I received the following message from Baroness Campbell of Surbiton DBE, in a group email. I thought it was worth sharing here, as everyone needs to know how disabled people are being affected by this coronavirus panic.

Disabled people – including in Parliament and the House of Lords – are in greater need to self-isolate and, as such, cannot necessarily stand up for themselves and our communities. This is where non-disabled people have to do solidarity work.

I am deeply concerned about a whole range of risks that are currently facing disabled people who require support to survive in the community. We have been notably left out of the C19 response narrative and this has caused extreme anxiety amongst our community. People with 24-hour support who employ their own PAs, such as myself, cannot even get the basic protective equipment to keep our staff and ourselves safe. Because we are not seen as part of the professional care infrastructure (nursing homes, agencies, NHS staff) we have been effectively ignored.

As a result I wrote to the social care Minister 9 days ago and have still not received a reply. I cannot participate in the second reading debate today (self- isolation) on the emergency legislation and neither can several other good disabled advocates, who are members of the House of Lords. This again makes me very concerned that our voice and our issues will not be heard/debated.

I urge as many of us as possible (organisations of all disabled people and our allies) to raise these points and work together to make as much noise as possible.

With best wishes Jane

Baroness Campbell of Surbiton DBE

Law Lords Corridor, Principal Floor

House of Lords

Westminster SW1A 0PW

Phone: +44 (0)20 7219 5124

Parliamentary email: campbelljs@parliament.uk