P-06-1158 The Welsh Government to put in place a dedicated disability Minister within the next term of Government

Petitions4

This petition was submitted by Alex Chung, having collected a total of 315 signatures.

Text of Petition:                    

With one in five people here in Wales living with a disability according to ONS. It has never been more important for Wales to become a truly inclusive nation for all it citizens. We want Wales to become the first devolved nation to have it own dedicated disability Minister. With a dedicated minister focusing on disability can we make bigger strives towards, a fairer employment system, more opportunities for disabled students and greater support for mental health.

Additional Information:

Examples of statistics of disability in Wales.

(1)Over one in five people of working age in Wales have a disability.

(2)21 per cent of rail stations in Wales do not have step-free access, and at the current rate stations will not be accessible till 2070.

(3)1 in 4 people have a mental health problem.

(4)330,000 unemployed disabled people last year. Last year 81.8% Non-disabled people were employed compared to 53.2% of disabled people at the same time from ONS (U.K)

These are just a few examples of why having a dedicated disability minister within the Welsh Government can sort these matters surrounding disability within Wales.

(1)https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Equality-and-Diversity/Disability/summaryofeconomicactivityinwales-by-yeardisabledstatus-fromapril2013

(2)Leonard Cheshire. Trains for All Campaign, 2019

(3)ONS, Psychiatric Morbidity, 2007

(4)https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/bulletins/disabilityandemploymentuk/2019

Status

This petition was considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 20/09/2021.

The Committee welcomed the establishment of the Ministerial-led Disability Rights Taskforce which will be taking forward the recommendations of the report by the Disability Equality Forum, which includes a call for a dedicated Disability Minister. It therefore agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner.

Full details of the consideration of this petition by the Committee and related documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above.

It was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 16/07/2021.

Senedd Constituency and Region

• Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
• South Wales East

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