COMMENTS made by a government minister which suggested some disabled people are not worth the minimum wage have sparked anger in the town.

The minister for welfare reform, Lord Freud, was reported to have made the remarks at a fringe party meeting in response to a question from a Conservative councillor about getting “mentally damaged individuals” into work.

He was reported to have said that there is a group in society “not worth the full minimum wage” and that he was going to consider a way of doing something which could allow some people to work for £2 an hour.

Lord Freud has overseen the current government’s welfare reforms, including their flagship Universal Credit policy.

And his comments have caused anger among people in the town, where there is a higher than average number of disabled people.

According to the council’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 2014, the borough has approximately 3,299 adult residents with a learning disability and more than 1,000 working age people on the autism spectrum.

St Helens also has 14,920 people in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, of which 7,710 are of working age.

Graham Haselden, chairman of the St Helens Coalition of Disabled People, who has a disability himself, said he found the remarks offensive.

“I feel absolutely disgusted by the comments, as they imply that disabled people are worth less than able-bodied people.

“This is ludicrous and I would ask if the minister would propose that Stephen Hawking would work for less than the minimum wage.”

In addition, St Helens North Labour MP Dave Watts also blasted the minister’s comments, stating they are representative of someone “out of touch with reality.”.

Mr Watts said: “It’s not the first time he has made strange comments. He doesn’t seem to have an idea of what normal people’s lives are like.

“I think he’s completely out of touch with reality and most people would think that he should resign. The portfolio he holds is one where you need to have sensitivity and he has shown that he’s got no empathy.”

Lord Freud did later apologise for the remarks stating he was “foolish to accept the premise of the question” and that he cared passionately about disabled people.