The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 September 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the number and proportion of disabled people who were in work in each year since 1997. (154673)
The attached table shows the number and proportion of disabled people of working age who are in employment for the three months ending June each year from 1999 to 2007. The disability question was first asked in 1999. Comparable estimates are not available for 2000. These estimates are not seasonally adjusted.
Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
In employment Three months ending June each year Level (Thousand) Rate (Percentage) 1999 3,022 46 2001 3,139 47 2002 3,294 48 2003 3,362 49 2004 3,485 50 2005 3,477 50 2006 3,537 50 2007 3,456 50 1 Includes those who have a long term disability which substantially limits their day-to-day activities and those who have a long term disability which affects the kind or amount of work they might do. 2 Includes men aged 16 to 64 and women age 16 to 59. 3 Disabled people in employment as a percentage of all disabled. Note: Comparable data are not available for 2000. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)