A new inquiry from the
Work and Pensions Committee will investigate how
disabled people can be better supported to start and stay in work
and the effectiveness of the Government’s recent efforts to
narrow the disability employment gap.
The inquiry will examine the progress being made in reducing the
difference between the proportion of disabled and non-disabled
people in employment since the Committee’s 2021 report, which
warned that DWP’s national
programme for supporting disabled people in work was not
working. Further Committee reports have also voiced concern about Work
Capability Assessmentsand made other recommendations on
improving support for disabled workers.
Despite the Government announcing a series of proposals and
programmes since 2021 aimed at boosting disability employment
rates, the disability employment
gap in 2023 remained unchanged on the previous year at 28.9
percentage points.
Rt Hon Sir MP, Chair of the Work and
Pensions Committee, said:
“Our previous inquiry concluded that the Government’s approach to
helping disabled people in the labour market was just not working
and a renewed effort was desperately needed to break down the
unacceptable barriers that they face.
“Despite a raft of new programmes and policy announcements since,
the disability employment gap remains stubbornly high. Our new
inquiry will dig into the progress being made and look at what
the priority areas should be for both the Government and
employers to help more disabled people find and stay in work.”
Terms of reference
The terms of reference for this inquiry are also available in
British Sign Language,
audio and EasyRead formats.
The Committee is inviting written submissions
in response to the following questions:
- What progress has been made, especially since our 2021 report
on the disability employment gap, on supporting disability
employment?
- How has this progress been achieved?
- What should be the priority actions to enable further
progress with supporting disability employment for: i)
employers; and ii) the Government?
- How can people with disabilities and health conditions be
better supported to start and stay in work? Which disabilities
are associated with the greatest barriers to work?
- What are the barriers to employers hiring disabled people and
ensuring those people stay in work?
- How can employers be better incentivised and supported to
employ disabled people and to adapt jobs and workplaces to better
accommodate their needs?
- How successful have policies, such as Access to Work and the
Disability Confident Scheme, been at increasing employment rates
among disabled people and ensuring disabled people stay in work?
How could they be improved?
- Does self-employment provide a valuable route for disabled
people to find and stay in work? How could support for
self-employed disabled people be improved?
- How will the Government’s announced reforms to disability
employment support, such as Universal Support, WorkWell and the
proposals in the Back to Work Plan, help close the disability
employment gap?
The deadline for submissions is Thursday 28 March 2024.
