December marked Disability History Month. It’s an opportunity for us all to reflect and celebrate the progress made for disability rights and to act on what we can do to support disability equality in the future.
This year, the theme has been disability, livelihood and employment. You may know that, aged 19, Alison Griffiths, Member of Parliament for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton lost 70% of her hearing from bacterial meningitis. So, she is determined to speak up and ensure people get the support they need.
Alison was honoured to take part in a Westminster Hall debate ahead of the Christmas recess. During the debate, she highlighted some significant milestones: in 1995, John Major’s Conservative Government introduced the first UK legislation to protect disabled people from various forms of discrimination. Meanwhile, the ‘Access to Work’ scheme has helped remove some of the barriers that employers may perceive in taking on a disabled employee.
However, Alison knows we can go even further. Alison will use every opportunity she has to ensure we do so.
Watch the debate in the video above.
