Disabled scheme discredited - Debbie

LABOUR MP Debbie Abrahams has slammed a new government programme designed to support disabled people at work.

The MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth and shadow minister for disabled people, says Disability Confident has been discredited following revelations in a Freedom of Information release.

The FoI request, made by Disability News Service, discovered claims made by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith that more than 1,000 employers have signed up to Disability Confident are untrue.

Mrs Abrahams said: “The truth is fewer than 400 employers have signed up and only 68 are active partners. The Disability Confident campaign has the potential to help address the current 30 per cent disability employment gap, but it needs leadership, not spin.

“This sort of inflated claim should be seen as inappropriate from anyone. The fact that Iain Duncan Smith is a senior government minister and repeatedly misleads the public is totally unacceptable.”