MPs demanded the government urgently appoint a new disabilities minister today after Sarah Newton quit a fortnight ago over Brexit.

Shadow minister for disabled people Marsha de Cordova said filling the vacancy was critical after a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found government measures to help disabled people into work have not resulted in a decline in unemployment numbers.

“The report found the number of disabled people out of work has remained stagnant at 3.7 million for the last five years,” she said.

“It has been two weeks since there was a minister for disabled people — when will one be appointed?”

SNP MP Neil Gray said the vacancy was evidence of a government “completely ignoring the day job” because it was “consumed” by Brexit.

Conservative MP and former disabilities minister Sir Mike Penning said: “I would say to the front bench, and hopefully the Prime Minister is listening, we should have a minister as soon as possible for this role.

“I do not understand why that hasn’t taken place.”

Work and Pensions Minister Justin Tomlinson was unable to name a new minister.

The NAO’s report said the number of disabled people in work had increased by almost a third to 930,000 in the past five years, but that there was no reduction in the number of those unemployed.

Factors such as people already in work reporting a disability and rising employment rates affected the Department for Work and Pensions’ aim of getting one million more disabled people into work by 2027, it added.

NAO head Amyas Morse said: “[The DWP] has yet to make a significant dent in the number of disabled people who are out of work, some of whom say they would like to work given the right support.”