To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps have been taken to promote inter-departmental working to help disabled children and their families following the former Prime Minister's overview, ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’, with particular reference to measures to help unemployed parents of disabled children who are seeking work; and if he will make a statement. (150853)

In January 2005, the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit published their report, ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’. The report set out the Government's vision and made recommendations relating to disabled children, young people making the transition to adulthood, employment and independent living.

The Office for Disability Issues was established in December 2005 and is working across Government to improve outcomes for disabled people, including through a ministerial group and the board of management, both of which bring together a range of Departments to oversee delivery of the Government's strategy.

The chapter of the Life Chances report which considered employment did not make any specific recommendations relating to parents with disabled children. However, proposals set out in the July 2007 Green Paper, ‘In Work, Better Off’ are intended to make better use of the new deal approach for people who claim benefit as unemployed and are actively seeking work but who face significant barriers to finding work, including caring responsibilities at home.

More recently, the joint HMT/DfES children and young people's review, ‘Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families’, published in May 2007, looked at how services can provide greater support for families with disabled children. The report's findings are feeding into the comprehensive spending review and will be implemented through a cross-Government framework.