3 October 2021

Work and pensions secretary signals new bid to try to push more disabled people with high support needs into work.

What: Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey suggests that her department is to launch a new bid to try to push more disabled people with high support needs into work. Coffey, speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, says she wants to focus on those people who are currently seen as not being able to do any work, and she refers to the need to cut spending on disability benefits.

Why significant: A signal that ministers are refusing to learn the lessons of the post-2010 years, in which DWP pressure to force disabled people into the workplace despite serious health conditions led to countless deaths.