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Disability minister Harper accused of hypocrisy

MARK_HARPER_mainTHE Minister for Disabled People has been accused of hypocrisy, after announcing the winners of his Accessible Britain awards, writes JOHN PRING.

A leading disabled people’s organisation, Equal Lives, said that Mark Harper should “put his own house in order before preaching to others”.

The awards were launched last September, three months after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) promised to close St Mary’s House, an inaccessible disability assessment centre in Norwich.

Nine months after the pledge to move assessments to a more accessible location, disabled people are still being forced to make long journeys to alternative centres, three years after the problems were first drawn to the government’s attention.

But Equal Lives also pointed to the revelation by Disability News Service that Mr Harper’s own constituency office in Cinderford, in Gloucestershire, was not accessible to many disabled people.

Mr Harper is one of four coalition ministers – including the prime minister, David Cameron – who have been exposed for running inaccessible constituency offices.

Mark Harrison, chief executive of Equal Lives, said: “They are even presenting awards in conjunction with the British Institute of Facilities Management and one of the categories is ‘innovative use of buildings, spaces and places’.

“I am sure the irony of this is not lost on the thousands of disabled people who have been forced to travel hundreds of miles for their assessments because the DWP won’t lease a suitable premises.”

He added: “It also demonstrates the contempt this government has for disabled people.

“There is one rule for disabled people and another for the private sector, bankers and ministers who see themselves as being unaccountable and above the law.”

The awards ceremony at the House of Commons saw the Corporate Disability Access Forum in west Cheshire, the YMCA Community Gym in Peterborough, the live music accessibility charity Attitude is Everything, and the Safe Place project in Poole and Bournemouth all recognised for their “life-changing” work on improving access.

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