Motion on the #WeThe15 Campaign

That this House Acknowledges:

1. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games begin in August of this year and are an excellent opportunity to showcase what people with disabilities are capable of.
2. That currently 15% of the World’s population has a disability, and according to the IPC, 85% of disabled people around the world live in poverty.

This House calls on the Government to:

1. Provide a statement to this House on how they are removing barriers to disability inclusion in British society
2. Work with Governments around the world to improve disability inclusion
3. Develop a plan to better promote and fund disability sport throughout the United Kingdom.

This motion was written by the Right Honourable Sir Scubaguy194 MP MSP CT KG MVO, is presented as a Liberal Democrat Motion, and is cosponsored by Coalition!.

Opening Speech:

Deputy Speaker,

With your leave, I would like to introduce a motion which highlights a very serious issue in both British and wider Western Society.

To give some brief background, the #WeThe15 campaign is an international effort to highlight one of the most unseen minorities in our society, those living with a disability. The figures surrounding this group of people are quite startling. As detailed in the text of the motion, 85% of disabled people across the world live in poverty. According to the ONS, Between 2013 and 2019, the disability employment gap has reduced; with the latest data showing roughly half of disabled people were in employment (53.2%). This is compared with just over four out of five non-disabled people (81.8%).

It is imperative that this country does more for people with disabilities. We must work hard to improve accessibility and funding to ensure that people with disabilities can take part in as much as possible that non-disabled people are able to do. Funding sports in which disabled people can partake in to put them on an even footing with able-bodied sport, and ensuring that everyone can have the opportunity to access sport and the benefits it entails. Further, we should exert our soft power influence to ensure that developing nations support their people with disabilities appropriately, and promote a world that is truly equitable and where everyone can achieve.

Thank you.

Link to debate can be found here

This Division shall end on the 4th September at 10pm