The Board was announced in mid-September, with eight board members appointed by work and pensions secretary. The board, chaired by Paul Gregg, the former director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Policy, at the University of Bath, will develop ideas and initiatives to tackle the rise in the number of Disabled and sick people out of work. The current Government, much like its predecessor, appears to be set against addressing the causes of increased Disability and sickness within the population and instead, views the problem as Disabled people either not wanting to work or not having the right support to do so. So yet again, we see the crude push to get Disabled people off benefit and into work, without any acknowledgement of the need to tackle deep systemic issues. The Government’s limited analysis and approach is further compounded by its failure to involve Disabled expertise and experience in the Labour Market Advisory Board.
The work of the Board is important, as it inputs into a White Paper on supporting people into work, to be published this autumn. The letter to Government from Disability Rights UK makes clear that when the lives of disabled people are being discussed, Disabled people must be at the heart of engagement, as Disabled people have the expertise and lived experience to know what works.
The secretary of state for work and pensions, Liz Kendall said on the announcement of the board: “Spiralling inactivity is the greatest employment challenge for a generation, with a near record 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness.”
“Addressing these challenges will take time, but we’re going to fix the foundations of the economy and tackle economic inactivity.”
Sir Stephen Timms the minister for Social Security and Disability also failed to explain why there were no DPOs represented on the Board, or apparently any Disabled board members when questioned by the Disability News Service (DNS). Mr Timms said that Labour had made a “manifesto commitment to put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of everything we do… and it is my job as the minister for disability, with a cross-government responsibility, not just responsibility in the DWP, to deliver on that commitment”
Dan White policy and campaigns officer at DR UK and one of the co-leads at the Disability Poverty Campaign Group said “The UK government is under pressure to close the fiscal gap left by Brexit and the pandemic, however, it does need to show some understanding of the causes of increased Disability and sickness, and not just put the problem at the door of Disabled and sick people. It is deeply disappointing that the new Government isn’t talking directly to Disabled people, and worse seems to be positively excluding us from the discussion.”