I remind Members that there have been some changes to the normal practice in order to support the new call list system and to ensure that social distancing can be respected. Members should sanitise their microphones with the cleaning materials provided before they use them, and they should respect the one-way system around the room. Members should speak only from the horseshoe. Members can speak only if they are on the call lists; this applies even if debates are undersubscribed. Members cannot join a debate if they are not on the call list. Members are not expected to remain for the winding ups. Members in the latter stages of the call list should use the seats in the Public Gallery and move to the horseshoe when seats become available. I remind hon. Members that there is less of an expectation that Members stay for the next two speeches once they have spoken; this is to help manage attendance in the room. Members may wish to stay beyond their speech, but they should be aware that doing so may prevent Members in seats in the Public Gallery from moving to seats on the horseshoe.
1:31 pm
Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered a disability inclusive covid-19 response.
It is an absolute honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell. I thank the many Members who have been in touch with me all week and have dedicated their time today to speak in the debate. I declare my interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for disability, and I thank the organisations that have been in touch and that have supported people with disabilities across the United Kingdom during the pandemic. They include Disability Rights UK, Inclusion Scotland, Sense, Scope, Mencap, Leonard Cheshire, Care England, Age UK and Disability at Work, just to name a few.
Some 14 million people live with a disability in the United Kingdom. Although people with disabilities make up the largest minority group in the country, they have reported feeling largely forgotten in this time of crisis. In many ways, they have been the invisible victims of the coronavirus pandemic across the UK. Tragically, people with disabilities have accounted for six out of 10 deaths involving covid-19.
It is clear that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities, and the all-party parliamentary group for disability therefore sent an open letter to the Prime Minister in April of this year. It has since been signed by more than 100 MPs and peers of different parties. It called for five things. First, it called for Government guidance and restrictions to be communicated in a way that is accessible to people with disabilities. Secondly, it called for social distancing measures to be mindful of people with disabilities who need exemptions. Thirdly, it called on the Government to provide clear guidance on the implications of changes to the Care Act 2014 under the covid-19 legislation. Fourthly, it asked the Government to meet the needs of disabled people in the allocation of additional funding, training and personal protective equipment provision throughout the pandemic. Fifthly, it requested that the Government place people with disabilities at the very heart of their economic recovery plan.
It is very difficult to overestimate the disruptive impact that the covid-19 restrictions, which were implemented with little or no notice, have had on the lives of many people with disabilities. The restrictions have fundamentally affected not just whether people can go out socially with friends but whether the care services that many rely on day in, day out, are available to them. Some 75% of unpaid carers have reported receiving no information about support and care being reduced prior to that happening.
We are quite short of time, so I ask colleagues to keep their remarks to no longer than four minutes or four and a half minutes—five minutes maximum—if we are to get everybody in.
I thank the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) for calling this debate on such an important topic.
I want to highlight some of the issues that constituents or local charities have directly contacted me about; I will shamelessly go through them all. However, this debate is really about the wider issue of disability inclusivity and I will ask the Minister to consider a disability awareness charter, whereby we can encourage businesses and local communities to think about the disabled—particularly the visually impaired, the hearing impaired and those with more complex disabilities—in relation to practical things such as shopping and other everyday activities during covid-19.
There is a local charity in Beaconsfield called Blind Ambition, which works with the visually impaired. It is excellent and one of the things that it has highlighted during covid-19 was the difficulty that the visually impaired have at their local supermarket. When someone who is visually impaired goes to a supermarket, they may need to touch items and feel their way around, which was difficult during covid. Oftentimes they bring a buddy with them, but during the total lockdown they were not allowed to bring a companion, the store was not able to give them one and they were unable to get a delivery, so they felt very cut off and isolated. They could not even receive an explanation as to why they could not bring a buddy with them.
In places where there are more restrictive measures in place for covid-19, I ask that we consider encouraging supermarkets to allow a visually impaired person to bring a companion or a volunteer with them, to help them—in a covid-secure way—around the supermarket. That is just so that they have dignity and quality of life, and are not afraid, thinking, “How will I get my daily food delivery?” There is a shortage of supermarket slots for delivery online; there is that challenge for them, as well.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell, and I congratulate the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) on her speech. It is also a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey), who made some fantastic points that I absolutely support.
In the four or so minutes that I have, I would like to make the following brief points. First, covid is a disease of poverty: people with existing health conditions or disabilities are particularly at risk of contracting the virus and, unfortunately, suffering its worst effects. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that between March and July, disabled people accounted for three-fifths of covid deaths in England and Wales, and the ONS has said that this is probably an underestimate. There were more than 27,500 coronavirus-related deaths of disabled people, compared with 18,800 deaths of non-disabled people. Disabled women are nearly 11 times more likely to die than non-disabled women; for men, the figure is about six and a half times.
Why is that happening? As I have just said, covid is a disease of poverty, and we know that disabled people are more likely to live in poverty than non-disabled people. Last year’s very good Disability Benefits Consortium report showed that on average, disabled people have lost £1,200 every year over the past decade, compared with £300 for a non-disabled person. That figure significantly increases when there is more than one disabled person in a household, and of course we must not forget the extra costs that disabled people face as a result of their disability, which are about £538 extra a month. Overall, £36 billion will have been taken out of social security support for working-age people by 2022.
On top of that, I am afraid that the shielding system the Government set up was completely useless. The Greater Manchester Disabled People’s Panel did a large-scale survey that it published in July, which revealed that one in five people had been included in the Government’s shielding list. The 80% who were excluded did not get any of the support that was available to officially shielded people. Given that the majority of disabled people were not shielded, one would think that the Government would recognise that fact, and that additional financial support would be provided through social security—not at all. Poor disabled people were faced with the additional dilemma of having extra costs on top of their extra costs. They had to get food somehow: did they go into debt? Did they get food delivery schemes that they had to pay for, or did they risk their health and go to the shops?
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship Mr Rosindell, and also to be able to take part in this debate called by the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Lisa Cameron).
The impact of coronavirus on disabled people has been profound. It is absolutely right that we should be drawing attention to that at this time. The scale of the issue is concerning: disabled people have accounted for 59% of deaths due to coronavirus between March and July. It is an enormous issue. Another issue is the hidden deaths that have occurred as a result of people not being able to access the healthcare they need, and the way that that has particularly impacted people with learning disabilities. The deaths of people detained in hospitals subject to the Mental Health Act 1983 in the community have doubled from the number of deaths in the same period last year. It is a concern, and we are right to be debating it.
There is also the impact on people who care for disabled people. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey), during lockdown I was speaking to my constituents in that position, who were caring for somebody without the support that they may otherwise have. We need to look at the whole family when we consider the issue as we move forward. The Government’s response has been entirely as it should be: an extra £9 billion of welfare support has been put in place. Specifically within the area of disability, spending this year has increased from £19 billion to £20 billion. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place, and we could not have a better Minister looking at these issues with the sort of credentials that he has for action in the area.
I would like to talk about three issues. The first is easements, the second is communication relating to disability, and the third is employment. The easements are causing all of us concern. The emergency Coronavirus Act 2020 allowed the suspension of some of the duties that local authorities have within the Care Act 2014. Many organisations are now calling for a rethink on that, including Liberty and Disability Rights UK. The easements are there for a reason: to make sure that local authorities can operate in a really difficult situation. Where easements are operated, local authorities may not be complying with what disabled people need within their community. There has been no correlation between the number of covid-19 positive cases and the decision to operate easements in local authority areas. I would appreciate the Government giving us an update on that and on their plans with regards to guidance on the use of easements in the future.
I had not expected to be called to speak so early in the debate, but I appreciate your doing so, Mr Rosindell. I thank the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) for setting the scene. She and I work together on many disability issues in the House, and it is always a pleasure to support her whenever she speaks in a debate. She speaks straight from her heart; we know it is a good heart, Mr Rosindell.
The pandemic has been hard on every person in the nation, but none more so than those in the disabled sector. I want to speak quickly about some of them. The Royal National Institute of Blind People has told me that 250 people begin to lose their sight every day in the United Kingdom. A lot of people find it difficult to socially distance or to see direction arrows on the ground. Would they be able to negotiate their way into this room? They would have no idea how to do that without an assistant to help them. I have heard about many people being yelled at for not keeping social distance. They were not recognised as disabled—maybe they were not wearing the black glasses or did not have the stick—but they are partially disabled from the point of view of their sight.
The RNIB has made various suggestions, of which I hope the Minister has been made aware and that he can work on them. The suggestions do not mean breaking social distance rules, but being kind and compassionate, and taking time to speak to someone who looks as if they might be struggling to navigate through the shops. People have difficulty because they are disabled, not because there is anything else wrong with them.
Cotters is a shop in Newtownards that sells a range of groceries, cleaning products, hardware and other valuable daily essentials. That is not a plug for them, by the way, although I will send the staff a copy of Hansard afterwards and let them know that they were mentioned in Westminster Hall. The staff noticed that many of their elderly customers were struggling to understand them through their masks. The muffled voices of the staff could not be heard and the customers could not understand what they were saying. Out of their own pockets, the staff ordered masks that have plastic across the mouth to make it easier for those who cannot hear to see.
Order. I ask Members to stick to four minutes, please. I do not want to have to impose a strict rule, but, if we do not stick to that, not everyone will get in to speak.
It is no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has been extremely difficult for the people of this country. While everyone has an equal chance of catching the virus, there is no doubt that the effects of the pandemic have not been felt equally across our society. The disadvantaged, the elderly, people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities have all been disproportionately affected by covid-19. It is the latter group whose struggle has been tragically under-reported. I therefore thank the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) for securing the debate so that the House has the opportunity to discuss this issue.
Lockdown and the subsequent changes to our behaviour have had an extremely negative effect on people with disabilities. Social distancing, for example, is difficult for people who are blind, and people who are deaf or hard of hearing have difficulty reading lips when everyone is wearing masks. What may seem like a small inconvenience for the able bodied becomes an enormous challenge for people with disabilities.
One of the most tragic aspects of the pandemic has been its effect on those with learning disabilities, particularly those in social care and education. A recent survey by Mencap reports that seven in 10 people with learning disabilities have experienced a reduction in social care during lockdown while seeing their needs nearly double. It was deeply concerning this week to listen to some of the brave panel members on the all-party parliamentary group for special educational needs and disabilities describing their difficulties in accessing learning and getting the right support.
While the Government have published extensive guide- lines on visits to care homes, there is little guidance about visits to people in supported living arrangements. That has a devastating effect on many people with learning disabilities, who often find themselves completely cut off from their traditional support networks. The loneliness that many feel is heartbreaking—and that coupled with depression leads to serious health issues.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell, and I pay tribute to the hon. Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Dr Cameron) for securing this important debate.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics in September shows that disabled people accounted for 59% of covid-related deaths in England and Wales between March and July when the pandemic was at its height. The disproportionality is staggering. In these circumstances, it is vital that our response to the pandemic ensures that people with disabilities continue to receive the services and support they need and that their rights are respected and enacted. Sadly, that has not been the case.
My constituent has severe cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. He occasionally needs help from his colleagues in the office for minor tasks, such as passing folders and opening doors. Until recently, he had been volunteering for a large national charity, working three to four days a week, on shifts, in a job that he loves and that he has been doing for the last four years. In August, he contacted me to say he was told by his manager not to return to work because he would put his colleagues at risk, because of the 2-metre social distancing rule. He said:
“I’m really upset… before February I did a shift every 72 hours with no problem and I have been banned ever since. My boss is holding on to this 2-metre rule for dear life and I really think she has misinterpreted the guidance. Her latest email suggests that the office could be made to shut down if the Government found out that my colleagues were passing me a folder… even though I have made suggestions as to how we can mitigate any risks, my boss says that I cannot 100% guarantee that I will not need close contact help”.
As hon. Members will know, under the Equality Act 2010, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to remove disadvantages faced by disabled employees. The question of what is reasonable will always need to be assessed on an individual basis. In this case, help to maintain social distancing and to protect the health and safety of the workplace are relevant considerations. Will the Government provide greater clarity on how disabled workers can be protected from employers who, shamefully, are using the pandemic as a reason not to make reasonable adjustments in the workplace?
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I am sure hon. Members would agree that it is of grave importance to ensure that Government guidance, communications and changes regarding the restrictions that we face are accessible for those with disabilities. All televised Government press conferences should, therefore, be interpreted live via British Sign Language and should have televised subtitles as standard. All Government communications about new guidance and policies must be created in accessible formats.
More and more, we rely on mobile devices, although I am quite technologically challenged in many ways. These devices, which we rely on so heavily, should now incorporate disability functionality and accessibility into their design. These issues must be researched and taken forward quickly.
This pandemic, as we know, is not going away. Communications must be improved at all levels of government, including local government. Will the Minister build an inclusive approach to communications and involve people with disabilities in the communications strategy?
Regarding restrictions, a survey conducted in April by the Office for National Statistics found that nearly nine out of 10 disabled adults expressed concern about the effect of the pandemic on their lives and their levels of isolation. Many have found it difficult to build confidence to go out, particularly after shielding for so many months. Some 42% of disabled people have reported feeling lonely or isolated due to the pandemic, and 41% of those interviewed by Scope believe that life will become worse for them over the long term.
Sense’s “Forgotten Families” campaign has demonstrated that the health and wellbeing of disabled adults and their family members has been adversely affected by this pandemic. It is vital that people have confidence to go back out into the community within safe restrictions given by Government.
Individuals with health conditions and disabilities are often exempt from wearing face masks. However, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for disability, I have received numerous reports from people with disabilities across the UK who tell me that they have been verbally abused or harassed in the community because they were not wearing a face mask. They have since lost all confidence to go out. Will the Minister support a public awareness campaign about these exemptions and standardise techniques, such as the accessibility of lanyards for people with disabilities or those who may be exempt in a wider group, so that they can go outside with confidence in a safe way, and never again feel the need to justify and explain themselves or deal with harassment?
It would be remiss of me not to highlight the significant consequences of the Coronavirus Act 2020 on the health and care provisions afforded to people with disabilities over the past six months. One service user from Inclusion Scotland described their situation:
“I have gone from 20 hours of care… to ZERO. I am now bedbound completely because of this.”
Another said,
“I am so lonely and feel so depressed. I feel suicidal.”
Research by Leonard Cheshire shows that 55% of disabled people in receipt of social care have experienced changes to their care packages since April and 18% reported difficulties in even accessing food. Action is, therefore, desperately needed to support disabled people and their families to recover from the impact of lockdown. Testing will be fundamental to that, in terms of management in non-community settings; perhaps designating one person per resident as a special visitor in care home accommodation would increase vital contact with family. I would be obliged if the Minister could look at that issue.
The Government must commit to switching off the Care Act easements as soon as it is safely possible and provide reassurance that the high bar set in these easements will not become the new normal in terms of social care for those with disabilities across the UK.
To conclude, I would like to highlight the importance of an inclusive economic recovery plan in education, employment, business and beyond. This is an immense opportunity in many ways for disability inclusion in employment practices across the UK, and to develop strategies to help disabled people start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs.
However, I must begin with a word of caution. Analysis by Disability at Work shows that, historically, disabled people have been disproportionately impacted by economic downturns, in terms of new employment and redundancy. It is therefore vital that inclusion is a core element in the build back better plans that the Government are developing. However, I was incredibly disappointed that the Government’s plan for jobs, which was published recently, mentioned disability only once. I am sure the Minister will highlight that to his Cabinet colleagues to ensure that disability is a priority and retains the status that it should have.
The all-party parliamentary group for disability made several recommendations about employment and preventing people with disabilities from losing their jobs and livelihoods as a result of the long-term consequences of this pandemic. We are asking the Government to monitor and regularly publish data on disability prevalence. Beyond that, we have long recommended that they take steps towards introducing mandatory reporting of employers’ performance on disability inclusion in the workplace. We believe it is vital to make kickstart available to disabled candidates by guaranteeing funding for reasonable adjustments through the Access to Work scheme, but that must be done in a timely manner. We must better promote and fund Access to Work so that it can widen the support that it gives, as it has helped many people into work and to remain in work as disabilities arise.
We believe that there must be a review of the impact and promotion of home working, which might offer flexibility for people with disabilities and help them into employment. The Government should consider introducing a new support scheme or extending furlough for those who are at high risk due to health issues and are unable to return to work safely when furlough comes to an end.
We believe that it is absolutely vital that we change the narrative on entrepreneurship. People with disabilities are pigeonholed unfairly into single issues by the Department for Work and Pensions. There should be a great harnessing of potential, skills and ability. We support self-employment and entrepreneurship among disabled people. I recommend that hon. Members join the new all-party parliamentary group for inclusive entrepreneurship, which has been set up to maximise those ends.
Many hon. Members wish to speak, so I will finish in a moment. I have not been able to touch on education or many of the other areas affected, but I hope other hon. Members will be able to lend their voices to those issues. I agree with the World Health Organisation director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said that those with disabilities
“must not be left behind”
in the covid-19 response. We must ensure that that is undertaken domestically and internationally. I understand that the Minister will not be able to respond on behalf of all his Cabinet colleagues, but I want to reiterate that UK aid should be supporting people with disabilities internationally. We must have a leadership role in the aim of leaving no one behind and meeting the sustainable development goals. We must show true leadership in the UK and beyond.
I am asking the Minister to cover a wide base, and I realise that he will have to speak to his colleagues in order to do that. I thank everyone who has come to the debate, which has wide, cross-party support. I look forward to hearing people’s thoughts, ideas and recommendations. I hope we can have a consensual debate that highlights the great support that people from across parties and across the United Kingdom have for people with disabilities. It is important that we prioritise and support their needs.
The visually impaired also had challenges around NHS appointments, so it would be very helpful if the NHS could consider how it can help visually impaired people when they come to a hospital or a GP’s surgery. The same restriction applies; they are not allowed to bring a companion. However, they feel very insecure about going through the hospital or even the waiting room, and I have had visually impaired people asking me, “What should I do?” and “What should I wear?”, and feeling very frightened, to the point that they did not want to go to their GP or hospital for any reason, because they were just so afraid. Having that information at the NHS and public health level for the visually impaired would be incredibly helpful.
The same applies for face masks and those who are hearing impaired, because if someone reads lips and they can no longer see what someone is saying, it is very difficult. If they are standing there waiting, say at the bus stop, and someone says, “You are too close”, or is shouting something at them, because of the face mask they cannot actually see what that person is saying. We have had reports of hearing-impaired people being abused, kicked and spat on, because they could not hear and they could not see that someone was speaking to them.
I have a few of the transparent face masks, so that the lips can be seen, but having that level of awareness of other people and trying to help them to carry on in normal society is important. I do not think there is anything that the Minister or anyone can do; it is about having an awareness of other people and how covid is affecting them.
My last point is on community or day centres, which are a lifeline to people who might have an adult living with them who has complex disabilities or severe autism. The day centre is a lifeline for that family. Sometimes, the disabled person may be in the day centre for eight hours a day, or it may just be an hour, but it is perhaps the only time, depending on the level of complex disability, that the care-giver or the parent has to take a shower or indeed do anything. What happened during lockdown was that these carers were given 24/7 care of their loved one, who was usually very disabled. They could cope with that on a normal basis, but they had their support completely removed; carers could not find anyone to speak to for support. This does not just come from speaking to people in my constituency. It was national, across the board. I have an incredible day centre in my constituency, Burnham Opportunities Centre, and they were coming in, helping and volunteering for as long as they possibly could, but as the severity of the lockdown continued, they also had to close. I have heard from family after family that if they had a child, or an adult, with complex disabilities living with them, they could not cope by the end, and then returning to work was more than they could handle. Some of them had to quit their employment because they simply could not handle the stress and ongoing responsibility of full-time care.
I know I have gone over my time, but thank you, Mr Rosindell, and I appreciate this consideration of these wider issues. I hope that we will consider a disability awareness charter.
As the Select Committee on Work and Pensions heard during our coronavirus inquiry in April, and as we were already anecdotally aware of people saying, disabled people in work were more likely to be made redundant than non-disabled people. Citizens Advice then showed in its survey that more than a third of disabled people were likely to be made redundant, compared with 17% of the working-age population as a whole. Access to Work is meant to enable disabled people to stay in work, so I ask the Minister this: of the 4.1 million disabled people able to work, how many more disabled people have been able to avail themselves of the support over and above the 43,400 who have done so since the covid pandemic?
What can we do about it? We need to have a supportive shielding system that identifies vulnerable people not via an algorithm but at a local level, with disabled people’s organisations. They have been completely excluded from any decisions made about what is going to affect them. It is not good enough. That needs to be done for all tiers of the new system. Personally, I believe we should be going for a national circuit-breaker. I am a former public health consultant and we know that, because of seeding, local lockdowns will not work.
Access to Work must be extended to ensure that disabled people can work from home wherever possible, or furloughed on 100% pay. The Government must monitor any unlawful discrimination of disabled people in the workplace through the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and must take enforcement action where that is happening. The Government must transfer resources to local authorities not just in terms of the national Test and Trace programme, but also to ensure that adequate support is made available to protect and support disabled people. We are at war with this virus, and the Treasury need to recognise that and invest and support our people appropriately, including disabled people.
The second issue is communication. A number of hon. Members in the Chamber today will, I think, hope that as we move forward, accessible communication will become fully embedded into every single bit of Government communication. I remember sitting in the Minister’s place, and it is difficult to get easy-read versions and British sign language versions when trying to bring out policy recommendations. It takes time and I understand that. We must still challenge ourselves to communicate with everybody when we are communicating with the British public, not just with those who do not have a disability. I challenge the Minister to think of new and better ways to ensure that a lack of information for disabled people is a thing of the past.
Finally, on employment, we know that many thousands of disabled people in this country want to be in employment but are not. The Minister has done an enormous amount to make sure there is support in place to ensure that as many disabled people as possible are able to get into employment, though Access to Work, the Work and Health programme and intensive personalised employment support programmes. We need to redouble those efforts and challenge Access to Work, to make sure adaptive technology is available to disabled people who may now be having to work from home for the first time.
The national strategy for disabled people is a crucial part of supporting people with disabilities in our country and I applaud the work of the Government on that. Can the Minister provide an update on the work that he is doing to make sure that the strategy delivers for every single disabled person in the country, across all Government activity?
It took a few months to get that measure in place, but we are all adapting to new regulations and systems put in place because of coronavirus. Local councils could help to direct people in relation to those issues, but it would be more effective if measures relating to those who have hearing difficulties that need to be addressed came from this place.
Northern Ireland has introduced a circuit breaker, but the rules are not easy for many to understand. Elderly people ring or make a journey to my office to try to understand how they can do things. Do you know why, Mr Rosindell? Because most people want to do it right. They want to know what to do. By and large, most people—probably 98%—will do exactly what they are asked to do. We should try to help them. People want to get a lift to church. A lady who had a heart operation and has not been allowed to drive needs to get to church, because that is probably her only contact with other people. That lady needs somewhere to contact so she can sort that out.
There is an 84-year-old lady who drives her 86-year old brother’s dinner round to him every night. She asked if she was allowed to stay to tidy his kitchen, as she could not do that during the last lockdown. I am not being disrespectful, and neither is she, but by the end of that period, the kitchen was a mess. The cleaning up she had to do on her brother’s behalf was horrendous—those are her words. Can she care for her brother?
I must ask the Minister for a dedicated phoneline for people to get informal help. Can there be a dedicated line for people to ask a question and get some direction and guidance on what they can do? That would be a great helper.
The vulnerable people who hear “circuit breaker” fear that, for them, it will be a life breaker because of the impact the regulations would have on their heads. We must have more information for our disabled and vulnerable and step it up on their behalf. For guidance to be issued a week before might be fine for you and me in this place, Mr Rosindell, but it is not okay for someone to feel for a month like they cannot see or speak to another living person or for someone not to be able to care for those who depend on them. That is happening to people in my area and yours. We must address it quickly.
Only one word can describe the situation, and that is “crisis”. While news reports stoke fears of further restrictions, the simple fact is that, for some, the original restrictions never ended. People with disabilities have suffered isolation, loneliness and the loss of their independence. Emergency measures used to preserve resources for local authorities have led to de facto cuts to social care. We must set this right. Our responsibility to all our constituents and our simple human decency demand that we do so.
There must be an understanding that covid is a long-term problem and a long-term plan must be put in place to safeguard the most vulnerable in our communities. We must increase funding to education and social care schemes to ensure that people with learning and physical disabilities are not left behind. If we do not increase funding, that will have a knock-on effect on the rest of society as families are forced to stop working to care for their disabled family member. That can put serious strains on families, many of whom are not equipped or trained to provide the long-term care that a complex learning or physical disability case requires.
We must ensure that visiting guidelines are clarified, so people can meet with friends and family safely. We must do our best to ensure that the precautions designed to keep us safe do not come at the cost of people’s independence or their ability to communicate.
The pandemic has changed everything. What it should not change, however, is our collective commitment to safeguard the most vulnerable in our community. People with disabilities, both physical and learning, deserve better, and this House should commit to ensuring that. The coronavirus has left disabled people feeling abandoned, ignored and devalued. We must put that right.
Covid-19 has pressed the reset button on so many of the things that we are doing, and on so many commonly-held assumptions and established ways of doing things. When so many practices are being challenged, it is time to implement a recovery plan that consults and proactively empowers disabled people, for the benefit of all of us.