Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2017 to Question 8608, when he plans to announce the proposed next steps on statutory sick pay.

Improving Lives: The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper was published on 31 October 2016 and the consultation closed on 17 February 2017. As noted in response to PQ 8608, this included consultation on how Statutory Sick Pay could be reformed to encourage supportive conversations between the employer and employee and make it easier for people to make a phased return to work.

The issues addressed by the Green Paper are wide-ranging and complex and as such received a high level of responses. We are now carefully considering the consultation responses and next steps for longer-term reform and will set these out in the autumn.

The Government is committed to improving employment outcomes for disabled people. The manifesto commitment underpins this with a clear and time-bound goal-to see 1 million more disabled people into work over the next 10 years.