The Work and Pensions Committee has launched an inquiry and called for evidence to investigate the disability employment gap (the gap between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people) and how disabled people can be better supported in the labour market.
The inquiry will examine trends in the disability employment gap, the economic impact of low employment rates for disabled people and the assistance available to help disabled people in work. It will also cover the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The deadline for submissions is Friday 18 December 2020.
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care published figures earlier this year (on 4 March) showing that the employment rate for disabled people in 2019 was 54.1%, compared to a rate of 82.2% for non-disabled people, giving a disability employment rate gap of 28.1%. These figures were released as an annual update on the government's goal to see one million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027.
In addition, between 2016 to 2018, disabled people were almost twice as likely to move out of work as non-disabled people, whereas non-disabled people were almost three times as likely to move into work than disabled people. However, during the period 1998 to 2019, the figures suggest that the employment rate of disabled people has increased (from under 40%).
