International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Debate between Debbie Abrahams and Richard Baker

Tuesday 3rd December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams]

Again, that is a very important point. We have seen the decimation of services—social services, but also those in the charity sector—so my hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that point.

The investigating committee found that the Government had implemented a policy aimed at reforming their welfare system, and that those reforms had been justified in the context of austerity measures to achieve consolidation of fiscal and budgetary policy. However, the impact assessments conducted by the Government prior to the implementation of several of their welfare reform measures expressly foresaw an adverse impact on disabled people, but those assessments were ignored. Evidence gathered nationally by many disabled people’s organisations, charities, academics and many more showed the adverse and disproportionate effects of those welfare reform measures on persons with disabilities.

The impacts on the health of disabled people were also documented in a 2021 report assessing the health effects of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. This should have been a wake-up call for the Government of the day, but unfortunately, even after the tragic deaths of dozens if not hundreds of disabled social security claimants over the past five years, the UN committee published a follow-up report in March this year in which it said that

“no significant progress has been made in the state party concerning the situation of persons with disabilities addressed in the inquiry proceedings”.

That report stated that while some measures had been taken to address the committee’s recommendations, there were also

“signs of regression in the standards and principles of the convention”.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister will be aware, the committee has asked for a report by March 2029 to update it on the implementation of those recommendations. I know that he takes this issue very seriously, but despite the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act 30 years ago, we have seen other areas of discrimination against disabled people. The Office for National Statistics conducted qualitative research that examined the experiences that people with disabilities had with activities, goods and services in the UK. It found barriers including physical access, restrictive building layouts, inaccessible online services, poor information provision and inflexible design of customer services that do not consider accessibility for a broad range of needs.

Our train network does not have level access, about which we heard Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson make a plea in the summer, when what she was put through was outrageous. When I had a presentation on the trans-Pennine route upgrade, I was absolutely shocked to find that the rolling stock, which is yet to be commissioned, is not going to provide level access. It is absolute nonsense that that is not even in the design for that procurement, so we must do better. Given that the new rolling stock will not be out until 2029, I am hoping there will be time for people to think again, because that is just not good enough.

The difference in education outcomes is also shocking. According to the ONS, only a quarter of disabled people aged 21 to 64 have a degree or equivalent as their highest qualification compared with nearly 43% of non-disabled people. In addition, disabled people are almost three times more likely to have no qualifications than non-disabled people. Disabled people are also less likely to have GCSE grades of C and higher in comparison with non-disabled people. We know that disabled people do not have the same experience of UK schools as their non-disabled counterparts, and that barriers exist for these children across the educational system. I remember doing some work on this in my own constituency, and it was quite shocking to see the difficulties that disabled children face.

The cost of living crisis has hit disabled people harder than the wider population. Many disabled people have vital equipment that is expensive to run. The extra costs are estimated at over £975 a month on average. Imagine if that additional cost was one that everybody had to face, because we would really feel the pinch. A survey carried out by Sense found that 85% of people with complex disabilities are worried about this rising cost of living. If we look at employment, we need to remember that the disability employment gap sits at nearly 30%, as it has for many years. According to the ONS, there are 2.2 million disabled people who want to work but need support to get into work. Disabled jobseekers can face barriers on seeking employment, including from employers who believe that it is too difficult, risky or expensive to hire someone with disabilities. All organisations need to understand the challenges faced by disabled jobseekers.

[Richard Baker (Glenrothes and Mid Fife) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is unacceptable that only 7% of people with a disability in our country are in paid employment when so many more want to work? Does she also agree that it is vital that, as the Government look to get more people into work, we have equal opportunities and equal access to the workplace for disabled people?

[Debbie Abrahams]

I absolutely agree, and that is the point I am trying to make. There is a 30% gap between non-disabled and disabled people in work, with so many—as I say, 2.2 million—who want to work and are able to work. We must do better on that, and I know my right hon. Friend the Minister is absolutely committed to doing so. On top of that, we also have the disability pay gap, at nearly 14%, which again has increased. This is just not good enough.

I was really reassured by the statement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the “Get Britain Working” White Paper last week, with the recognition of what we need to do and how we need to change, and I look forward to seeing how this evolves. I am pleased that the Government will, for example, be introducing disability pay gap reporting, which will help lead the way in addressing the lack of disabled people in senior roles. When I was writing this speech, I remembered when I introduced a ten-minute rule Bill on this point back to 2015. Again, let us try and get this going a little bit more quickly.

Shining a light on inequality in pay encourages organisations to examine critically their hiring, promotion and compensation processes. Again, we all know from our own experience how, if we report something that we find is not working correctly, we are more likely to change things. I know my right hon. Friend recognises that not all disabled people can work, and that we must provide appropriate, timely and adequate financial support for disabled claimants, without a punitive and burdensome application and assessment process. I look forward to the Green Paper on that in the spring. I was heartened by the Secretary of State’s commitment to work with disabled people on that. She used the phrase “Nothing about me without me”, which should reassure people.

At its core, the theme of this year’s International Day of Disabled Persons is all about leadership, and as a nation we are introducing legislation and policy to enable a new generation of leaders with lived experience of disabilities. As a Parliament we must continue to lead by example and ensure that we make the right accommodations and adjustments for disabled colleagues. I am proud that nine of my parliamentary colleagues have declared a disability in this House, but we have a long way to go to being proportionately representative of the population as a whole in that sense.

Nearly four years on from another Adjournment debate I secured, I close my remarks by remembering those disabled people who lived in vulnerable circumstances and were let down by the then social security system. As I said earlier, there are dozens if not hundreds of families affected by the death of a vulnerable claimant, and the book “The Department” by John Pring describes some of those tragic deaths. I have got to know the families of Errol Graham, Philippa Day and Jodey Whiting. Errol Graham was a grandfather with a severe mental illness who starved to death alone in his flat, months after having his benefits stopped. He weighed five and a half stone when he was found. Philippa Day was a young mum who was found dead with a letter beside her from Capita, contracted by the Department for Work and Pensions, refusing her a home assessment visit over her benefits. Jodey Whiting also had poor mental health and other complex needs. She took her own life a fortnight after her benefits were wrongly cut off in 2017. They were appallingly let down by the Government of the day who should have been there for them.

Earlier this year the Equality and Human Rights Commission finally launched an investigation into potential discrimination at the Department for Work and Pensions through failure to protect claimants with learning disabilities or severe mental illness. I pay tribute to the families, charities, organisations, and individuals who constantly pushed on that issue to keep pressure on the EHRC to act. As Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, I am pleased that we have re-opened the inquiry into safeguarding vulnerable claimants, which was paused due to the general election. Although the Government have changed, and with them has come a change in attitude, the Department’s failure over the last 14 years must be fully examined to ensure that no more vulnerable claimants die. I urge Members to reflect on the past treatment of disabled people, and look ahead at creating a welfare system that, like our NHS, is there for all of us in our time of need.