News

Many disabled people want to work but often jobs on offer are “poor quality, low paid and unsustainable”, a report by the Child Poverty Action Group says today. 

Forty per cent of children with a disabled parent live below the poverty line, according to the charity. The new report includes interviews with disabled parents who have tried to find paid work.

Much more must be done to support disabled people if the government’s plans to move a million incapacity benefit claimants into work are to succeed, says CPAG.

The report makes the following recommendations and says welfare reform will not work without them.

• The government must make sure that good quality jobs are available for disabled people.

• Much more work needs to be done to overcome discrimination in society at large, and among employers in particular, if disabled people are to find work.

• Significant investment in support for disabled people – not benefit sanctions – is essential.

• An adequate financial safety net to prevent poverty must be provided for disabled people unable to work.

• The additional costs for disabled people who are parents and want to work must be recognised and addressed.