Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of disabled people in work; and whether his Department is planning to set targets.

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.

Since quarter 1 2016, the number of working aged disabled people in employment has increased by over 170,000 to 3.5 million in quarter 1 2017. The disability employment rate has increased by over 2 percentage points and now stands at 49 per cent.

We know that there is much more that needs to be done, so that everyone who can work is given the right support and opportunities to do so. This Autumn we intend to set out our next steps following last year’s Improving Lives: Work, Health and Disability Green Paper and the consultation that followed this.