Disability employment gap in Bedford shrinks

The charity Disability Rights UK called for a total rethink of the benefits system, which it says "demonises" rather than supports disabled people seeking work.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show there were 15,258 disabled people living in Bedford as of March, with 76% of them in employment.

Among people without disabilities, the employment rate was 83%, meaning the disability employment gap was seven percentage points.

The year before, this was 26 percentage points.

Nationally, there were over 9.8 million disabled people in Great Britain, with 55% of them in employment.

This has increased from 44% a decade ago but has stagnated over the last five years.

In Bedford the disability employment rate has increased by 37% since last year.

James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, called the lack of progress "unacceptable".

"The disability employment gap has barely shifted in a decade," he said.

"Huge numbers of disabled people want to work but are denied the opportunity, because of barriers like employers’ negative attitudes and inflexible working practices.

"Punitive measures like cutting benefits and increasing conditionality don’t help disabled people get into work. What we need is investment in localised, tailored, flexible employment support for disabled people."

Ken Butler from charity Disability Rights UK said disabled people are excluded from employment by "barriers to adequate housing, social care and healthcare".

He added: "For the Government to want to make progress on closing the disability employment gap, it must start by changing the approach to social security from punitive to supportive.

"There is no evidence that benefit sanctions work for disabled people, there is plenty of evidence about the negative impact they have."

To reduce the disability employment gap, Mr Butler said the Government must tackle all systemic barriers and not "force disabled people into unsafe, unsustainable, and often exploitative work".

Before winning this year's general election, Labour pledged to increase the UK employment rate from 75% to 80%, getting over 2 million more people in work.

It promised new local plans for work, health and skills support to get more people with disabilities into work, and pledged to reform the benefit system to encourage employment.

Sir Stephen Timms MP, minister for social security and disability, said: "There’s more to do to ensure disabled people have equal opportunity in the workplace with too much talent going to waste because people have been denied the help they need.

"That’s why our Get Britain Working Plan will include new work, health, and skills plans so people get the joined-up health and employment support they need to get back into work and stay in work.

"As well as these once in a generation employment support reforms, our Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will tackle discrimination at work, while the New Deal for Working People will end exploitative zero-hour contracts that we know disabled people are more likely to be on."