Deaf News: Deaf local election candidate ‘denied’ interpreter funding by Government

A Deaf candidate standing for election in North Somerset has accused the Government of “denying” him communication support, after officials told the local council that they could not provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter for the count next month.

The Liberal Democrats had hoped that their Portishead East candidate, Paul Welton, would be provided with an interpreter on results night as part of the council’s duties under equality legislation.

However, after North Somerset Council contacted the Government Equalities Office (GEO) for advice, they were told that the responsibility was with political parties, and the council went on to cancel their support.

In a statement, Welton said: “in 2021, disabled people should have the same opportunities as others”.

“I am disappointed that the Government Equalities Office are preventing disabled candidates from accessing support. They are denying me access to the communication I need to run for public office as a Deaf candidate, rather than enabling access to myself and other Deaf candidates.”

“Disabled residents shouldn’t have to constantly remind public bodies of our needs,” he said.

https://twitter.com/Huwniverse/status/1382266854815756289?s=20

In an email seen by The Limping Chicken, an official from the GEO said: “It is the Government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office. In 2019 the Government passed legislation to exempt disability-related expenses from a candidate’s electoral spending limits.

“However, it is the responsibility of political parties to support their own candidates with additional costs for adjustments during campaign periods.”

A grant to support disabled candidates with access costs, the Access to Elected Office Fund, was set up in 2012, before being scrapped in 2015.

A replacement was launched in 2018, the EnAble Fund, which ran until the end of March last year after the coronavirus pandemic delayed local elections to 2021.

Disability Rights UK, who delivered the fund with the Local Government Association, said in April 2020 that they had asked the government to pledge that they will put support in place for thus year’s council elections.

“However, they have only been able to advise us that the government is considering options for future support for disabled candidates ahead of next year’s elections, in connection with the National Strategy for Disabled People.

“We are not satisfied with the response from the Government Equalities Office – disabled people deserve more than ‘a consideration of options’,” the charity’s statement read.

Welton’s election agent, Councillor Huw James, said in an email that the Government’s stance on the issue is “downright disgraceful”.

“The North Somerset Liberal Democrats will be supporting Paul for these costs, which are exempt from election expenses thankfully.

“However, the entire policy position that a party and candidate must pay is one that effectively makes it hell for Deaf candidates to run, as can be seen by the shear amount of Deaf people who feel excluded and unable to even put their names forward for election,” James wrote.

The Limping Chicken understands that the Liberal Democrats’ headquarters has since been contacted for legal advice.

Welton isn’t the only Deaf candidate to have experienced access issues for May’s local elections, with Labour’s Lee Starr-Elliott withdrawing his candidacy in Bristol due to a lack of support.

In a public statement on his Facebook profile on 2 April, he wrote: “I sought support from my regional office, in line with their duties under the Equality Act […] to provide a BSL interpreter for local, regional and national events and online training.

“I’m sad to say my request was not even acknowledged. This led me to filing an official complaint, which has yet to be resolved, despite having the made the complaint nearly 5 months ago!”

The candidates standing for election in Portishead East are:

• Sophie Davies, Labour
• Caroline Goddard, Portishead Independents
• David Oyns, Conservative and Unionist Party
• Paul Welton, Liberal Democrats

Photo: North Somerset Liberal Democrats.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.