Ideal Queen’s Speech: Making political information accessible to all

For United Response, our ideal Queen’s Speech would address the dearth of accessible information on politics and policies that is available to the 1.5 million people with learning disabilities in the UK, so that this disenfranchised group can better engage in the democratic process.

People with learning disabilities are affected by the political decisions that politicians make in the same way as everyone – often more so in many cases – and yet they are often not included in the debate due to information not being available in the right format.

Through our recent Every Vote Countscampaign, we aimed to break down the barriers facing people with learning disabilities when it comes to voting, and to raise awareness of peoples’ right to vote.

The campaign also worked to raise awareness of the needs of people with learning disabilities among politicians and candidates, and urged them to create their own voting materials in an easy read format.

We applaud the main political parties for publishing easy read versions of their manifestos alongside the text versions, but more must be done to ensure that this extends to include all legislation and policy announcements throughout the duration of a Government.

Through our own work in this area, we know the appetite that there is among people with learning disabilities for such information.

United Response launched Easy News- the first accessible news magazine for people with learning disabilities – back in 2013. The magazine aims to keep people with learning disabilities informed of the big news event. It is produced by people with learning disabilities and/or autism who are employed to select and translate news stories into an easy read format.

In surveys, 90 per cent of readers told us that they found the magazine easier to understand that more traditional newspapers and TV sources. 73 per cent could also name a recent big news event compared with only 37 per cent when the magazine first launched. When asked about politics, only 31 per cent of readers felt that politics made a difference to their lives when the magazine first launched. A year later, 78 per cent of readers said that politics make a difference to their lives, highlighting the increased political engagement of readers.

In the coming months, the Government is expected to bring forward a large amount of legislation, a significant proportion of which will directly affect the lives of people with learning disabilities. From the scrapping of the Human Rights Act, to further welfare legislation and changes to the benefit cap, all these proposals will have an impact on people with learning disabilities.  

We therefore call on the Government to commit to taking forward proposals to improve radically the rights of people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health conditions. This will ensure that people with disabilities are fully involved in the debate on these issues and others, by consulting with them and providing them with information that specifically meets their needs.