Speeches

Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2015 to Question 223992, how many applications were made to the Access to Elected Office Fund in each year following its establishment; how many of those applications were (a) granted and (b) refused; and what the total amount paid to successful applicants was.

Caroline Dinenage

The number of people who have applied to the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund is in the table below:

Financial Year

Number of applicants (some applicants made more than one application)

2012/13

27

2013/14

34

2014/15

48

The total amount claimed by successful applicants was £271,260 (out of awards totalling £418,733)

An evaluation of the pilot fund is currently being undertaken and will be published in due course. An announcement regarding the future of the fund is anticipated early in 2016.

The information on regional breakdown of expenditure and the diversity of candidates can be found in the tables below:

Region (location of election seat)

Amount claimed and paid (£)

East Midlands

1,099

East of England

480

Greater London

89,399

North East England

4,382

North West England

20,567

South East England

69,474

South West England

21,260

West Midlands

20,281

Yorkshire and Humberside

17,882

Total (rounded)

271,260

Political Party

Amount claimed and paid (£)

Conservative

32,361

Democracy 2015

350

Green

5,791

Labour

120,846

Liberal Democrat

32,601

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

276

UKIP

53,236

Independent

25,798

Total (rounded)

271,260

Gender

Amount claimed and paid (£)

Male

139,524

Female

131,736

Total

271,260

Ethnic Group

Amount claimed and paid (£)

White; all backgrounds

218,117

Mixed ethnic origin

1,348

Asian; all backgrounds

26,680

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British

22,977

Other ethnic group

350

Prefer not to say

1,788

Total

271,260