Asked by: Lord Smith of Clifton (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that deafblind people and those with complex needs are not prevented from securing meaningful employment due to low expectations of the professionals who are charged with supporting them into work.
Answered by Lord Freud
In the last three years, the number of disabled people in work has increased by almost half a million. But we recognise that the gap between the employment rates of disabled people and non-disabled people remains too large. That is why we are committed to halving it.
We will soon publish a Green Paper on work and health.
All Stakeholders have an important part to play in making the transformative changes required so that everyone has the chance to go as far as their talents will take them, including people who are deafblind and those with complex needs.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Clifton (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many 18 to 21 year-olds in (1) England, and (2) Greater London, claimed (a) Jobseekers' Allowance, and (b) Employment and Support Allowance, broken down by those in the work-related activity group, and those not.
Answered by Lord Freud
Please see table below for requested information;
Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) | Total | Age Group |
Caseload (Thousands) | ||
Total | 634.61 | 124.73 |
London | 105.5 | 17.84 |
Employment & Support Allowance (ESA) | Total | Age Group | Work Related Activity Group |
Caseload (Thousands) | |||
Total | 2,355.16 | 187.57 | 465.86 |
London | 289.65 | 17.77 | 47.11 |
Notes:
Data is not available for age group 18-21 years, therefore data provided covers 18-24 years.
The Management Information cannot identify the claimants who fall under the requested age range and those which are in the work related activity group.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Clifton (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for the latest year for which figures relating to 18 to 21 year-olds in England, (1) how many claimed Jobseeker's Allowance (a) in the first six months of the year, and (b) in total; (2) how many claimed Employment and Support Allowance, and of those, what proportion became part of the work-related activity group; and (3) how many entered the Work Programme.
Answered by Lord Freud
The information requested regarding part (1), how many claimed Jobseeker's Allowance (a) in the first six months of the year, and (b) in total, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
There were 38,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand) claims made to ESA by 18-21 year-olds in England during the business year 2013-14, of whom 2,000 (6%) were assigned to the work-related activity group.
Between April 2014 and March 2015 there were 24,660 18 to 21 year-olds, in England, referred to the Work Programme. Please note this is rounded to the nearest ten and referrals are 'net' referrals which do not include rejections, cancellations or referrals to ESA information sessions.