Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to close the pay gap between people (a) with and (b) without disabilities.

Rates of pay do not fall within the the Department for work and Pension's labour market policies. Our policies are designed to ensure that disabled people can access the labour market, get the support they need and can progress in their careers. For example:

• Universal Credit makes it easier to start work and earn more because it offers personalised support to progress in work, and stays with people as they move in to work. People can work as many hours as they want, without having to worry about their claim.
• Our Disability Confident scheme aims to help and encourage more employers to become good employers of disabled people. Nearly 6,000 employers have already signed up to Disability Confident.
• Access to Work provides support of up to £57,200 per annum so that disabled people can stay in work and progress to senior levels, while having their support needs met.

Government has the ambition of getting 1 million more disabled people in to work. On 30 November we published Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability, which lays out our strategy for achieving this ambition by improving both employment opportunities and retention in work for people with disabilities and health conditions.