大象传媒

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17th September 2024

bbc.co.uk/accessall

Access All 鈥� episode 125

Presented by Emma Tracey

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EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I absolutely love you listeners, and I will tell you for why: because your emails are epic. Can I say thank you to Gail who got in touch with us when she found us on 5 Live one night when she couldn鈥檛 sleep. So, thank you for going on and subscribing after that. Very good idea, if you鈥檙e listening on 5 Live. Gail is blind and in her 70s, and she鈥檚 really enjoyed the Paralympics coverage, so we really, really appreciate that.

Also thank you to Jane who wrote in. Now, Jane found us through a post on Matt Forde鈥檚 Instagram. Matt Forde was one of our guests at Edinburgh; he鈥檚 a political comedian. But he had some nerves cut when he was getting cancer removed from his spine and he now has to use a catheter when going for a wee, and he talks about that quite a lot. And also this is in Jane鈥檚 future so she was really, really interested in that. She listened because she saw it on Matt Forde鈥檚 socials, and then she went back to the beginning of 2024 and listened to every single episode. Jane, I love you. But Jane said what particularly caught her attention in the Matt Forde episode was the naming of disability equipment, attachments etc, because she has always done that but didn鈥檛 realise it was a thing. She tells us about her gallstone called Gary. He doesn鈥檛 really cause much trouble apparently, he鈥檚 pretty silent, so that鈥檚 good. Well done, Gary. But also her catheters: now, her first catheter was called Clive, and he was supposed to work 24/7 but he literally just stopped, knocked off whenever he liked. So, that was Clive the Catheter. After that she got a catheter called Camilla. Why is it called Camilla? Because she says if you鈥檙e going to have a pipe up your urethra it needs to be a queen. Love that. And she says that it鈥檚 a bit sort of difficult if she does a big bow, kind of hurts a bit, so she has to do a curtsey, so that even sticks with the royal theme. Jane said she wasn鈥檛 sure that she could call herself disabled, she鈥檚 autistic, she鈥檚 got some mental health stuff going on and some physical health as well, but having listened she feels like Access All are her people. And we think you are our person too. Welcome to the gang, Jane, and thank you so much for your incredible email. Can you do better than Jane? If you think so email accessall@bbc.co.uk. And don鈥檛 forget to subscribe on 大象传媒 Sounds. On with the show.

MUSIC-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Theme music.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Welcome to Access All, the 大象传媒鈥檚 weekly disability and mental health podcast. I鈥檓 Emma Tracey. And on this week鈥檚 episode we find out what happens to people with learning disabilities as they hit the age of 40. And Paul Carter speaks to one of the new disabled MPs, Marie Tidball.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Turning 40 can be a tricky milestone for many of us, but it鈥檚 particularly difficult for many people with learning disabilities. New research from Manchester Metropolitan University has found that when you're a member of this community hitting 40 means that your levels of fulfilment drop considerably. Now, that鈥檚 down to a lack of social opportunities and access to meaningful activities. The researchers want that to change. And joining me now to tell me more about it is Pam who has learning disabilities herself. Hi Pam.

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hello.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Now, you work for My Life My Choice, which is a charity led by adults with learning disabilities. What does your job involve?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 My role is a consultant at the charity, so I oversee all of our projects, which is quality checks, which is going in and inspecting people鈥檚 homes to make sure they鈥檙e safe and liveable and they鈥檙e well looked after in their own homes.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Well, that sounds like really important and useful and sometimes fun work as well, Pam.

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Yes it is, yeah.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Also joining me is Professor Sara Ryan from Manchester Metropolitan University, who led the research called Growing Older with a Learning Disability, and who got Pam involved as well. Hi, Sara.

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hello.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Why did you choose to lead on research around getting older with a learning disability?

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I was working with a small charity in Oxfordshire around older family carers. It was a big Lottery funded project. And we went to people鈥檚 houses where they were in their 70s and 80s and they were still caring for a daughter or a son with learning disabilities who was in their 50s or 60s. I just didn鈥檛 realise that people cared for that long, and I just didn鈥檛 really understand why the people being cared for, the people with learning disabilities weren鈥檛 living independent lives as they should be. So, that sort of sparked off an interest in doing this research, which we were funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research. And we set out to find good support for people with learning disabilities as they grow older. Researchers would spend time with people who lived in those houses, homes, and find out what was good about it and how we could replicate that good to spread across the country. Because obviously a lot of people with learning disabilities lead very poor lives.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Tell me about some of the people that you met and some of the main findings from this research?

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The researchers thought they were going to be spending time where people were leading very good lives, fulfilling lives, and ageing with meaning 鈥� which is what the World Health Organisation says, people with learning disabilities have a right to lead lives as they grow older that are full and meaningful. And we found that quite a few people that we spent time with didn鈥檛, and that provision wasn鈥檛 good.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And what kinds of stories did you hear about people who weren鈥檛 living the lives they wanted? So, you already talked about people who were caring for and being cared for by older parents who were coming to the end of their lives. What other stories did you hear about people who weren鈥檛 being fulfilled who were older with a learning disability?

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 We heard about people who were put to bed at 5 o鈥檆lock every evening with the radio on. We heard about people who lived in a house with people that they really didn鈥檛 get on with, and they鈥檇 lived together for about 10 or 15 years in one case. We heard about people who lived in shared life settings; so supposedly they lived with another family. So, you live with another family, fair enough maybe, although that family is going to grow older so you鈥檙e going to reach the same problems that you do if you鈥檇 stayed with your own family. But in one part of the country where we spent time with shared lives providers in the daytime people with learning disabilities were sent to a day centre which was literally a room for their whole day where the television was on. People were just bored.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Pam, you worked with Sara on this, what was your role in the research?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 We co-produced a project. My role was just doing the interviews and seeing who wanted to be on the project and be involved in the research.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Were you surprised at what you found? What were the things that were most surprising to you?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 People being shoved in rooms and not actually getting out and living in the community and enjoying the community, like most of us.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Yeah. Were you surprised at that?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I was very surprised, yeah.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 You went abroad, Pam, to talk about the findings of the research. You went to Iceland. Can you tell me about that?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Yeah, we went to Iceland and presented at the Iceland鈥檚 conference. Yeah, we presented there and it was the best presentation they鈥檇 heard all day, so it was really enjoyable to actually get out and take it somewhere else.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And for both of you when you鈥檙e talked to other countries about your research have you found that it鈥檚 the same in other places? Where does the UK stand in terms of older people with learning disabilities and their quality of life?

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Here in England we sort of have poor care. We don鈥檛 treat people like they鈥檙e humans, which allows them to be very abused and impoverished in terms of not enjoying their lives. There鈥檚 no aspiration, there鈥檚 no expectation that people will have relationships, get married, have children, go to work. And so when people grow older their life has been the same as it was ten years ago, 20 years ago.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Pam, you worked on the study but you also have your own experiences as a woman of a certain age with a learning disability. Tell me about those?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I struggled at school and college when I was younger. But I did get a good job, and now I can live in the community and enjoy my life, and go to gigs and events and stuff.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, you鈥檙e very independent. How have you managed to achieve that, Pam, when so many people in your situation are struggling to be fulfilled?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Well, through My Life My Choice and being part of that charity has made me make loads of new friends, and getting out in the community is a great idea. I mean, I鈥檝e managed to get in the community myself by fighting for the community. I鈥檓 now married, happily married, 26 years nearly [laughs].

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Oh wow.

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And I have stepchildren. I鈥檓 very happy living in the community and being part of My Life My Choice.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Have you got friends, well you鈥檝e just told me you鈥檝e got lots of friends with learning disabilities, do many of them have the quality of life that you have, Pam? Or are you particularly lucky, do you think?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 No, a lot of them have good lives. There鈥檚 a lot that have been shoved in day centres and are just doing plastics into boxes and sorting out plastic, which is not a good life I think.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, boring jobs. So, they might have a job but it鈥檚 not fulfilling?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 No, it鈥檚 not fulfilling.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Okay. Sara, why do so many people have these bad experiences? You mentioned difficulties around care. Is it also around awareness in wider society of learning disability and of what鈥檚 needed?

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I think there鈥檚 an ignorance that people are treated in ways that isn鈥檛 really seen. It鈥檚 almost like if you have a learning disability professionals who have had all that training, all that experience, just stop seeing the person; just see a learning disability, and then lose any sense in terms of what they鈥檙e doing. If you think even in our research finding people who are put to bed at 5 o鈥檆lock with a radio; people weren鈥檛 allowed drinks after 6pm. 50 or 60 years, could you imagine not being allowed to go in the kitchen and being able to get a drink?

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Yeah.

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Being put at bed for 5pm and they鈥檇 be in that bed for the next, well it鈥檚 over half a day, isn鈥檛 it? 5pm and then get up at 9 or something, that鈥檚 16 hours of the day you are in bed. I mean, that is barbaric.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It鈥檚 a massive lack of stimulation, isn鈥檛 it? But Sara, many of the professional bodies who are looking at the quality of care for older people with learning disabilities might say that the system is working because these people have access to good food, they have access to decent lodgings. I mean, you鈥檝e mentioned many of the problems, but I guess it鈥檚 hard for a professional body to say something is wrong if the basic needs are met.

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 That鈥檚 so interesting because that鈥檚 what the Care Quality Commission used to do, it used to be are you safe, well fed, clean; if you were then you鈥檝e got a good life, you get a good rating. But that is no life at all. You have to lead a life, and our research found a good life is a life that鈥檚 growing, a good life is a life when you do different things, when you go out and about and you mix with people and you do what you like, and if you love being out in the fresh air you go out in the fresh air. That鈥檚 what a life is.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 What are the changes that you would like to see to make sure that as many older people with learning disabilities in England can live the lives they want?

SARA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I think money鈥檚 a feature obviously because of the social care cuts that we鈥檝e had and being in a period of austerity. But it鈥檚 not just about money because one provider that we spent time with everybody they supported had a key worker, and they changed that key worker after six months so the person didn鈥檛 get too attached to them. The basis of good care is affection, is to like the person you鈥檙e supporting. That doesn鈥檛 cost money; that鈥檚 about culture.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Pam, what would you like to see change?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Get people out into the community and enjoying the life they should be enjoying, and not stuck in rooms.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And what do you hope happens now that you鈥檝e done this research? What do you hope this research will do?

PAM-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hopefully it will get people in the community where they belong, and the right support.

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Well, Pam, keep doing what you鈥檙e doing. And Sara, the same. Pam and Sara Ryan, thank you very much for joining me.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 We contacted the government about some of the things that Sara Ryan and Pam said in this episode and they told Access All: We contacted the government about some of the things that Sara Ryan and Pam said in this episode and they told Access All.

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MALE: 鈥淲e are determined to tackle the significant challenges facing social care head-on. This government is committed to ensuring everyone is able to live independent, dignified lives.鈥�

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FEMALE A spokesperson for the Care Quality Commission said:听

鈥淚n addressing recommendations of where care has fallen far short. We developed an approach that improves the CQC's ability to identify and take appropriate regulatory action in services that fail to meet the aspirations of people with a learning disability and autistic people.鈥�

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EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Do you remember when I interviewed someone from every major party, apart from Reform UK because they didn鈥檛 put anyone up, in the run-up to the General Election? Now, I asked them how many disabled people they had standing for election, and some of them didn鈥檛 really know. And it is a bit complicated, to be fair. But after that John Pring and the Disability News Service put in a freedom of information request. They wanted to know how many members of the new parliament had discussed disability related adjustments, and whether they would possibly need them. And the result that came back was 43. More than 20 of those went on to have their adjustments agreed. And there were less than 10 disabled MPs in the previous parliament. Obviously that鈥檚 not a definitive number of disabled MPs because some don鈥檛 disclose that they have a disability, but it is looking like it鈥檚 far more disabled people in this parliament than it was in the previous one which had around 10 disabled MPs. Now, one new MP who is very open about her disability is Labour鈥檚 Marie Tidball. She has a disability affecting her four limbs, and shortly after she was elected she spoke to Paul Carter about settling into her job, finding an accessible office space, and about what more there is to do to make politics more accessible. So, here鈥檚 that chat between Paul Carter and Labour鈥檚 Marie Tidball:

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Marie Tidball is the Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, and has a formidable task ahead of her: she鈥檚 pledged to smash the glass ceiling which is currently preventing more disabled people from getting elected. Before she entered the Commons Dr Tidball, to give her her official title, had a long career as an academic and briefly as a journalist, and she鈥檚 been a lifelong disability campaigner. Hello Marie, welcome to Access All. Thank you for being here.

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Oh, thanks so much for having me. It鈥檚 great to be here.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Now, obviously people who are listening to this won鈥檛 be able to see, but I can see on my screen you appear to be in quite a grand looking location. Whereabouts are you at the moment?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I鈥檓 in a ladies鈥� members room because none of us have offices yet, none of us new MPs, so we鈥檙e all just trying to find little places that we can work that are quiet and then do things like this.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 How are you settling into life as an MP? I mean, I know it鈥檚 not been very long yet.

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It has been a whirlwind because we came straight down to parliament on the Monday, straight after having been elected on the Thursday. And I have to say that parliamentary staff have been incredible. I spoke to the workplace adjustment team almost straightaway; they rang me on the Saturday after I鈥檇 been elected. They鈥檝e done a really brilliant job working out what support I would need and any help with day-to-day things before I get staffed. Because being a Labour gain, happily, I don鈥檛 have a staff team in place that I can take on from the previous MP, so that鈥檚 quite a long process. And so I鈥檓 in the process of recruiting PAs to help me with some disability-related support, diary management, that kind of thing. And then I鈥檒l have my full constituency and Westminster staff team. So, it鈥檚 quite a lot of work but it鈥檚 been really great. And I was sworn in, needed a special session with some of the other disabled MPs so that we didn鈥檛 have to queue for very long, which really, really helped. And also working out ways to reserve a seat for me in chamber without me having to go down early in the morning and do that myself.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 What was campaigning like for you?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I discovered not long after I鈥檇 been selected that I鈥檓 the first person in over 100 years to have grown up in my constituency to go on to be a Commons Member of Parliament. And it was just such a poignant part of the campaign. When I was door knocking I met teachers that I hadn鈥檛 seen for 20 years. I also bumped into my special care baby unit nurse when I was out on the campaign trail who hadn鈥檛 seen me since I was really tiny. And for when I was born they didn鈥檛 know how long I would live for and what operations I might need, so the fact that she just turned around and saw me on the doorstep was a thoroughly emotional moment [laughs].

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Do you have any specific access needs or reasonable adjustments you needed?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, it was challenging, but because I鈥檇 been a councillor and cabinet member previously I kind of knew what to expect. And early on the key thing for me was motivating lots of people to come and help with the campaigner. So, my crew of drivers were just fantastic, and had great tunes along the way as well [laughter] which made it all the more enjoyable.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It always helps, you鈥檝e got to have tunes, right. So, I鈥檓 sure you鈥檙e aware there used to be the EnAble Fund for elected office which offered grants between 拢250 and 拢40,000鈥�

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Yes.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥�to support disabled candidates standing for election. I mean, it isn鈥檛 available anymore. Is that something that would have been helpful to you, do you think?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Definitely I think it would have been at different points. I think it鈥檚 useful to have an overall sense of what disabled people might need and sharing our experiences. And there was a lot more resource available in terms of staff times. But I think generally that does need to be there, and possibly even thinking about the kind of support that could help disabled candidates across all parties during this election process, because that鈥檚 another segment which has got its own barriers and its own issues. So, I鈥檓 really proud that the party overall has said that we very much want to learn from the benefits from the all-women鈥檚 shortlists that Labour put in place in the Equality Act in 2010 to make sure that we are looking at how we increase and improve representation at all levels of government. And I think that鈥檚 very exciting to me because we know that there are 14 million people in this country who have a disability, 20% odd of the working age population, and we definitely need to have more of us in parliament. So, it鈥檚 working out how we can remove those barriers and make that more accessible for more disabled people.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Yeah, you鈥檝e touched on it there, how do we go about making that change? You mentioned women-only shortlists there for example, what about disabled-only shortlists? How would that work?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, this is something that I have written about in the past and how you might want to make that change. I think having spoken to lots of people within the disability community and other disabled friends I think there are views on both sides and whether they think it would work for them. But I think it has to be an open conversation and then put forward the benefits and disbenefits and come to a consensus collectively on what they think might work. But for me at this stage it鈥檚 also about opening up those processes to describe the things that work well for me, and the bits of advice that I can give in terms of things that help. So, as I say, the way to balance your time during a long campaign, because I was a candidate for two years so it was a long slog.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And as we mentioned, it鈥檚 only been a few weeks, how are you finding the House of Commons and the parliamentary estate in terms of accessibility? Because, as we all know, it is a very old building and very old estate. How are you finding just basic things like getting around and being able to do your job?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Well, at the moment we don鈥檛 have offices, but no new MPs have offices yet. And the whips on our side have been really supportive in talking to me about what my needs would be, what would make it most accessible. I鈥檓 hoping to go and look at a possible office this afternoon. The key thing has been how helpful the staff have been in parliament in terms of assisting people to navigate around the space. And it is long distances, and I very much plan my time so that I do the things that I need to do when I鈥檓 in certain parts of the building so that I don鈥檛 have to go back and forth across different bits of the estate. When I get my diary manager in place in September we鈥檒l very much be working with them to make sure that they consider that. There are accessible routes around most of it, and all of the doorkeepers and other staff members here and security are really good at pointing those out, and where the lifts are. So, a lot of it is really about time management and thinking about where you鈥檝e got to get to at what point. So, that is a bit of a challenge, and it鈥檚 a challenge because I tend to carry lots of heavy things. But there have been parliamentary staff that while I don鈥檛 have my own team have been really helpful in helping to get bags across the estate for me when I need that. And we鈥檝e got lockers on site.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It was recently announced that Stephen Timms is the new Minister of State for Social Security and Disability. That鈥檚 quite a big brief. Disability campaigners are asking how much time he鈥檒l actually have to take on the challenges facing disabled people.

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 He is an extremely experienced parliamentarian. He鈥檚 worked in the Treasury previously. I have no doubt that he is absolutely suited and will be able to meet and rise to that challenge, and is already doing so. But what I鈥檓 really enthused about is that right across our manifesto, because we had the missions, each of them were very much seen to be intersecting, and disability was considered right across the piece. And speaking to quite a lot of my Cabinet colleagues at different times over the last two years as I have I know so many of them are really passionate that disability is woven through absolutely everything that we do. So, if we just think about, for example, mandatory disability pay gap reporting, that鈥檚 front and centre of what we鈥檝e said we want to happen for organisations over 250 people. We want to make sure that there are stronger family-friendly rights, including carers leave, in our new deal for working people. I鈥檓 thrilled that if you look at every single strand of each of the missions there is thinking about where disability is relevant, making sure inclusive living is a principle that鈥檚 at the heart of the work that we do on independent living. Yes, Stephen鈥檚 got a big job; but he鈥檚 absolutely up to that and I know will do that really, really well.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 But surely you can understand people鈥檚 concerns? We鈥檝e seen a lot of conversation about this that wouldn鈥檛 it help to have a minister whose brief is solely disability, as it has been in previous governments?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Well, I think Stephen will deal with the job really well and in the portfolio he has. And I鈥檓 very much a believer that the approach that the UN take is the right approach, which is you look at how you can weave disability in across all areas from a very general perspective, and then you have focus on specialist areas. And that鈥檚 what Stephen will be doing. And I think actually there is a value to making sure that it鈥檚 not just seen to be relevant to one minister鈥檚 brief, because actually we get a much more inclusive parliament, a much more inclusive government, if everybody recognises it鈥檚 relevant right across the piece.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 And you鈥檝e mentioned a lot of the policies and initiatives that the government are planning around disability. I guess the big question is how long is all of this going to take to enact?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I know that there鈥檚 a real drive to move at pace for the work on making sure that Access to Work is improved. We鈥檝e seen a real negative growth in the waiting lists for that and workplace adjustments as a result. And the Labour Party is really determined to try and speed that up, and I think that鈥檚 something that they鈥檙e really keen to pursue as quickly as possible.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, we mentioned you鈥檙e an academic too. you had a book out earlier this year called Disabling Criminal Justice. Can you tell me a little bit about that and what that was about?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Yes, so Disabling Criminal Justice is about the treatment of autistic adult defendants in the English criminal justice system. And I did a piece of work that involved research following eight autistic defendants through the court process over a number of years. When I was following the defendants through the court process I ended up getting to know and sitting with, often while I was watching the cases, their family members. And so one of the chapters is about the impact of that process on their family members. And again, that wasn鈥檛 something that had been looked at previously. It was tough to write sometimes, and I really wanted to make sure that I鈥檇 done a thorough job. So, I hope there鈥檚 some really meaty material for people to get their teeth stuck into.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Between being a campaigner, an MP, an academic, a mum, your life sounds incredibly busy, what do you do to let off steam?

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 That very much is the case [laughter], but happily so. Well, I love spending time with my little one doing quite a lot of creative things together. I haven鈥檛 had chance to do it for a long time but I really, really enjoy doing a bit of drawing and painting myself. I鈥檓 also a bit of a gardener, I used to have an allotment many, many years ago, and although we鈥檝e got quite a small garden now I really enjoy doing that. It鈥檚 probably the only thing [laughs] that stops me thinking about work. I鈥檓 a bit of a telly addict too, I have to confess.

PAUL-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Thanks so much, Marie. Good luck with the new job and thanks for chatting to us.

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Thanks ever so much.

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EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 It鈥檚 a wee while, a few weeks since that chat was recorded, so we went back to Marie鈥檚 people to find out whether she鈥檚 managed to get the adjustments she needs, so a diary manager, accessible office. And she sent us this voice note:

MARIE-听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Hello. So, I鈥檓 two months into the job right now and some things have changed after a very intensive summer of recruiting my team. I鈥檝e now got all my staff in post so I鈥檓 really delighted about that. Within that team I鈥檝e got some disability-related support, which has been amazing and really, really helpful with particularly the long days in parliament, and extra support in terms of taking dictation and helping to organise my diary and carrying bags and things around the enormous parliamentary estate. I鈥檝e also now got my office up in Westminster. Our whips have absolutely outdone themselves; it鈥檚 a really great location which means that I can get to the chamber in quick time, and the office is really accessible for me. So, that really feels fantastic to have moved forward on those areas and really start to hit the ground running as the Member of Parliament for my constituency. It also means that I鈥檝e been able to focus on making contributions in the chamber. In our second week back I asked three questions to different ministers on issues that were important in our constituency, and that was really important to me, including raising an issue around a domestic violence issue that happened a number of years ago, and getting the agreement of the minster to meet with me and the mother of the two victims, who sadly died. I also asked about issues around Yorkshire Water and sewage in our beautiful River Don, and the wait that our local people have to be able to get to speak to their GPs. So, it really feels like we are doing the best for our constituents now that we鈥檝e got everything up and running and in place, and looking forward to have my first advice surgeries over the coming weeks, and making sure that we鈥檙e doing that very regularly around the constituency too.

MUSIC-

EMMA-听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Thank you for listening. Thanks to Paul Carter for chatting to Marie Tidball when I was on my holidays. Thanks to Sara and Pam for chatting to me about life when you鈥檙e getting older and have a learning disability. If you want to get in touch with us about any of the things that we鈥檝e discussed in this episode, or any other episode frankly, because you guys are epic with the emails, you can contact on accessall@bbc.co.uk. Or you could pop onto the WhatsApp and you could send us a voice message or a text message, just start with the word Access and send it to 0330 123 9480. We are also on the socials @大象传媒AccessAll. Thanks for listening. See you later. Bye.

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