DWP Secretary of State, Stephen Crabb, outlines his priorities on welfare reform.
Key points
“We’re going to be investing in mental health services to tackle some of the debilitating disorders that can have such a devastating impact on young people’s life chances at a crucial stage in their lives.
And we’ll be supporting those with drug and alcohol addictions to turn their lives around and fully recover.”
“We are making progress. Nearly 300,000 more disabled people have moved into work over the last 2 years.
But despite this, there remains a very significant gap in the employment rate between disabled and non-disabled people. Whilst the employment rate for people who are not disabled is 80%, for disabled people it’s less than 50%.
In the context of a very strong labour market and the millions of people that have moved into work over the last few years, I think that gap is simply unacceptable.
I want to be clear. The employment gap isn’t because of a lack of aspiration on the part of sick and disabled people. We know the majority want to work or stay in work.
Some attitudes held by society have stopped disabled people from moving into work for many decades. So I want to challenge health and care professionals, employers and wider society to break down those barriers.
That’s why on my first day as Secretary of State, I announced to Parliament that I wanted to start a new conversation with disabled people, with their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers.
We need to recognise the role that work plays in supporting good health. And importantly, that a health condition or disability needn’t be a barrier to work.
To do that, the workplace, the welfare system, the health service will all need to work much better together….to help people stay healthy in the first place. If someone gets sick, they need the right support so they can stay close to the world of work and re-join it as quickly as possible.
It’s already clear to me that there are lots of interesting ideas emerging. I look forward, with my ministerial team, to listening to all of the ideas and views and discussing them with disability groups, employers and the health, care and welfare sectors.”