Disabled People of Working Age in Bolsover District and Chesterfield Borough

Disabled people of working age in Bolsover District and Chesterfield Borough

now and in the future.

1.Introduction.

This paper seeks to explain why disabled people of working age (16-64) are such an important group in Bolsover District (BDC) and Chesterfield Borough (CBC).

2.Who are disabled people?

The Equality Act 2010 definition covers:

“People who have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

The definition is extremely wide ranging from people with cancer and HIV to some people with asthma and diabetes and even some who had a disability in the past”.

3.Reliability of data.

Information should be treated with caution because there are gaps, comparison is not always possible as different sources used different questions, groups and timescales. Much of the data is from the 2011 Census.The wording of questions about disability is prone to gain inaccurate responses: about 66% of people covered by the definition above may not label themselves as disabled people (Office for Disability Issues research). The Census focussed on whether people had “limitations” – a little or a lot - which are assumed to be disabilities for this paper.

4.Summary:

The high level of local disabled residents needs specific attention and action:

The 2011 Census showed the continuing high levels of disabled people in both the general and working age populations of the BDC and CBC areas due to their heavy industry and mining backgrounds. These levels are likely to increase with national population growth and ageing trends plus the introduction of later retirement ages.

Both BDC and CBC areas had lower levels of economic activity and self-employment amongst the general population compared with England – possibly linked to higher proportions of residents without any qualifications.

The low level of employment amongst disabled people nationally was reflected locally with about two claimants of Employment and Support Allowance (or Incapacity Benefit) for each Job Seeker Allowance claimant. Local working disabled people were more likely to be self-employed than others - also matching the national trend.

Although there has been some improvement in the employment of disabled people over the last decade, the results of the Work Programme have been less successful with this client group. There is a continuing demand for specialist andpersonalised employment support to meet their individual and complex needs, especially amongst those who face multiple barriers.

Deprivation is common within communities like Bolsover District and Chesterfield Borough with high levels of disabled people and unpaid carers and is likely to be exacerbated for those whose benefit entitlements change. The economic consequences are likely to last for decades as unemployed disabled people become pensioners relying solely on State retirement pensions.

Levels/numbers of disabled people locally.

5.High level of disabled people locally due to industrial legacy.

Within the total local population in 2011, about 25% were disabled people in the BDC area (around 18,600) and some 23% in the CBC area (around 23,800) compared with about 18% in England (around 9.3m).
Of the 326 local Council areas in England, BDC had the fourth highest percentage of disabled people in the population and CBC was not far behind.

These high levels of disabled people were reflected in the 2011 working age population (16-64): BDC had about 19% disabled people, CBC some 17% compared to around 13% England.

This is consistent with rates of disability being highest within areas with a legacy of heavy industry, especially coal mining.

6.More disabled people in the future due to population growth.

The national population increase is well-recognised and is forecast to raise local residents to about 84,000 BDC and 112,000 CBC by 2033.

If current trends continue, this would increase the number of disabled residents by some 3,000 in each area during the intervening decades.

7.More working age disabled people in the future due to national ageing trends.

DWP figures suggest that propensity for disability increases from some 9% of those aged 16-24 to about 44% of those aged 50-65.

The ageing local population will increasenumbers/levels of disabled people.

8.More working age disabled people due to later Retirement.

Women born after April 1953 are already subject to progressive increase of retirement age from 60 to 65 by 2020.
For men and women, the pension age is changing to 66 by 2020 and to 67 by 2026/28.

Although the numbers are relatively small, there will be more people of “working age” by 2028 of whom at least 44% may be disabled people.

Economic consequences.

9.Local levels of employment (including self-employment) are lower.

In 2011, levels of economic activity were lower than for England.
Of the general population aged 16 and over, those economically active were: about 61% each BDC and CBC; about 64% England.
Levels of self-employment in 2011 were lower than in England.
Of all economically active people, those self-employed were: about 11% each BDC and CBC; 14% England.
The high level of local people without any qualifications will be a contributory factor.
Levels without qualifications in 2011 were 33% BDC and 28% CBC compared to 22% England.

Increasing employment, entrepreneurship and skills should be a high local priority.

10.High level of unemployed disabled people nationally.

The onset of disabling conditions occurs during the working lives of most disabled people (about 70%) and most (80%) will have been working. But within a year, 20% will be unemployed followed by a further 24% in the subsequent year.
The 2012 Labour Force Survey compared the percentages of working age people in employment according to whether they had a disability (46.3% (or not (76.4%): showing a 30.1 % gap between disabled and non-disabled people, representing over 2 million people. The gap had reduced by 10%during the previous 14 years and had remained stable over the previous two years despite the economic climate. This suggests that, while disabled people were more likely to be employed than in 2002, they remained significantly less likely to be in employment than non-disabled people.
The level of disabled workers in full-time jobs tends to be lower than for non-disabled people.

Working disabled people in England are more likely to be self-employed (17%) than their non-disabled peers (14%).
Disabled people are more likely than others to have no/low qualifications.

Although there has been some national improvement in the employment of disabled people, they still lag far behind non-disabled people.

11.Even higher level of unemployed disabled people locally.

In the BDC and CBC areas in 2011, only about 21% of disabled people aged 16+ were economically active compared with 23% in England. There is no Census data for the important target group of working age (16-64) people to assess employment support needs – and benefit claimant data doesn’t provide the complete picture.
In broad terms in 2012, there were more or less two Employment and Support Allowance/Incapacity Benefit (ESA/IB) claimants for each Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimant: ratios of 2.25 to 1 BDC and 1.9 to 1 CBC. The ratios will have changed somewhat since with some ESA/IB claimants moving to JSA following the Welfare Reforms and Work Capability Assessments.

Over recent years,ESAhas been replacing IB as the unemployment benefit for disabled people. By 2012, the level of ESA claimants locally was still slightly higher at 3% in BDC and CBC (2%England and Wales).
The significant difference was the level of those claiming older IB or Severe Disablement Allowance: 7% BDC and 6% CBC (4%England and Wales).
In contrast, the local levels of JSA claimants (4%) and >12 months JSA claimants (1%) were comparable with England.

Although local self-employment levels are generally lower, disabled people reflect the 2011 national trend by being more likely to be in this form of work.
Levels of self-employment amongst working disabled people were about 14% BDC and CBC (17% England) compared with their non-disabled peers at 11%(14% England).
Of all self-employed people, disabled people comprised about 13% BDC and some 12% CBC compared with some 9% England.

Both areas have a legacy of higher levels of unemployed disabled people than regionally or nationally and more have been unemployed long-term with consequent impact on their work prospects. The JSA claimant count may be misleading as a measure of overall local economic improvement. The characteristics and needs of JSA claimants will change to reflect higher numbers of disabled people.

12.Continuing need for specialist employment support.

These disabled JSA and ESA claimants face multiple challenges: disability, older age, low motivation, longer time out of work, out-dated work skills, limited local employment prospects and the national economic downturn.
Data suggests significant challenge: the transition rate of disabled people from unemployment to work is some 6 times lower than that of their non-disabled peers.
Support from Jobcentres and local organisations will achieve work for some while others will be subsequently referred to local Work Programme providers. The latter receive payment for sustainable work outcomes but data to date indicates that the national programme has been less successful in supporting disabled people.

Long-term specialist and personalisedsupport will be needed in both areas to meet the level of demand which economic upturn is unlikely to reduce.

13.Some disabilities increase employment difficulties.

Mental health conditions are very prevalent and have high impact on employment:
For people aged under 65, about 50% of all ill health is mental illness.
About 25% of the population have a mental health condition at any time.
It is recognised that many disabled people acquire additional mental health conditions linked to unemployment.
Only some 10% of people with mental health conditions are in employment.
Some 3% of the population have learning disabilities of whom 20% are in employment.

Access to effective mental health treatment plus other specialist support is needed.

14.Disability is closely linked to deprivation.

Against national indices of multiple deprivation, both areas have raised their positions to 58th BDC and 90th CBC over recent years. However, both still have several areas within the lowest national 20% for employment and health deprivation.
The typical pay gaps (6-26%) encountered by those disabled people who manage to work indicates that employment may not fully resolve their deprivation: they are twice as likely to be social housing tenants and some 60% are likely to live in households without access to a car (20% general population).

Reducing local deprivation will not succeed unless disabled people’s needs are central.

15.Some disabled people face reductions in disability benefits.

Disabled people’s cost of living can be 25% higher than non-disabled people due to their additional needs. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) was introduced to offset the extra cost and is payable regardless of whether the disabled person is working or not.
The Government is changing this benefit to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for all new claims and from 2015 for all existing recipients. There has been some concern that, perhaps, 20% of current DLA recipients may not be eligible for PIP.
This is particularly significant locally with some 6,970 (11%) BDC and 8,240 (10%) CBC residents aged 0-64 claiming DLA in 2012 (6% England).

Potentially, some 1,400 BDC and 1,600 CBC residents are liable to lose their eligibility – alongside possible IB/ESA re-assessments.

16.More disabled people means more carers.

Care giving enriches society and can reduce demand on publicly funded support. But it can also limit the economic activity of the care givers.
This is important for BDC and CBC which were amongst the four districts with the highest rates of unpaid carers per head in the whole of England and Wales. In 2011, some 13% of the populations of both BDC and CBC were unpaid care-givers compared with 10% in England.
Levels of people claiming Carer Allowance: 2% in both areas (1% Great Britain).

Non-working carers multiply the economic consequences of disability.

17.More unemployed disabled people means more future pensioner poverty.

Some 55% of disabled people have reported having no savings compared with about 12% of the general population.
Disabled adults are twice as likely as non-disabled peers to live in low income households.
People who have a limited work history (such as many disabled people) will often be reliant on state Retirement Pension rather than employment pensions.
National Age UK figures have shown that 46% of pensioner couples and 73% of single pensioners receive over half their income from state pensions and benefits.
1.8 Million pensioners (16%) live below the poverty line and over 3.5 million older people live in fuel poverty.

Such deprivation may be conservative for both areas where there are higher numbers of disabled people with limited work histories. Hence, the areas may see decades of pensioners on low income.

November 2013