make traditional work difficult
increase the National Living Wage to 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020 and then by the rate of median earnings
the Government is awaiting the results of the Taylor review but a new Conservative government will act to ensure that the interests of employees on traditional contracts, the self-employed and those people working in the ‘gig’ economy are all properly protected
amend health and safety regulations so that employers provide appropriate first aid training and needs assessment for mental health
consider the findings of the Stevenson-Farmer Review into workplace mental health support, working with employers to encourage new products and incentives to improve the mental health and wellbeing support available to their employees
train one million members of the public in basic mental health awareness and first aid to break the stigma of mental illness
Green Party
Contents of the Green party disability manifesto
campaign to reinstate the Access to Elected Office fund
scrap the work capability assessment and replace this with support from GPs and health professionals
provide better social care and health services - including increased community and advocacy support
make improvements in education for disabled young people
provide better housing for disabled people via disability housing plans, a housing adaptations fund and an increase in homes built to mobility standards
provide better support for carers
recognise specialist communication needs by supporting BSL, easy read and Braille
Contents of the Green party main manifesto
Benefits
redress benefits injustice with asocial security system that gives everyone confidence they will get support when they need it, including disabled people
universal basic income - initially a government sponsored pilot
reinstate housing benefit for under 21s
Education and Skills
ensure that every child with special educational needs or disability has access to a mainstream education, in accordance with the UN Convention for Persons with Disabilities
restore education maintenance allowances
scrap tuition fees and restore living grants
Equality and human rights
defend the Human Rights Act and UK membership of the European Convention on Human Rights, and reinstate funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission
Hate crime
action to tackle racism and discrimination on the basis of disability
Housing
significantly improve housing choice for D/deaf, disabled and older people by requiring all councils to appropriately plan for their housing needs and significantly increase the numbers of homes built to lifetime home and mobility standards over the next 5 years
give renters a fair deal - rent controls and end to letting fees
make social housing widely available - build 100,000 each year by 2022
end mass council house sales
bring the housing market under control
Social care and health
major investment in social care for the elderly and all 'those who need it'
roll back privatisation of NHS
bring mental health care into line with physical health care
Transport
all public transport should be fully accessible and step-free with a phase-in of free local public transport for young people, students, people with disabilities, and older people
Work
phase in 4-day week (35 hours maximum)
abolish zero hours contracts
increase minimum wage to £10 an hour by 2020
Liberal Democrats
Benefits
uprate working-age benefits at least in line with inflation
abandon the two-child policy on family benefits and abolish the two children ‘rape clause’
reverse cuts to housing benefit for 18-21-year-olds and increase the rates of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit for those aged 18-24 at the same rate as minimum wages.
reverse cuts to Employment Support Allowance to those in the work-related activity group.
increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in line with average rents in an area
scrap the ‘bedroom tax’, whilst also incentivising local authorities to help tenants ‘downsize’.
scrap the Work Capability Assessment and replace it with a new system, run by local authorities according to national rules, including a ‘real world’ test that is based on the local labour market
withdraw eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment from pensioners who pay tax at the higher rate (40%)
retain the free bus pass for all pensioners
ensure that those using food banks are aware of their rights and how they can access hardship payments where relevant
maintain pensions triple lock
let both parents earn before their Universal Credit is cut and also reverse cuts to the Family Element
reverse cuts to Work Allowances in Universal Credit
Education and skills
ensure that all teaching staff have the training to identify mental health issues and that schools provide immediate access for pupil support and counselling
reinstate maintenance grants for the poorest students
Equality and human rights
extend the Equality Act to all large companies with more than 250 employees
oppose any attempt to withdraw from the ECHR or abolish or water down the Human Rights Act
introduce a digital bill of rights that protects people’s powers over their own information, supports individuals over large corporations, and preserves the neutrality of the internet
end the ministerial veto on release of information under the Freedom of Information Act, and take steps to reduce the proportion of FOI requests where information is withheld by government departments
Hate crime
tackle bullying in schools
Housing
three-year tenancies for private renters
Social care and health
implement a cap on the cost of social care
develop a Carer’s Passport scheme to inform carers of their NHS rights
create a cross-party health and social care convention, bringing together stakeholders from all political parties, patients groups, the public and professionals from within the health and social care system to carry out a comprehensive review of the longer-term sustainability of the health and social care finances and workforce, and the practicalities of greater integration
equal care for mental health - a number of measures - see pages 19 and 20 of the manifesto
move towards a health and social care system that empowers and encourages people to better manage their own health and conditions and to live healthier - via various strategies (see pages 22 and 23 of the manifesto) lives
support the Armed Forces Covenant and ongoing work to support veterans’ mental health
Transport
continue the Access for All programme, improving disabled access to public transport as a key priority
increase accessibility to public places and transport by making more stations wheelchair accessible
improve the legislative framework governing blue badges
set up a benchmarking standard for accessible cities
bring into effect the provisions of the 2010 Equality Act on discrimination by private hire vehicles and taxis
Work
raise awareness of, and seek to expand, Access to Work
create a formal right to request a fixed contract and consult on introducing a right to make regular patterns of work contractual after a period of time
scrap employment tribunal fees
separate employment support from benefits administration – making Jobcentres places of training and support into work
improve links between Jobcentres and Work Programme providers and the local NHS to ensure all those in receipt of health-related benefits are getting the care and support to which they are entitled
accelerate the roll-out of Individual Placement and Support, to get people with mental ill-health back into work
SNP
Benefits
uprate working-age benefits at least in line with inflation
abandon the two-child policy on family benefits and abolish the two children ‘rape clause’
reverse cuts to housing benefit for 18-21-year-olds and increase the rates of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit for those aged 18-24 at the same rate as minimum wages.
reverse cuts to Employment Support Allowance to those in the work-related activity group.
increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in line with average rents in an area
scrap the ‘bedroom tax’, whilst also incentivising local authorities to help tenants ‘downsize’.
scrap the Work Capability Assessment and replace it with a new system, run by local authorities according to national rules, including a ‘real world’ test that is based on the local labour market
withdraw eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment from pensioners who pay tax at the higher rate (40%)
retain the free bus pass for all pensioners
ensure that those using food banks are aware of their rights and how they can access hardship payments where relevant
maintain pensions triple lock
let both parents earn before their Universal Credit is cut and also reverse cuts to the Family Element
reverse cuts to Work Allowances in Universal Credit
Equality and human rights
extend the Equality Act to all large companies with more than 250 employees
oppose any attempt to withdraw from the ECHR or abolish or water down the Human Rights Act
introduce a digital bill of rights that protects people’s powers over their own information, supports individuals over large corporations, and preserves the neutrality of the internet
end the ministerial veto on release of information under the Freedom of Information Act, and take steps to reduce the proportion of FOI requests where information is withheld by government departments
Hate crime
tackle bullying in schools
Housing
three-year tenancies for private renters
Social care and health
implement a cap on the cost of social care
develop a Carer’s Passport scheme to inform carers of their NHS rights
create a cross-party health and social care convention, bringing together stakeholders from all political parties, patients groups, the public and professionals from within the health and social care system to carry out a comprehensive review of the longer-term sustainability of the health and social care finances and workforce, and the practicalities of greater integration
equal care for mental health - a number of measures - see pages 19 and 20 of the manifesto
move towards a health and social care system that empowers and encourages people to better manage their own health and conditions and to live healthier - via various strategies (see pages 22 and 23 of the manifesto) lives
support the Armed Forces Covenant and ongoing work to support veterans’ mental health
Transport
continue the Access for All programme, improving disabled access to public transport as a key priority
increase accessibility to public places and transport by making more stations wheelchair accessible
improve the legislative framework governing blue badges
set up a benchmarking standard for accessible cities
bring into effect the provisions of the 2010 Equality Act on discrimination by private hire vehicles and taxis
Work
raise awareness of, and seek to expand, Access to Work
create a formal right to request a fixed contract and consult on introducing a right to make regular patterns of work contractual after a period of time
scrap employment tribunal fees
separate employment support from benefits administration – making Jobcentres places of training and support into work
improve links between Jobcentres and Work Programme providers and the local NHS to ensure all those in receipt of health-related benefits are getting the care and support to which they are entitled
accelerate the roll-out of Individual Placement and Support, to get people with mental ill-health back into work
UKIP
Benefits
reform the work capability assessment in consultation with disabled people and disability charities
scrap the bedroom tax
promises to 'end the injustice of personal independence payments' but gives no detail about how
give carers an extra five days paid holiday each year
increase Carer’s Allowance from £62.70 per week to £73.10 a week, to match the higher level of Jobseeker’s Allowance
maintain all pensioner benefits and the pensions Triple Lock
committed to keeping the winter fuel allowance, free bus passes, prescriptions and eye tests for all over-60s, without means testing
introduce a legally binding Dignity Code to improve the quality and standard of care for older people in hospital, care homes or their own home, and protect whistleblowers
Education and Skills
all disabled learners should have the legal right to attend either mainstream courses in mainstream education settings, or schools exclusively tailored to their needs
reverse the policy of closing special schools, and ensure all other schools are accessible to disabled learners and that individual support is in place for each child
scrap tuition fees for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine students
stop paying tuition fees for courses which do not lead at least two thirds of students into a graduate level job or job corresponding to their degree
cease offering student loans to EU nationals
long term aim to abolish tuition fees
maintenance grants for poorest students
integrate mental health training into the teacher training syllabus
introduce practical 'employability' lessons into the careers syllabus
Equality and human rights
new Bill of rights removing jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights with the Supreme Court acting as the final authority on matters of Human Rights.
repeal the Human Rights Act.
Social care and health
invest extra £11 billion in the NHS
establish a Department for Health and Care, and create a sustainably funded social care system assimilated into the NHS
scrap hospital car parking charges
abolish the Care Quality Commission
increase planned spending on mental health services by at least £500 million every year
cutting mental health referral waiting times from waiting time targets from eighteen weeks to 28 days
ensure smooth transition between child and adult physical/mental health services
increased mental health support for veterans