Disabled People in Poverty Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Work and Pensions
David Pinto-Duschinsky
Main Page: David Pinto-Duschinsky (Labour - Hendon)Department Debates - View all David Pinto-Duschinsky's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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David Pinto-Duschinsky (Hendon) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine.
If we are to be serious about tackling poverty among disabled people, we need to be honest and focused on tackling its root causes and on making sure that the system is sustainable. The overwhelming driver of poverty among disabled people is low levels of employment. Only 54% of disabled people are in work; that is 30% lower than the average for people without disabilities. Shockingly, 43% of disabled people are economically inactive, and our employment rates lag far behind those of other countries, such as Canada’s at 62%. We cannot just ignore worklessness as the driver of poverty. The JRF says that people in full-time work are five times less likely to be poor than those in no work.
David Pinto-Duschinsky
No thank you; I have very little time.
We have to deal with the root causes, so we have to focus on work. We also have to deal with the sustainability of the system, which is currently unsustainable. PIP claimant levels have risen at twice the level of underlying ill health. The rise since 2016 alone is equivalent to the entire police grant for England and Wales. If we are to sustain the system for the long term, we must make it sustainable. The proposed changes will not affect 90% of people. They will protect the most vulnerable and make the system fit for the future. That is why we should support them.