Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of SMEs employing staff with disabilities between 2015 and 2020.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined as businesses which employ less than 250 employees.
In 2019, there were 5.82 million small businesses (0 to 49 employees) and 35,600 medium-sized businesses (50-249 employees) in the UK. 4.46 million of these do not employ anyone. 1,155,385 had 1-9 employees, 211,295 had 10-49 employees, and 35,585 had 50-249 employees.
Source: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (2020). Business population estimates for the UK and regions: 2019 statistical release.
While there are currently no robust estimates of the total number of businesses that employ staff with disabilities, DWP research does provide evidence of the proportion of establishments who have recruited employees who are disabled or have a long-term health condition in the previous 12 months.
The 2015/2016 DWP Employer Experience Survey and the 2018 DWP Employer Engagement Survey collected data from 4,200 and 4,201 telephone interviews of GB employers respectively. The surveys only considered workplaces with at least two members of staff.
The fieldwork periods for the two surveys were October 2015 to February 2016 and February to June 2018.
The surveys asked those employers who said they had tried to recruit in the last 12 months whether they had recruited someone who is disabled or who has a long-term health condition:
Establishment size | % of establishments that had recruited in the last 12 months | Of those establishments that had recruited, whether they had recruited someone who is disabled/has a long-term health condition | ||||||
Yes | No | Don’t know | ||||||
2015/16 | 2018 | 2015/16 | 2018 | 2015/16 | 2018 | 2015/16 | 2018 | |
2-9 employees | 43% | 38% | 12% | 11% | 86% | 82% | 2% | 7% |
10-49 employees | 82% | 76% | 15% | 19% | 81% | 74% | 4% | 6% |
50-249 employees | 96% | 96% | 31% | 31% | 57% | 51% | 11% | 18% |
250+ employees (2015/16 only) | 97% |
| 55% |
| 22% |
| 23% |
|
250-499 employees (2018 only) |
| 99% |
| 44% |
| 35% |
| 21% |
500+ employees (2018 only) |
| 100% |
| 53% |
| 25% |
| 22% |
Sources: Department for Work and Pensions (2019). DWP Employer Engagement survey 2018. Research report 977.
Department for Work and Pensions (2017). DWP Employer Experience survey 2015/16. Research report 948.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government by what percentage they expect to close the Disability Employment Gap in (1) 2020, (2) by 2025, and (3) by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
We are committed to reducing the disability employment gap, and will report on progress regularly. We will consider the case for a target as part of our work on the new National Disability Strategy which we have committed to publish by the end of 2020.
In 2017, the Government set out its commitment to see one million more disabled people in employment by 2027. In the first two years of the commitment (between Q1 2017 and Q1 2019), the number of disabled people in employment increased by 404,000 while the disability employment gap has reduced by 1.4 percentage points.
We help disabled people enter and stay in work through a range of programmes including the Work and Health Programme, the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme, Access to Work and Disability Confident. We have invested in a programme of trials and tests to identify effective models of health and employment support to help people with health conditions or disabilities to stay in work or return to work. In the 2019 consultation, Health is Everyone’s Business, we set out proposals to support and encourage employers to be better at managing health issues in the workplace. A copy is attached.
The Government has also announced that the Department for Work and Pensions will be bringing forward a Green Paper in the coming months on health and disability support. This will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants with disabilities and health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that people trust and enables them to live independently and move into work where possible.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the Disability Employment Gap by 2030.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
We are committed to reducing the disability employment gap, and will report on progress regularly. We will consider the case for a target as part of our work on the new National Disability Strategy which we have committed to publish by the end of 2020.
In 2017, the Government set out its commitment to see one million more disabled people in employment by 2027. In the first two years of the commitment (between Q1 2017 and Q1 2019), the number of disabled people in employment increased by 404,000 while the disability employment gap has reduced by 1.4 percentage points.
We help disabled people enter and stay in work through a range of programmes including the Work and Health Programme, the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme, Access to Work and Disability Confident. We have invested in a programme of trials and tests to identify effective models of health and employment support to help people with health conditions or disabilities to stay in work or return to work. In the 2019 consultation, Health is Everyone’s Business, we set out proposals to support and encourage employers to be better at managing health issues in the workplace. A copy is attached.
The Government has also announced that the Department for Work and Pensions will be bringing forward a Green Paper in the coming months on health and disability support. This will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants with disabilities and health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that people trust and enables them to live independently and move into work where possible.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the most common physical impairments to employment.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The table shows the numbers of disabled people in or out of work, and the employment rate of disabled people by main physical health condition in the UK in April to June 2017. The most common physical conditions for disabled people in and out of work are musculoskeletal conditions.
| In work (000s) | Out of work (000s) | Total disabled people (000s) | Disabled employment rate (%) | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with arms or hands | 246 | 212 | 458 | 53.7 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with back or neck | 585 | 452 | 1,036 | 56.4 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with legs or feet | 432 | 333 | 765 | 56.5 | |
Difficulty in seeing | 47 | 38 | 85 | 54.9 | |
Difficulty in hearing | 40 | 24 | 65 | 62.3 | |
Severe disfigurements, skin conditions, allergies | 53 | 30 | 82 | 64.0 | |
Chest or breathing problems, asthma, bronchitis | 235 | 198 | 433 | 54.4 | |
Heart, blood pressure or blood circulation problems | 203 | 210 | 412 | 49.1 | |
Stomach, liver, kidney or digestive problems | 217 | 143 | 361 | 60.3 | |
Diabetes | 142 | 117 | 259 | 55.0 | |
Epilepsy | 26 | 66 | 92 | 28.0 | |
Progressive illness not included elsewhere (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis, symptomatic HIV, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy) | 157 | 259 | 416 | 37.7 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total with a physical health condition | 2,381 | 2,082 | 4,463 | 53.4 |
Source: Characteristics of disabled people in employment, DWP/DHSC, Table 4, April to June 2017
Notes:
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to conduct an audit to determine the most common physical impairments to employment; and when any such audit may take place.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The table shows the numbers of disabled people in or out of work, and the employment rate of disabled people by main physical health condition in the UK in April to June 2017. The most common physical conditions for disabled people in and out of work are musculoskeletal conditions.
| In work (000s) | Out of work (000s) | Total disabled people (000s) | Disabled employment rate (%) | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with arms or hands | 246 | 212 | 458 | 53.7 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with back or neck | 585 | 452 | 1,036 | 56.4 | |
Problems or disabilities (including arthritis or rheumatism) connected with legs or feet | 432 | 333 | 765 | 56.5 | |
Difficulty in seeing | 47 | 38 | 85 | 54.9 | |
Difficulty in hearing | 40 | 24 | 65 | 62.3 | |
Severe disfigurements, skin conditions, allergies | 53 | 30 | 82 | 64.0 | |
Chest or breathing problems, asthma, bronchitis | 235 | 198 | 433 | 54.4 | |
Heart, blood pressure or blood circulation problems | 203 | 210 | 412 | 49.1 | |
Stomach, liver, kidney or digestive problems | 217 | 143 | 361 | 60.3 | |
Diabetes | 142 | 117 | 259 | 55.0 | |
Epilepsy | 26 | 66 | 92 | 28.0 | |
Progressive illness not included elsewhere (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis, symptomatic HIV, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy) | 157 | 259 | 416 | 37.7 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total with a physical health condition | 2,381 | 2,082 | 4,463 | 53.4 |
Source: Characteristics of disabled people in employment, DWP/DHSC, Table 4, April to June 2017
Notes:
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support SMEs to employ more staff with disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap and seeing a million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027. We offer support to employers of all sizes and to disabled people who wish to get or keep employment, through a range of initiatives.
Disability Confident engages with employers ranging from large multinational corporations to local businesses. This scheme, which was developed by employers and disability organisations, encourages and supports employers to think differently about disability and to take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled employees.
Over 16,500 employers are currently signed up to Disability Confident, of whom over 80% are small and medium enterprises, and that number is growing all the time.
Access to Work supports people with a disability or health condition that affects the way they do their job to enter, sustain and progress in their employment. The scheme offers individually tailored support, advice, and if necessary a discretionary grant of up to £59,200 per year to cover costs above the level of employers’ statutory obligation to provide reasonable adjustments.
We will publish a National Strategy for Disabled People before the end of 2020. This will look at ways to improve the benefits system, opportunities and access for disabled people in terms of housing, education, transport and jobs.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their commitment to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, what steps they are taking to ensure that people living more than 50 per cent below the poverty line in the UK are not left behind.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
This government is committed to delivering a sustainable long-term solution to poverty, by building a strong economy and ensuring that the benefit system works with the tax system and the labour market, to support employment and higher pay.
The Government does not publish data on those living more than 50% below the poverty line as comparisons of household income and expenditure suggest that those households reporting the very lowest incomes may not have the lowest living standards, meaning such a measure is likely to be unreliable.
The Department for Work and Pensions, through its Jobcentre Plus network and local delivery partners, provides support for vulnerable customers or those with complex needs to address barriers so that they can move forward with their lives.
A report on progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda will be presented to the UN’s High Level Political Forum in July as part of the UK’s Voluntary National Review. The Department for Work and Pensions is leading work across Government to assess progress against the first of these goals: ‘End poverty in all its forms everywhere’.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each year since 2012, what proportion of the population aged between 18 and 59 over the preceding four years were claiming working age benefits for three of those four years.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
This statistic was part of a series last updated in April 2016 and has since been discontinued. It formed part of the Social Justice Outcomes Framework which was replaced by the Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families indicators, published in April 2017. Any new statistic measuring the duration of working age benefit claims would need to incorporate Universal Credit data. As a result, the information requested is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Government still produces data on long-term worklessness and on some individual out-of-work benefit claim durations. The Office for National Statistics publishes data on children in long-term workless households and on households where all members have never worked. There is also available data on the duration of Job Seeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance claims.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to release an updated progress report of the indicators included in the Social justice: transforming lives report published in March 2012.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The indicators from the Social Justice Outcomes Framework were replaced by the Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families indicators. On 4th April 2017, the Government published Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families which set out a framework for a continued focus on improving children’s long-term outcomes. This included publishing nine national indicators and underlying measures to track progress in tackling the disadvantages that affect families’ and children’s outcomes. The Government has a statutory duty to report data annually to Parliament on two of the nine indicators and made a commitment to publish the latest data on the seven non-statutory indicators each year.
The Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families indicators were last updated on 28th March 2018 and can be found in the attached document.
Asked by: Baroness Stroud (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the UK spends on family benefits; and how this compares to other countries in the OECD.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The latest data shows that the UK spends 3.8 per cent of GDP on expenditure classified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This is more than any other country in the OECD.
“Family benefits” include cash benefits, such as person tax credits, Child Benefit; maternity benefits and child Disability Living Allowance; and benefits in kind covering child care and social services. They do not include other benefits that might be available to the claimant, such as Personal Independence Payment or Housing Benefit.