I am committed to being a voice for those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged in some way. As my mother is disabled, I know first-hand how important it is to care for those who are disabled.
Around £50 billion every year is being spent on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions. The Government will continue to spend more than Labour did in 2010 in every year to 2020. Benefits related to the additional costs of disability have been uprated every year, and households in receipt of these benefits are exempt from the benefit cap.
Instead, the focus is on putting opportunity at the heart of our society. In the last three years, nearly 600,000 more disabled people have moved into work. However, there is more to do to meet the Conservative 2015 manifesto commitment to halve the disability employment gap; the Government is working closely with disabled people, their representatives, health care professionals and employers to achieve this.
The Government's Green Paper on work, health and disability is exploring new ways of supporting disabled people and people with health conditions into work, and looking at how coordination between the health and welfare systems can be improved. This involves engaging closely with disabled people and charities to better understand the needs of disabled people and how to provide the best possible support for them to find and remain in work.
It is also important to put welfare spending on a sustainable footing. This is why recent reforms mean new claimants to Employment and Support Allowance will in future receive the same rate as those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. While making these changes, the most vulnerable have continued to be protected; no current claimants will see their payments fall, and those in the Support Group will not be affected.
This reform has allowed a further £100 million of annual funding by 2020-21 for practical support to help claimants towards work, as well as spending a further £15 million through the Flexible Support Fund on meeting the extra costs that can be involved in finding a job.