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1718293

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26424
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) successfully renewed its Disability Confident Level 3 Leadership Certification in January 2024. This demonstrates our commitment to making the MOD a place that welcomes and encourages people with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD has a Disability Champion who is responsible for promoting inclusive behaviour; the postholder facilitates constructive challenge, fosters good relations in the workplace and contributes to the development of an inclusive culture. The Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) is owned by a HR Diversity and Inclusion policy lead who is responsible for engaging with stakeholders across the Department to ensure disability sits at the heart of our policies and processes and can be measured against the DCS criteria.</p><p> </p><p>MOD supports the use of the DCS within its recruitment of civilian personnel and all MOD appointments advertised through Civil Service Jobs ask applicants if they wish to apply using DCS when they start their application. It is MOD policy that candidates using the scheme will be invited to interview provided they meet the minimum essential criteria for the advertised position. Recruiting panels also consider and implement any reasonable adjustments needed for interviews to ensure the selection process is fair for all candidates.</p><p> </p><p>MOD also provides adjustments to support employees with disabilities throughout their employment as part of our responsibilities as an inclusive employer. These provisions take various forms, such as smart and flexible working, the provision of equipment and furniture for both office and home working, and IT software.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD continues to monitor the effects of all actions aimed at making Defence a more attractive, diverse and inclusive employer. This work is having a positive effect on our overall representation of people who have declared a disability which has risen to 14% as at October 2023, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from April 2023.</p><p> </p><p>The MOD has a range of inclusive training and career development opportunities, which are offered on a fair and open basis. The Future Leaders Scheme for eligible Grade 6&amp;7 personnel, and the Senior Leaders Scheme for eligible Senior Civil Servants both offer successful candidates an accelerated development offer for those with a declared disability. The MOD’s Autism Exchange Intern Programme, developed in 2015, is a multi-award-winning programme which supports young people who are on the autistic spectrum to degree/postgraduate level qualifications. Reverse mentoring and challenge boards have also been implemented across the Department using staff from a range of under-represented groups, including those with disabilities. The MOD Talent Management Toolkit also offers advice and guidance to managers to ensure that all employees are treated fairly with regards to career advancement.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, MOD has a DCS action plan and works with relevant stakeholders to implement actions; the group meets regularly to review progress against agreed actions.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 20/05/2024 16:51:04 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718294

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>DWP as part of its Policy portfolio is responsible for the administration of the Disability Confident Scheme – but this answer relates to how DWP as an employer uses and supports Disability Confident. DWP is committed to Disability Confident and back in November 2023 was re-accredited for the next three years as a Disability Confident Leader – the top-level award. 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) – hence support in this space is a departmental priority.</p><p> </p><p>There are no officials working specifically on Disability Confident outside of policy group in DWP – but we do have a Disability Lead working in our Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing team who supported the co-ordination of the evidence.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this submission DWP provided a large amount of evidence on the good practice that is happening with a focus on disability. This included but was not limited to:</p><ul><li>A review of the Workplace Adjustments processes, with a focus on ensuring adjustments are quicker and easier to put in place.</li><li>Supporting our THRIVE network – an EDI Network focussed on supporting colleagues with a Disability or long-term limiting condition.</li><li>Ensuring products and services offered to colleagues are accessible – both physical spaces managed by estates and virtual digital spaces.</li><li>Establishing a centre of expertise for resourcing, which includes a team focused on diversity and inclusion in recruitment – the team leads on ensuring our recruitment processes are inclusive, fair and open for all.</li><li>All recruitment follows the fair, open and on merit principles and is name-blind to provide anonymity and prevent bias in the process. Specific guidance is also provided to hiring managers including DWP Recruitment of Disabled People Guide and Supporting Disabled Employees: Line Manager’s Best Practice Guide.</li><li>The department has been awarded Disability Confident Leader and RNIB Visibly Better Employer status which is promoted on Civil Service Jobs adverts, diverse jobs boards, social media, and Civil Service Careers websites.</li><li>Taking all reasonable steps to overcome any barriers that may impede people with any kind of disability including mental ill-health. Our recruitment process allows for reasonable adjustments to be instigated on an individual basis and considered at each stage of the recruitment process.</li><li>Trialling new approaches across the recruitment and selection process to understand their impacts on diversity outcomes. This results in new approaches being adopted where data shows they work such as the implementation of sharing interview questions in advance of interview into recruitment policy in June 2023.</li></ul> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 20/05/2024 14:02:36 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718295

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department for Business and Trade
answering dept id	214
answering dept short name	Business and Trade
answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
hansard heading	Department for Business and Trade: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) holds Disability Confident Leader Level 3 accreditation (the highest possible level). One official works directly on supporting the Disability Confident Scheme as part of their role. DBT monitors the impact of the scheme using recruitment and retention data, among other data sources.</p><p> </p><p>DBT has a staff Disability Network and has committed to delivering optional Disability Confident learning for staff each quarter. DBT is doing work to eliminate biased language in our job adverts and reviewing its employer brand to ensure we continue to attract a high performing and diverse workforce through open and fair competition.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Alan Mak question first answered 20/05/2024 10:37:23 answering member 4484 label Biography information for Alan Mak
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718296

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Home Office: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26427
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>The Home Office has supported the Disability Confident Scheme since August 2016, as a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader. The Home Office attained subsequent re-accreditation, at Level 3, in March 2021, and, again in March 2024.</p><p>The Home Office remains committed to being a Disability Confident Leader and seeks to break down the barriers to career progression, to maximise the talent disabled people bring to the workplace.</p><p>The Department takes an evidence-led approach, to closely monitor disability representation, at all points of the employee life cycle.</p><p>The Home Office:</p><ul><li>has a dedicated workplace adjustments team, to support colleagues and line managers, alongside a dedicated team to support those that use assisted technology in the workplace. To supplement this, the Home Office has a workplace adjustment guidance, and line managers are invited to attend awareness session to increase line management capability.</li><li>have dedicated guidance on reasonable adjustments in recruitment for vacancy holders to work with. This is designed to ensure that disabled applicants experience a level playing field in the recruitment process.</li><li>regularly evaluates the effectiveness of Disability related policies and practices, alongside wider inclusion interventions.</li><li>work closely with our accessibility team to ensure our website is compliant with Public Sector Body Accessibility Regulations. For example, all our videos have closed captions, audio description versions and are accompanied by transcripts.</li><li>website also includes information on how to request reasonable adjustments when applying.</li><li>has a dedicated Disability champion at Director General level, who reports directly to the Permanent Secretary. The Home Office Disability champion chairs a Disability champion board every six weeks, which is attended by directorate level champions and the chair of the Home Disability staff network, where they monitor progress against the internal Home Office Disability action plan.</li><li>evaluates disability representation at all grades within the Department and have met or exceeded our internal target of 12%</li><li>has also enhanced its British Sign Language provision for D/deaf colleagues.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Department encourages disabled staff to participate in all Home Office led talent programmes, in line with their chosen career progression. The tables below show the Disability representation as of March 2024.</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Delegate Grades</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Group</p></td><td><p>Target</p></td><td><p>AA</p></td><td><p>AO</p></td><td><p>EO</p></td><td><p>HEO</p></td><td><p>SEO</p></td><td><p>Grade 7</p></td><td><p>Grade 6</p></td><td><p>SCS</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability</p></td><td><p>12%*</p></td><td><p>20%</p></td><td><p>18%</p></td><td><p>15%</p></td><td><p>13%</p></td><td><p>13%</p></td><td><p>12%</p></td><td><p>12%</p></td><td><p>13%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>*The Home Office Disability target reflects the economically active population, or the existing Home Office representation, whichever is higher.</p><p>Home Office Disability recruitment data shows a year-on-year increase in the percentage representation of candidates with disabilities at each stage of the recruitment process, which can be seen in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>% of disabled candidates</p></td><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>2023</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Application stage</p></td><td><p>8.5%</p></td><td><p>9.1%</p></td><td><p>9.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Successful Sift</p></td><td><p>9.6%</p></td><td><p>10.1%</p></td><td><p>10.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Successful Interview</p></td><td><p>8.8%</p></td><td><p>9.3%</p></td><td><p>9.8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ready to Hire</p></td><td><p>8.8%</p></td><td><p>9.1%</p></td><td><p>9.5%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/05/2024 17:14:32 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718297

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26428
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The FCDO is an accredited 'Disability Confident Leader' under the government's Disability Confident Scheme (https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/) which denotes organisations which have a positive commitment towards disabled people. Since April 2022, FCDO has a designated team which provides Reasonable Adjustments to its disabled UK-based staff in line with the Equality Act 2010. It also provides its disabled staff with a Workplace Adjustment Passport to facilitate the seamless retention of adjustments on a change of line manager, job role or move between business areas. FCDO's Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) provides guidance to hiring managers at each stage of recruitment to ensure applicants with disabilities are not disadvantaged. Candidates who opt in to the Guaranteed Interview Scheme who meet the minimum criteria for the role and who have demonstrated an acceptable mark in their application, will be offered an interview for the role. Any reasonable adjustments required at interview will be considered and implemented. Additional support for hiring managers is available by request. We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people globally through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 23/05/2024 16:37:01 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718298

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	217
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26429
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>DCMS has been a member of the Disability Confident scheme since 2017 and had its accreditation as a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-confident-guidance-for-levels-1-2-and-3/level-3-disability-confident-leader" target="_blank">Disability Confident Leader</a> renewed in April 2024. Activity to support our membership of the scheme, and disabled colleagues more generally, is mainstreamed into the work of the People and Workplace team including health &amp; safety, recruitment, HR policy, inclusion and career progression.</p><p>During the time that DCMS has been part of the scheme the proportion of disabled colleagues has increased from 8% in 2021 to 12.2% in 2023 (2024 data not yet published). DCMS won a Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative award for Creating Disability Confident Recruiters in 2023 and analysis of our recruitment data for 2023/24 shows that a higher proportion of disabled candidates were successful at the sift stage compared to the proportion that applied. Analysis of our retention data shows no difference between retention rates for staff with a declared disability and those without. To maximise retention we provide workplace adjustments, access to supportive staff networks, an employee assistance programme and targeted development for people with declared disabilities to ensure they can thrive in their career at DCMS.</p><p>Further steps we are taking include:</p><ul><li><p>Operating fortnightly application and interview advice workshops to support candidates.</p></li><li><p>Increased promotion of reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and education of recruitment panels on how to support reasonable adjustments.</p></li><li><p>Developing an inclusive recruitment workshop for recruitment panels.</p></li><li><p>Launching a sponsorship programme for people with disabilities.</p></li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez question first answered 22/05/2024 11:04:03 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718299

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26430
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department has been a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) member since 2017 and has ‘DCS Leader’ status. In line with the requirements of DCS, the department has supported staff with career progression through, for example, ‘Beyond Boundaries’, which is a cross-government, development programme and has ensured that its approach to recruitment is inclusive.</p><p> </p><p>The department does not have officials directly supporting the DCS. The principle of the scheme is to be embedded within the department’s internal Human Resource polices and processes.</p><p> </p><p>The department’s Diversity &amp; Inclusion Strategy 2022/2026 is driven by evidence of where to support staff, including those with disabilities. The department evaluates the impact of this strategy annually to identify areas for improvement and celebrate success.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 23/05/2024 13:25:43 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718300

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
answering dept id	215
answering dept short name	Energy Security and Net Zero
answering dept sort name	Energy Security and Net Zero
hansard heading	Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26431
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is a Disability Confident Leader. While there are no dedicated roles working on Disability Confident, several teams lead work to support the scheme. This includes the recruitment team that ensures activity is compliant with the scheme, and all recruiting managers are provided with information on how to apply the scheme. The department monitors data regularly to ensure that the scheme is effectively applied. DESNZ provides prospective candidates with information on reasonable adjustments that can be made in line with our legal obligations. The department’s Disability Confident self-assessment has been validated and is regularly reviewed.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 22/05/2024 11:54:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718301

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26432
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Defra has achieved Level 3 (Leader) of the Disability Confident scheme, this achievement is renewed every 3 years and we are currently working towards the renewal for 2024.</p><p> </p><p>Although not working directly on the scheme, our Director General for Strategy leads as a senior Disability Champion, along with 2 Deputy Directors as Deputy Disability Champions, and they support and champion the requirements of the Disability Confident scheme within Defra.</p><p> </p><p>These appointments are as recommended by the Disability Confident scheme provisions and additionally there is a Defra group Disability Board, chaired by the Executive Champion. This Board’s role is to ensure that actions and plans are in place and regularly reviewed to meet the provisions of the Disability Confident scheme and wider action to support employees with disabilities, impairments and long term medical conditions across the department.</p><p> </p><p>Over the last 3 years disability representation across Defra group has increased from 14.3% to a representation rate of 17.2%. Within core Defra the current representation rate is 16.8% which is in line with the current disability target representation of the UK working age population.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 23/05/2024 16:13:51 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1718302

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	26433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>DLUHC is a Disability Leader at Level 3 and we have ongoing work to detail and monitor our progress regarding Disability Confidence, this includes improving accessibility of recruitment, providing learning &amp; development opportunities for disabled staff and building a more inclusive workplace culture for disabled staff.</p><p>We look at a range of data sets to assess the effectiveness of this work including recruitment and turnover data and People Survey responses. The staff who work on this initiative do so as part of their wider responsibilities.</p> answering member constituency North Dorset answering member printed Simon Hoare question first answered 23/05/2024 13:37:05 answering member 4494 label Biography information for Simon Hoare
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes