Lord Freud’s comments about disabled workers indicate ‘widespread negative views’
16 October 2014
Lord David Freud’s comments that disabled people should be paid as little as £2 an hour represents widespread negative views about people with disabilities, said the Business Disability Forum.
Thu, 16 Oct 2014 | By Nicola Sullivan
Lord David Freud’s comments that disabled people should be paid as little as £2 an hour represents widespread negative views about people with disabilities, said the Business Disability Forum.
The welfare reform minister made his controversial comments to a councillor at the Conservative party conference two weeks ago, according to the Financial Times.
He said: “There is a group, and I know exactly who you mean, where actually as you say, they’re not worth the full wage and actually I’m going to go and think about that particular issue.” He added: “Whether there is something we can do nationally, and without distorting the whole thing, which actually if someone wants to work for £2 an hour, and it’s working, can we actually?”
Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive and founder of Business Disability Forum, told Recruiter: “While Lord Freud has apologised for his comments, it is indisputable that his comments unfortunately reflect the negative views of disabled people that many members of our society still hold.
“The most important thing to take away from this debacle is that there is still so much to be done, by government, business and communities, to shift the attitudes and perceptions of disabled people in employment and focus on what people can do in terms of particular jobs.”
Chris Randall, a spokesperson from Remploy, told Recruiter he could not comment on a “political row”. However, he said “there is still an unacceptable gap” between employment rates for disabled and non-disabled people. He added that employment rates for people with learning disabilities were “criminally” low at less than 10%.
The welfare reform minister made his controversial comments to a councillor at the Conservative party conference two weeks ago, according to the Financial Times.
He said: “There is a group, and I know exactly who you mean, where actually as you say, they’re not worth the full wage and actually I’m going to go and think about that particular issue.” He added: “Whether there is something we can do nationally, and without distorting the whole thing, which actually if someone wants to work for £2 an hour, and it’s working, can we actually?”
Susan Scott-Parker, chief executive and founder of Business Disability Forum, told Recruiter: “While Lord Freud has apologised for his comments, it is indisputable that his comments unfortunately reflect the negative views of disabled people that many members of our society still hold.
“The most important thing to take away from this debacle is that there is still so much to be done, by government, business and communities, to shift the attitudes and perceptions of disabled people in employment and focus on what people can do in terms of particular jobs.”
Chris Randall, a spokesperson from Remploy, told Recruiter he could not comment on a “political row”. However, he said “there is still an unacceptable gap” between employment rates for disabled and non-disabled people. He added that employment rates for people with learning disabilities were “criminally” low at less than 10%.
