Lord Ashley of Stoke (Lab) introduced the Bill; he stated the principle of the Bill: “to change the whole ethos of the debate on disability from a discussion on how we take care of helpless people to a discussion of equal citizens who happen to have a disability.”

He said that in order to rescue one-fifth of the adult population classed as disabled, comprehensive legislation that will “provide real opportunities of equality and independence and place specific duties on public authorities” and “a duty on the secretary of state to prepare and implement a national strategy for independent living” is necessary. The Bill would also impose duties on local authorities and the NHS. Lord Ashley made the case for disabled people to choose whether they would like to live in an institution, and if so, who they would live with – he said that “if and when the Bill becomes an Act, it will be unlawful to force anyone into an institution against their will—and about time too.”

The Bill would compel local authorities to “identify all disabled people in the area and maintain a register of them”, provide a “wide range of assistance”, as well as a matching service for disabled people who require housing.

Conservative spokesperson for health Baroness Verma described the Bill as “incredibly vital” and said “the funding of social care has to be seriously revisited.” She made the case for giving disabled people the right to access and develop services that would enable them to “live as independently as possible”.

Government spokesperson for health Baroness Royall of Blaisdon expressed that while the government are “committed to working to deliver equality for disabled people” it is “not convinced of the need for all aspects of this legislation at this time.” She added: “There are parts of the Bill with which we might disagree or that we believe are already achieved through existing provisions. There would also be major cost implications if all that is proposed were implemented at the pace implied in the Bill.”