The Labour Government will never reach its employment target
without “significant progress” on economic inactivity, according
to a new report.
Mind the Disability Employment
Gap, a new report from the Centre for
Social Justice (CSJ), warns that economic inactivity is a
“defining challenge” for the new government. It points to the
number of people out of work due to disabilities or health
conditions and claiming health-related benefits only continuing
to rise.
The report highlights how almost a quarter of working age adults
are now reporting a disability or significant impairment due to a
health problem. More than half of young people, 16-24 year olds,
who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs), are
economically inactive – amounting to over half a million people
(552,000). The number of inactive 16-24 year olds has risen by
over 50 per cent in just three years.
Previous CSJ research has found that that unless action is taken
to reverse the tide of people quitting the labour market for
health reasons, the taxpayer will face a colossal £12 billion
hole in the public finances in five years time – of which up to
£1.5 billion is made up of lost tax receipts.
The new report calls on the new government to “ensure that the
needs of disabled and sick people and the barriers they face in
the world of work are at the heart of their plans to ‘get Britain
working'.”
It singles out the ‘disability employment gap', the difference in
the employment rate between disabled people and those who are
not. Between July and September of this year, this stood at close
to 30 per cent (27.5 per cent), with barely half of disabled
adults (54.4 per cent) in employment.
The CSJ criticises how government efforts have been “slow or
insufficiently ambitious” in recent times but recognises the
opportunity of the upcoming White Paper to revamp plans to reform
employment support.
They point to the latest delays to the rollout of Universal
Support, pointing out how it could help 100,000 people back into
employment every year and yet, the new Labour Government decided
to delay the start until Spring 2025.
This comes as , the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has
said “we will not allow young people not to be in education,
employment or training”, with Labour plans expected to include
tougher benefit rules for young people not taking up training or
education. Yet, the CSJ warn that this can only apply to
unemployed young people, not the economically inactive – which
make up the overwhelming majority of NEETs.
There are nearly a million (946,000) 16-24 year old NEETs. Of
these, more than half (552,000) are economically inactive,
meaning they are not currently searching for work, mostly due to
ill-health or disability.
The CSJ say any plans must include specialist employment support
and training opportunities for those with a disability or health
problem, alongside policies to improve support for sick and
disabled people from employers.
, CSJ Head of Debt &
Financial Inclusion, said:
“The Government must commit to tackling economic inactivity,
especially among young people. Without supporting people back
into the labour market, its ambitious employment targets are
simply unachievable.
“The rising tide of long-term inactivity will cost the
country billions of pounds if left unstemmed.
“It must start by ending the delays to Universal Support and
truly starting the fight against the disability employment
gap.”
ENDS
The full report can be read here.
MEDIA CONTACT
Matt Walsh
07754 786789
matthew@mippr.co.uk
About The Centre for Social Justice
Established in 2004, the Centre for Social Justice is an
independent think-tank that studies the root causes of Britain's
social problems and addresses them by recommending practical,
workable policy interventions. The CSJ's vision is to give people
in the UK who are experiencing the worst multiple disadvantages
and injustice every possible opportunity to reach their full
potential.
The majority of the CSJ's work is organised around five ‘pathways
to poverty', first identified in our ground-breaking 2007 report
Breakthrough Britain. These are: educational failure; family
breakdown; economic dependency and worklessness; addiction to
drugs and alcohol; and severe personal debt.
Since its inception, the CSJ has changed the landscape of our
political discourse by putting social justice at the heart of
British politics. This has led to a transformation in government
thinking and policy. For instance, in March 2013, the CSJ report
It Happens Here shone a light on the horrific reality of human
trafficking and modern slavery in the UK. As a direct result of
this report, the Government passed the Modern Slavery Act 2015,
one of the first pieces of legislation in the world to address
slavery and trafficking in the 21st century.
Our research is informed by experts including prominent
academics, practitioners and policy-makers. We also draw upon our
CSJ Alliance, a unique group of charities, social enterprises and
other grass-roots organisations that have a proven track-record
of reversing social breakdown across the UK.
The social challenges facing Britain remain serious. In 2024 and
beyond, we will continue to advance the cause of social justice
so that more people can continue to fulfil their potential.
