Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the single largest cause of sickness-related economic inactivity.

There are often multiple and complex reasons why a person is economically inactive due to long-term sickness. They are also likely to face several barriers in returning to the labour market. For example, they are:

• Likely to have multiple long-term health conditions (80% report more than one condition);
• More likely to have no qualifications (30% compared to 16% of people inactive for any reason); and
• Unlikely to have worked for some time (67% have not worked in the last two years).

Source: Employment of disabled people 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).