DISABILITY CONFIDENT EVENT PORTSMOUTH

by : Dave Taylor

On Friday 9th September Portsmouth held it’s first disability confident event at the Victory Suite Fratton Park Portsmouth Football Club, it was  hosted by Portsmouth South MP Flick Drummond and supported by Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt who was in Rio cheering on our paralympics there were local business and charity organisations in attendance too.

Flick Drummond explained the disability confident event was set up by David Cameron when he was Prime Minister so that disabled people could get back into work and went on by saying that most disabled people want to get back into work, but employers do not know how to deal with certain disabilities such as Autism, so this is a way to get employers and disabled groups together so that they can overcome this and employ more disabled people.

Flick said it must be so debilitating just sitting around the home day in and day out, so by getting into some kind of employment be it voluntary part time or even full time will them she also acknowledges that it can not be easy for someone with a disability.

This will be a nationwide event said Flick and she started working on it in March and was pleased it has begun in Portsmouth.

Now David Cameron is now longer the Prime Minister Flick is confident that Teresa May will continue this campaign, and if she is not interested in doing so Flick will ensure the new Prime Minister will continue the momentum.

Flick said we are going through a period of uncertainty regards to Brexit but would encourage employers to keep going and there are only a few employers who only operate in the UK who were not worried if we left the EU or not.

Flick was also pleased that unemployment was still going down, but we must ensure that disabled people were among those numbers, there are around 3 million disabled people in work at present.

Anyone who wants to work must be given the chance to do so and we will work our hardest to help.

It was put to Flick that the DWP must have more training on dealing with disabled people, be it through call centres or in the local high street offices, Flick said if they have not i will do my damnedest to ensure they do especially through events like this.