Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure people with physical disabilities are able to access job opportunities in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with physical disabilities, and have a range of support available so individuals can stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. These include Additional Work Coach Support which provides disabled people and people with health conditions with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work and access wider support including our employment programmes earlier. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales, informed by trialling in Jobcentres.

Employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. The Disability Confident Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. The Minister for Social Security and Disability has been discussing ideas for making the Disability Confident scheme criteria more robust with stakeholders and will be bringing forward proposals for this in due course.

To build on this, the government has commissioned “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025.