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<p>In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS)
was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a
voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public
consultations</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) had five commitments included
in the National Disability Strategy. These included:</p><p>1. By September 2021, the
MOD will publish a plan to bring more disabled people into the civilian workforce
to meet its target of 15.3% by 2030</p><p>2. MOD will explore how to increase opportunities
for disabled people to serve as part of the Armed Forces reserves by the end of 2023,
including:</p><p>- promoting better use of disabled reservists for appropriate roles
across the Armed Forces</p><p>- guaranteeing interviews for disabled reservists who
meet the minimum requirements when recruiting for those roles</p><p>3. By 2025, MOD
will deliver the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme to recruit more diverse military
personnel, including disabled people</p><p>4. We will experiment with the recruitment
of more diverse military personnel into the new National Cyber Force, using it as
a pathfinder for increased inclusivity</p><p>5. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs will
share best practice and insight from the veterans’ adaptive sport community with disability
organisations and providers of sport and activity by March 2022</p><p>Commitment 1,
to publish a plan to bring more disabled people into the civilian workforce has been
partly implemented. A plan is in development and a number of relevant activities have
so far been identified and are progressing. We continue to monitor the effects of
the actions, which will make Defence a more attractive, diverse and inclusive employer.</p><p>
</p><p>Commitment 2, to explore how to increase opportunities for disabled people
to join Defence, has not been implemented. Defence wishes to minimise the risk of
acting inconsistently with the Court’s declaration, without compromising on the ambitious
agenda we are delivering for disabled people. As such, we are disappointed to have
had to pause the work on guaranteed interviews for disabled reservists. However, this
does not prevent disabled people who meet the minimum requirements from applying to
be a reservist. Our intent remains to contribute to the wider commitment of creating
more opportunities for disabled people to participate and thrive across the whole
Force, not just as reservists; to protect and promote the rights of disabled people;
and to tackle the barriers that prevent disabled people from fully benefiting from,
and contributing fully to, every aspect of our society.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 3,
to deliver the Armed Forces Recruiting Programme (AFRP) to recruit more diverse military
personnel, is in the process of being implemented. The AFRP is responsible for the
delivery of a new single, tri-Service, Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS). A key
requirement of the future solution is placing candidates at the heart of the Armed
Forces recruiting experience, keeping them inspired and motivated whilst recruiting
from the broadest spectrum of society to improve diversity and representation. A key
tenet of the Programme is to establish an agile and flexible approach to meet the
demand of the Armed Forces across roles and people requirements. The Armed Forces
demand requirement is updated annually and will be delivered through the supplier
and the AFRS working collaboratively. It will be fully implemented in 2027.</p><p>
</p><p>Commitment 4, to use the National Cyber Force as a pathfinder for inclusivity,
has been fully implemented. In 2021, the MOD announced a Cyber Pathfinder Scheme to
increase inclusion in Defence. This is now open and trains and assesses military personnel
joining the National Cyber Force.</p><p> </p><p>Commitment 5, to share best practice
and insight from the veterans’ adaptive sport community with disability organisations
and providers of sport and activity, was fully implemented <ins class="ministerial">in
March 2022.</ins> <del class="ministerial">before the High Court's judgement on the
NDS was delivered.</del></p><p>We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people
in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights, and ensuring
they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support
this, the MOD will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve
disabled people’s lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due
for publication in the summer.</p><p> </p><p>Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled
People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will
place a copy in the House Library.</p><p> </p>
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