Oral Answers to Questions

James Sunderland Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)]

4. What steps she is taking to support people with disabilities into employment.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

11. What steps she is taking to support people with disabilities into employment.

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Justin Tomlinson)]

The Government are committed to seeing 1 million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027. We support disabled people to return to work through our work coaches and disability employment advisers. This is achieved through programmes such as the Work and Health programme, Access to Work and the new intensive personalised employment support programme.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justin Tomlinson]

I am pleased to report that as of last month we are at 17,353. We use Disability Confident to empower employers of all sizes to share best practice. Only last week, I met all the Health and Work programme providers to look at how they can work with those businesses that have signed up for Disability Confident to offer more opportunities for disabled people.

[James Sunderland]

I thank the Minister for his response. What is being done to support ex-forces personnel, who may have physical or mental disabilities, into employment, perhaps even through the auspices of bringing the armed forces covenant into statute?

[Justin Tomlinson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. The Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Will Quince), who is the Minister for Welfare Delivery, has been doing a huge amount of work in leading on that issue. We are making sure that we offer resettlement support; support from our armed forces champions, for which posts there is a £6 million package of support; and early access to the Work and Health programme. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is committed to putting the armed forces covenant on a statutory footing and it will have our full support.