Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government by what percentage they expect to close the Disability Employment Gap in (1) 2020, (2) by 2025, and (3) by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
We are committed to reducing the disability employment gap, and will report on progress regularly. We will consider the case for a target as part of our work on the new National Disability Strategy which we have committed to publish by the end of 2020.
In 2017, the Government set out its commitment to see one million more disabled people in employment by 2027. In the first two years of the commitment (between Q1 2017 and Q1 2019), the number of disabled people in employment increased by 404,000 while the disability employment gap has reduced by 1.4 percentage points.
We help disabled people enter and stay in work through a range of programmes including the Work and Health Programme, the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme, Access to Work and Disability Confident. We have invested in a programme of trials and tests to identify effective models of health and employment support to help people with health conditions or disabilities to stay in work or return to work. In the 2019 consultation, Health is Everyone’s Business, we set out proposals to support and encourage employers to be better at managing health issues in the workplace. A copy is attached.
The Government has also announced that the Department for Work and Pensions will be bringing forward a Green Paper in the coming months on health and disability support. This will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants with disabilities and health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that people trust and enables them to live independently and move into work where possible.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the Disability Employment Gap by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
We are committed to reducing the disability employment gap, and will report on progress regularly. We will consider the case for a target as part of our work on the new National Disability Strategy which we have committed to publish by the end of 2020.
In 2017, the Government set out its commitment to see one million more disabled people in employment by 2027. In the first two years of the commitment (between Q1 2017 and Q1 2019), the number of disabled people in employment increased by 404,000 while the disability employment gap has reduced by 1.4 percentage points.
We help disabled people enter and stay in work through a range of programmes including the Work and Health Programme, the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme, Access to Work and Disability Confident. We have invested in a programme of trials and tests to identify effective models of health and employment support to help people with health conditions or disabilities to stay in work or return to work. In the 2019 consultation, Health is Everyone’s Business, we set out proposals to support and encourage employers to be better at managing health issues in the workplace. A copy is attached.
The Government has also announced that the Department for Work and Pensions will be bringing forward a Green Paper in the coming months on health and disability support. This will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants with disabilities and health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that people trust and enables them to live independently and move into work where possible.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the most common physical impairments to employment.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The table shows the numbers of disabled people in or out of work, and the employment rate of disabled people by main physical health condition in the UK in April to June 2017. The most common physical conditions for disabled people in and out of work are musculoskeletal conditions.
| In work (000s) | Out of work (000s) | Total disabled people (000s) | Disabled employment rate (%) | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with arms or hands | 246 | 212 | 458 | 53.7 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with back or neck | 585 | 452 | 1,036 | 56.4 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with legs or feet | 432 | 333 | 765 | 56.5 | |
Difficulty in seeing | 47 | 38 | 85 | 54.9 | |
Difficulty in hearing | 40 | 24 | 65 | 62.3 | |
Severe disfigurements, skin conditions, allergies | 53 | 30 | 82 | 64.0 | |
Chest or breathing problems, asthma, bronchitis | 235 | 198 | 433 | 54.4 | |
Heart, blood pressure or blood circulation problems | 203 | 210 | 412 | 49.1 | |
Stomach, liver, kidney or digestive problems | 217 | 143 | 361 | 60.3 | |
Diabetes | 142 | 117 | 259 | 55.0 | |
Epilepsy | 26 | 66 | 92 | 28.0 | |
Progressive illness not included elsewhere (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis, symptomatic HIV, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy) | 157 | 259 | 416 | 37.7 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total with a physical health condition | 2,381 | 2,082 | 4,463 | 53.4 |
Source: Characteristics of disabled people in employment, DWP/DHSC, Table 4, April to June 2017
Notes:
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to conduct an audit to determine the most common physical impairments to employment; and when any such audit may take place.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The table shows the numbers of disabled people in or out of work, and the employment rate of disabled people by main physical health condition in the UK in April to June 2017. The most common physical conditions for disabled people in and out of work are musculoskeletal conditions.
| In work (000s) | Out of work (000s) | Total disabled people (000s) | Disabled employment rate (%) | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with arms or hands | 246 | 212 | 458 | 53.7 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with back or neck | 585 | 452 | 1,036 | 56.4 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with legs or feet | 432 | 333 | 765 | 56.5 | |
Difficulty in seeing | 47 | 38 | 85 | 54.9 | |
Difficulty in hearing | 40 | 24 | 65 | 62.3 | |
Severe disfigurements, skin conditions, allergies | 53 | 30 | 82 | 64.0 | |
Chest or breathing problems, asthma, bronchitis | 235 | 198 | 433 | 54.4 | |
Heart, blood pressure or blood circulation problems | 203 | 210 | 412 | 49.1 | |
Stomach, liver, kidney or digestive problems | 217 | 143 | 361 | 60.3 | |
Diabetes | 142 | 117 | 259 | 55.0 | |
Epilepsy | 26 | 66 | 92 | 28.0 | |
Progressive illness not included elsewhere (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis, symptomatic HIV, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy) | 157 | 259 | 416 | 37.7 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total with a physical health condition | 2,381 | 2,082 | 4,463 | 53.4 |
Source: Characteristics of disabled people in employment, DWP/DHSC, Table 4, April to June 2017
Notes:
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support SMEs to employ more staff with disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap and seeing a million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027. We offer support to employers of all sizes and to disabled people who wish to get or keep employment, through a range of initiatives.
Disability Confident engages with employers ranging from large multinational corporations to local businesses. This scheme, which was developed by employers and disability organisations, encourages and supports employers to think differently about disability and to take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled employees.
Over 16,500 employers are currently signed up to Disability Confident, of whom over 80% are small and medium enterprises, and that number is growing all the time.
Access to Work supports people with a disability or health condition that affects the way they do their job to enter, sustain and progress in their employment. The scheme offers individually tailored support, advice, and if necessary a discretionary grant of up to £59,200 per year to cover costs above the level of employers’ statutory obligation to provide reasonable adjustments.
We will publish a National Strategy for Disabled People before the end of 2020. This will look at ways to improve the benefits system, opportunities and access for disabled people in terms of housing, education, transport and jobs.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many National Referral Mechanism referrals submitted to (1) the National Crime Agency, and (2) UK Visas and Immigration, are awaiting a conclusive grounds decision, broken down by year of submission.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Crime Agency regularly publishes National Referral Mechanism (NRM) data, including the “National Referral Mechanism Statistics Annual Report 2018” on 20th March 2019, available at:
These published statistics include a summary of current status for cases between 2013 and 2018, including numbers of cases pending a NRM decision (Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds combined).
The statistics also provide the decision status of 2018 cases, including those pending a Conclusive Grounds decision (as at 12 March 2019), split by grouped nationalities (UK, EU (non-UK), Other, and Not Known), and by claimed exploitation type.
The statistics also detail the number of cases allocated to each Competent Authority in 2018, however the published statistics do not provide breakdown of pending decisions by Competent Authority, i.e. National Crime Agency and UK Visas and Immigration.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their commitment to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, what steps they are taking to ensure that people living more than 50 per cent below the poverty line in the UK are not left behind.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
This government is committed to delivering a sustainable long-term solution to poverty, by building a strong economy and ensuring that the benefit system works with the tax system and the labour market, to support employment and higher pay.
The Government does not publish data on those living more than 50% below the poverty line as comparisons of household income and expenditure suggest that those households reporting the very lowest incomes may not have the lowest living standards, meaning such a measure is likely to be unreliable.
The Department for Work and Pensions, through its Jobcentre Plus network and local delivery partners, provides support for vulnerable customers or those with complex needs to address barriers so that they can move forward with their lives.
A report on progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda will be presented to the UN’s High Level Political Forum in July as part of the UK’s Voluntary National Review. The Department for Work and Pensions is leading work across Government to assess progress against the first of these goals: ‘End poverty in all its forms everywhere’.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many potential victims of modern slavery referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in 2018 had been through the NRM before.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Crime Agency regularly publishes National Referral Mecha-nism (NRM) data but does not publish data on potential victims that have been through the NRM previously.
The National Crime Agency published the National Referral Mechanism Statistics Annual Report 2018 on 20th March 2019:
http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics/2018-nrm-statistics/1019-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-annual-report-2018
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are offering to communities outside London, including (1) Inverclyde, (2) Rochdale, (3) Manchester, (4) Boston, and (5) Leicester, to tackle knife-related crime.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 9 April 2018, the Government published a new Serious Violence Strategy to take action to address serious violence and in particular the recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide. The Serious Violence Strategy set out the Government’s response to serious violence and it outlines an ambitious programme involving 61 commitments and actions. Since launching the Strategy in April last year, we have made significant progress in delivering on our key commitments including:
• The Early Intervention Youth Fund of £22m, which is already sup-porting 29 projects in England and Wales
• Provision of £3.6m for a new National County Lines Co-ordination Centre. The centre was established to tackle violent and exploitative criminal activity associated with county lines and became fully operational in September 2018;
• The National County Lines Coordination Centre has co-ordinated two separate weeks of intensive law enforcement action resulting in more than 1000 arrests, over 1300 individuals engaged for safeguarding, and significant seizures of weapons and drugs;
• An anti-knife crime Community Fund which provided £1.5 million in 2018/19 to support 68 projects;
• The Offensive Weapons Bill to strengthen legislation on firearms, knives and corrosive substances; and
• A national knife crime media campaign - #knifefree - to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime.
On 2 October 2018 the Home Secretary announced further measures to address violent crime:
• a consultation on new legal duty to underpin a ‘public health’ ap-proach to tackling serious violence this would mean police officers, education partners, local authority and health care professionals will have a new legal duty to take action and prevent violent crime.
a new £200 million youth endowment fund- this will be delivered over 10 years and will support interventions with children and young people at risk of involvement in crime and violence. It will focus on those most at risk, such as those displaying signs such as truancy, aggression and involvement in anti-social behaviour; funding interventions to steer children and young people away from becoming serious offenders; and
• an Independent Review of Drug Misuse. On 8 February, we appointed Dame Carol Black to lead a major review that will look into the ways in which drugs are fuelling serious violence.
The approach establishes a new balance between prevention and the rigorous law enforcement activity. It will shift our approach towards steering young people away from crime in the first place and put in place measures to tackle the root causes. We believe that the approach set out in the Strategy, with a greater emphasis on early intervention, will address violent crime and help young people to develop the skills and resilience to live happy and productive lives away from violence but we cannot deliver this alone
On 13 March the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Spring Statement that there will be £100 million additional funding in 2019/20 to tackle serious violence, including £80m of new funding from the Treasury. This will allow police to swiftly crack-down on knife crime on the areas of the country and also allow investment in Violence Reduction Units.
Inverclyde is in Scotland and is therefore covered by the Scottish Government. Through the Early Intervention Youth Fund and the anti-knife crime Community Fund, we have invested in projects in Greater Manchester (including Rochdale) and Leicester. All forces, including Greater Manchester Police, Leicestershire Police and Lincolnshire Police (including Boston) participated earlier this month in Operation Sceptre, the national week of enforcement action against knife crime.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied children seeking asylum who have received a decision on their case in the last 18 months were waiting for a decision for (1) over two years, (2) 18 months to two years, (3) one year to 18 months, and (4) six months to one year.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not publish this data in the format requested, however we are committed to publishing more detailed figures in future data releases.
We are able to provide a breakdown of total applications pending by duration (±6 months), but we can’t separately identify UASC’s in the dataset. The table has been reproduced below:
Pending Duration (Initial Decision) | Main applicants | Main + dependants |
More than 6 months | 12,213 | 16,555 |
Less than 6 months | 15,043 | 19,300 |
Total | 27,256 | 35,855 |
Children and unaccompanied children seeking asylum, like anyone else claiming asylum in the UK, can claim in two ways; either at port of entry or at one of the national intake units.
The Home Office takes its responsibility for the welfare of children very seriously, including ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in every decision taken in respect of the child. There are stringent statutory and policy safeguards in place in the asylum process for unaccompanied children, in recognition of their additional needs.
While in the UK, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are looked after by local authorities who have a statutory duty to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. Under these arrangements, children are assessed with regard to their individual needs and provided with access to education, accommodation and health services, as would be provided to any other looked after child in the UK.