ANNEX
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE NINTH REPORT
FROM THE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE, SESSION 1998-99:
OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISABLED PEOPLE
RESPONSE FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
AND EMPLOYMENT
January 2000
Overview
1. To summarise:
only half of disabled
people of working age are economically active, compared with 85%
of non-disabled people
those disabled people
who are economically active are twice as likely to be unemployed
as non-disabled people, and more likely to be long-term unemployed
the employment rate
of disabled people is little over half that of non-disabled people
over a million economically
inactive disabled people would like to work
disabled people are
much less likely to have educational qualifications than non-disabled
people and, as a result, when in work are more likely to be employed
in low-skilled occupations. Once in work, however, disabled people
receive similar amounts of training to their non-disabled counterparts.
Response: The Government
welcomes the report and the thorough investigation the Committee
has carried out into this issue which is at the heart of the Government's
civil rights agenda.
It welcomes the recognition of the steps it has already
taken to improve opportunities for disabled people, especially
the establishment of the Disability Rights Commission.
We are aware that there is still work to be done
to overcome the discrimination that disabled people face in employment,
to improve opportunities for disabled people in education and
to continue our reform of the benefit system.
The Government published on 13 December 1999 the
final report of the Disability Rights Task Force "From
Exclusion to Inclusion" and the Committee's work will
add to the debate on how best to move the civil rights agenda
forward.
We have also announced our intention to introduce
legislation to tackle discrimination against disabled people in
schools, colleges and universities.
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