Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's policy is on halving the disability employment gap by 2020.

Making progress on the government’s manifesto ambition to halve the disability employment gap is central to our social reform agenda, by building a country and economy that works for everyone, whether or not they have a long-term health condition or disability.

We have seen nearly 600,000 more disabled people in employment over the past three years. Over the same time we’ve seen the employment rate for disabled people increase by nearly 5 percentage points, where it now stands at 48 per cent. But we know that there is much more that needs to be done, so that everyone who can work is given the right support and opportunities to do so. We know that halving the disability employment gap is ambitious, and will take time to achieve.

The Green Paper ‘Improving Lives: The Work and Health Disability Green Paper’ (published on 31^st October 2016) sets out the short-term action we intend to take to bring about change. It also asks questions on ideas for longer-term reform over this Parliament and beyond through a formal national consultation, so that our systems, sectors and social attitudes all work together to help achieve the ambition of halving the disability employment gap.