Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19: Disabled People

Wednesday 25 November 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government are committed to supporting disabled people affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
  • The Government ensure disabled people have access to employment support, disability benefits, financial support, food, medicines, accessible communications and updated guidance.
  • The disability employment gap stands at 29.2% nationwide, with concerns it may increase due to the economic fallout from covid-19.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Vicky Foxcroft Lab Lewisham North
NHS Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP is concerned about the impact of the ongoing pandemic on disabled individuals, emphasizing the need for comprehensive support measures.

Question

What steps the Government are taking to help protect disabled people from the effects of the covid-19 outbreak?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

The Government are committed to supporting disabled people affected by the covid-19 outbreak. We are ensuring that disabled people continue to have access to employment support, disability benefits, financial support, food, medicines, accessible communications and updated guidance.

Answered
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Q2 Vicky Foxcroft Lab Lewisham North
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

Data from Scope reveals a significant disability employment gap of 29.2% nationwide, with fears that the economic impact of COVID-19 could exacerbate this issue. The MP calls for a long-term approach to address this persistent problem.

Question

Data published by Scope this week shows that the disability employment gap stands at a shocking 29.2% nationwide. Many are fearful that the gap will increase with the economic fallout of covid-19. We clearly need a long-term, multi-pronged approach to address this deeply entrenched issue, so will the Minister commit to examining Scope's five policy asks and work with his Department for Work and Pensions colleagues to put them into practice?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

I put on the record a tribute to the proactive and constructive work of Scope and many other organisations to support our efforts, which have resulted in record disability employment—up 1.3 million since 2010. Yes, these are unprecedented times, but we have made sure that all the schemes in our £30 billion plan for jobs have disability provision embedded. We will continue with our ambition to have 1 million more disabled people in work by 2027—nothing has changed.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Committing to examine Scope's five policy asks and working with the Department for Work and Pensions colleagues to put them into practice

How: Put On The Record A Tribute, Resulted In Record Disability Employment

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