Disabled People

Key findings


of people with a disabled adult in the family are in poverty in London, compared with 25% of people without a disabled adult in the family.


of disabled people are low paid compared with 27% of non-disabled people.


of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in London do not achieve A* – C in English and maths GCSEs. This is an attainment gap of 44 percentage points between pupils with SEN and those without.


People who are disabled in London and across England are more likely to be living in poverty. This is partly because of the costs associated with being disabled, and partly because disabled people are less likely to be in paid work. The poverty rate for Londoners living in a family with a disabled adult is 34%, compared to 25% for families without a disability. Disabled people in London are also more likely to be low-paid, regardless of their level of education and whether they are working full-time or part-time. The poverty gap between disabled and non-disabled people is worse in London than it is in the rest of England.

70% of London pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) do not get a C or above in their GCSE Maths and English – creating an attainment gap of 42 percentage points compared to non-SEN pupils. However, the situation is significantly worse for pupils with SEN outside London in the rest of England, with 87% attaining less than a C in their GCSE Maths and English.

Regarding welfare support, the rate of sanctions for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is much lower than for Job Seeker's Allowance. The sanction rate is down to 0.3%, from a high of 1% in 2014. The number of people claiming ESA has fallen below 300,000 for the first time since 2000 (although it is still the most common type of out-of-work benefit in London). Given the controversy about the way ESA is assessed, there are question marks over whether all those who need it are receiving this benefit. 

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