Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people with a musculoskeletal condition who require support to return to work in order to meet the Government's objective of halving the disability employment gap.

We know that musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions affect around 3.7 million working age disabled people in the UK and that 2 million of these people are out of work.

We want to provide a system that better supports disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to enter, return to or remain in employment. This will help towards the ambition of halving the disability employment gap.

Halving the gap requires a colaberative approach with input from employers, the welfare system, the health service and wider society.

The recent Work and Health Disability Green Paper ‘Improving Lives’ explores a range of ways to improve the lives of disabled people including those with musculoskeletal conditions. This includes proposals for exploring new ways of providing holistic support and improving access to treatment.