Welfare Reform (People with Disabilities)
Debate between Debbie Abrahams and David Burrowes(8 years, 10 months ago)
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Debbie Abrahams
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I will come on to the additional costs of being disabled.
Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)
The hon. Lady mentioned percentage of GDP, which I might address later if I have a chance to catch Sir Roger’s eye. What does she think the percentage should be? We spend 0.7% on international development and 2% on defence. What does she think is the appropriate and right percentage of GDP to spend on disability?
Debbie Abrahams
I would not be so pushy as to state such figures at this stage in a Parliament. I am making a point about the mood music that the Chancellor in particular is stressing before the next Budget. I warn hon. Members that we are not over-generous; our spend is 1.3%, and we need to bear that in mind.
There are more than 12 million people in the UK living with a disability, impairment or limiting long-term condition, 7 million of whom are of working age. That is one in five of the population. Of those, 4 million working-age disabled are working already, and another 1.3 million can and want to work but are currently unemployed.