Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on supporting disabled people through (a) the work programme and (b) work choice in (i) each year since 2010 and (ii) total since the introduction of those schemes; and what the total cost of support over the lifetime of the two programmes is estimated to be.

The figures represent the annual expenditure on Work Choice provision from 2010-11 to 2015-16 and estimated spend from 2016/17 to the end of the programme, based on the existing contracts.

It should be noted that with effect from 2015/16, Work Choice provision also includes costs for the Remploy contract. It is not possible to provide information for the amount spent on supporting disabled people through the work programme as this cannot be separately identified.

2010-11 £32m

2011-12 £79m

2012-13 £83m

2013-14 £86m

2014-15 £88m

2015-16 £124m

Total to 2015/16: £492m.

The total over the life of the Work Choice programme is currently estimated to be £645m.