Employment stats 'positive', but disability gap remains stubbornly high
Mark Atkinson, chief executive at disability charity Scope, comments on today's employment stats.
It’s positive news that there are nearly a quarter of a million more disabled people in work than this time last year.
But the difference between the employment rate of disabled people and the rest of the population has remained stubbornly static at nearly 30 percentage points for the past decade.
Scope analysis shows that disabled people are almost three times as likely to fall out of work.
That’s why the Government’s recent consultation on disability, work and health is particularly important. It recognises the need for real change in the back to work support for disabled people, and sets out some bold ideas for reform.
Scope wants to see this lead to an overhaul of the fitness for work test, better access to specialist and personalised employment support, more action by employers, and more flexibility and support at work for working disabled people.
