It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq; I am very happy that you could make it here today. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows) for securing this important and timely debate. There is no doubt that disabled people are being disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis, and it is right that we are here to debate the issue. As the hon. Member outlined, a number of organisations have been in touch to outline their fears and worries about how disabled people are struggling, and I hope that the Minister will respond positively to the many points that the hon. Member and others have raised.
The economic impact of disability is significant. Many disabled people are excluded from full economic participation. According to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, the employment rate for disabled people is just over 53%, which compares with almost 83% for non-disabled people. In other words, the disability employment gap stands at just under 30 percentage points. From speaking to many disabled people, I know that many of them want to work but are prevented from doing so by societal barriers.
The difficulties do not stop with getting into employment. Once they are in work, disabled people also face a disability pay gap. As of 2021, the gap stands at 13.8%, which means that disabled people earn almost £2 per hour less on average than non-disabled people. As other hon. Members have outlined, the other side of the economic impact is the extra cost associated with having a disability.