Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Friday, 6 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 May 2001. It was answered by Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 May 2001 on behalf of the Department for Education and Employment.

Dept for Education and Employment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, how many people with severe learning difficulties are in work (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the total number of people with severe learning difficulties; how many people with learning disabilities are unemployed. - Including figures.

Answer: Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many people with severe learning difficulties are in work (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the total number of people with severe learning difficulties; [158102] (2) how many people with learning disabilities are unemployed. [158091] Ms Hodge: The latest labour force statistics indicate that there are 47,000 people in Great Britain with severe or specific learning difficulties in employment; this accounts for 29 per cent. of the total number of people with severe or specific learning difficulties. The same source indicates that in Great Britain 12,000 people with severe or specific learning difficulties are unemployed; this represents 7 per cent. of the total number. The remaining 64 per cent. of those with severe or specific learning difficulties are classed as economically inactive. The White Paper "Valuing People--A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century" which was published in March 2001 sets out the Government's commitment to improving the life changes of people with learning difficulties. It states our aim to increase the number of people with learning disabilities in employment and to work towards their achieving parity with other disabled people in the work force.

Secondary information