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<ul><li>DWP is recognised as a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, which demonstrates
the departmental commitment to attracting, recruiting, retaining, and supporting career
progression of disabled people. This assessment has recently been validated by Business
Disability Forum.</li><li>Annually we update the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-voluntary-reporting-on-disability-mental-health-and-wellbeing-2019/dwp-voluntary-reporting-on-disability-mental-health-and-wellbeing"
target="_blank">DWP voluntary reporting on disability, mental health and wellbeing
- GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a> voluntary report on Gov UK which provides updated information
on the activity on our support for disabled employees.</li><li>Our DWP Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion Approach has a long-term strategic intent that our products,
services, and environment are ‘inclusive by design’ to ensure that as many people
as possible, particularly groups who are traditionally excluded from being able to
use an interface or navigate an environment, can access these. We use this to support
our Disability Inclusion Action Plan that prioritises building capability, raising
awareness, streamlining processes and improving policies.</li><li>In June 2023, 22%
of DWP staff indicated that they had a disability (an increase of 3.7% compared to
June 2021) and 13.6% of Senior Civil Servants in the department declared a disability
(an increase of 1.6% compared to June 2021).</li><li>Workplace adjustments are considered
as a matter of course for any colleague who experiences a barrier and/or difficulty
at work including those with a health condition; enabling them to develop and fulfil
their potential. We have a programme of activity in place to ensure that both line
managers and employees understand the requirement to consider adjustments and the
process for putting them in place.</li><li>DWP have a strong relationship and remains
well connected to staff diversity and inclusion networks, such as Mental Health First
Aiders, Ambassadors for Fair Treatment, and our disability network - THRIVE. It utilises
them to raise awareness and provide education on the importance of diversity in the
workplace. Additionally, they can be used as recruitment panel volunteers and the
wider sharing of vacancies across communities of disabled colleagues. We also learn
and utilise lived experiences throughout our decision making.</li><li>DWP’s internal
and external communications team collaborate with our Disability Network colleagues
(THRIVE) to deliver whole DWP communications throughout the year – linking to specific
events such as Neurodiversity Week or International Day of Persons with Disabilities.</li><li>Our
Disability and Mental Health Champion works closely with our disability networks and
sponsors the Civil Service Deaf and Hard of Hearing Network, spearheading communication
campaigns, publishing blogs and working with her Senior Civil Service colleagues to
highlight challenges and promote learning.</li><li>DWP has established a Centre of
Expertise for resourcing, within it, is a team focused on diversity and inclusion
in recruitment. The team leads on ensuring our recruitment processes are inclusive
and enable our drive for equitable representation across the workforce, thus supporting
DWP’s equality objectives.</li><li>DWP have been awarded the RNIB Visibly Better Employer
(VBE) status. We are proudly promoting our status; including within our adverts and
candidate pack, profile on diverse jobs boards, social media, and Civil Service Careers
websites; including the badge to show that we are a Visibly Better Employer.</li><li>We
have worked with Government Recruitment Service (GRS) to develop a Recruitment Adjustment
Passport, to lead the way for the Civil Service. The Passport will gather a candidate’s
adjustment requests for the end-to-end recruitment process to alleviate difficulties,
repetition, and inconsistencies throughout.</li><li>DWP has been leading activity
in trialling new recruitment practices that better support a broader range of candidates.
Using improving branding to encourage Disabled people to apply for our roles – as
well as acting as a role model to all other employers.</li><li>DWP ensures digital
environments, as well as physical environments, are inclusive and accessible. A new
Accessibility Practice SharePoint site was launched on 24th July 2023. which provides
guidance on various aspects of accessibility. We have Accessibility Standard Leads
throughout our corporate functions.</li><li>A new DWP Digital Accessibility Policy
was approved and published in June 2023. This sets out the responsibilities of product
teams and individuals in creating accessible products and internal communications.
It explains in detail how to comply with the Equality Act (2010), the Public Sector
Equality Duty (2011) and the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (2018/2022).</li><li>During
2022 DWP introduced a structured approach to improving accessibility and inclusion
in the design of DWP buildings.</li></ul>
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