Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Business Disability Forum has shared with Ministers or officials the research informing the Forum's decision to oppose the introduction of mandatory employment and pay gap reporting, and whether they will place a copy of any such research in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government welcomes views from disabled people, businesses and their representative organisations on our proposals for disability pay gap reporting to help make sure they work for everyone. Being open to a wide range of views, experiences and concerns will support a more successful implementation of disability pay gap reporting.
Research conducted by the Business Disability Forum with their members has been shared with policy officials, as has other relevant research such as the Institute of Directors’ report Progress through transparency: the case for mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting.
Since both reports mentioned are publicly available and can be found online at their respective organisations’ websites, we do not plan to place them in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment each government body or department has made of the value for money of the subscription fees paid to the Business Disability Forum for (1) membership or (2) partnership, and what criteria were used for each assessment.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This information is not held centrally. Government departments are responsible for decisions about whether to buy services from third sector organisations to support equality, diversity and inclusion in their organisations.
Cabinet Office procured the Business Disability Forum subscriptions as a partner following a review of market options. This included looking at both the technical offering and price. Any future subscriptions will be subject to updated market analysis and value for money considerations.
The Business Disability Forum (BDF) provides support and guidance to the Cabinet Office on accessibility and disability-related issues, including reviews of procedures and policies, guidance on accessible training materials, and training for staff.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much each government department or body that is (1) a member, or (2) a partner, of the Business Disability Forum has paid in subscription fees in each year of its membership or partnership.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office is a partner of the Business Disability Forum and has been a member since 2020. The Cabinet Office paid £26,400 for 2024/25. The annual cost varies each year.
Information on which Government Departments and bodies are members and the subscription fees paid is not held centrally.
The Business Disability Forum (BDF) provides support and guidance to the Cabinet Office on accessibility and disability-related issues, including reviews of procedures and policies, guidance on accessible training materials, and training for staff.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which government departments and bodies are (1) members, and (2) partners, of the Business Disability Forum.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office is a partner of the Business Disability Forum. Information on which other government departments and bodies are members or partners is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government which ministers have met representatives of the Business Disability Forum, whom they met, and on what dates since July 2024; and on which government bodies and advisory groups the Business Disability Forum is represented, and by whom.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Minister for Social Security and Disability, Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP, met with the Business Disability Forum’s Director of Policy and Research, Angela Matthews and Director of Operations, Adrian Ward, at a roundtable event hosted by Scope on 11 September 2024. He has also met with Business Disability Forum’s CEO Diane Lightwood on multiple occasions: an introductory meeting with Disability Charities Consortium co-chairs on 17 July 2024, at the Labour Party Conference on 24 September 2024, a meeting about Disability Confident Business Leaders Group at Caxton House on 28 October 2024, Disability Charities Consortium meetings on 11 December 2024 & 12 March 2025 and the Disability Confident Business Leaders Group meeting on 4 December 2024.
The Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern MP, met Business Disability Forum’s CEO Diane Lightfoot at the introductory meeting with Disability Charities Consortium co-chairs on 5 September 2024 and at the Disability Charities Consortium meetings on 11 December 2024 and 12 March 2025. The Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports, Gareth Thomas MP, has met Business Disability Forum’s CEO Diane Lightfoot at a meeting of the Lilac Review Steering Board on 17 September 2024.
The Prime Minister met CEO Diane Lightfoot at a large reception at 10 Downing Street to celebrate Small Business Saturday on 3 December 2024. CEO Diane Lightfoot and Director of Policy and Research Angela Matthews have also been on group calls and roundtables with Ministers alongside multiple other stakeholders, for example on the recent NHS Ten Year Plan roundtable.
The Government bodies, advisory and representative groups where Business Disability Forum is represented are the Lilac Review Steering Board (Diane Lightfoot), the Disability Confident Business Leaders Group (Diane Lightfoot), Disability Charities Consortium (Diane Lightfoot & Angela Matthews), Access to Work Expert Reference Group (Diane Lightfoot & Angela Matthews), the Office for National Statistics Assembly (Angela Matthews) and the Work and Health External Advisory Group (Diane Lightfoot & Angela Matthews).
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report published on 23 January by the Institute of Directors and Disability@Work, Progress through transparency: the case for mandatory disability employment and pay gap reporting.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 18 March 2025, the Government launched a consultation on mandatory pay gap reporting for both disability and ethnicity. Responses to the consultation will help to shape proposals which will be included in the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which was announced in the King’s Speech in July 2024. We welcome the report published by the Institute of Directors and Disability@Work and will consider it alongside the consultation responses as we develop this piece of legislation. The previous Government consulted on disability workforce reporting in 2021/22, and we are pleased to have been able to publish a summary of responses to that consultation alongside the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill consultation.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer raised the issue of transnational repression with the government of China during her recent trip to Beijing; and if so, how the government of China responded.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government will take a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. We will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must.
The Chancellor raised a range of UK concerns in meetings with the Chinese government counterparts, including human rights and the restrictions on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong and the case of Jimmy Lai. The Chancellor also published a written ministerial statement about her visit to China on the morning of Monday 13 January and delivered an oral statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 January.
The first duty of the Government is to keep the country safe and it is committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take very seriously the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety. Any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated.
We have a broad suite of powers available to counter this threat, and we continue to implement measures in the National Security Act 2023, which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent work has been undertaken by the Defending Democracy Taskforce to tackle transnational repression.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first duty of the Government is to keep the country safe, and we are committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously. Any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated.
We have a broad suite of powers available to counter this threat, and we continue to implement measures in the National Security Act 2023, which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce is reviewing the UK's existing response to transnational repression to ensure it is robust and joined across Government and law enforcement. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform Access to Work and Disability Confident; whether any reviews of these schemes will be chaired by disabled people; and what proportion of the review panels will be disabled.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper, published 26 November 2024, set out the Department’s plans for labour market transformation, including more support for workers and employers. In the Spring, we will set out our proposals for significant reforms to health and disability benefits in a Green Paper. We appreciate the real importance of this topic for disabled people, people with health conditions, their representatives and so many others and so we will be carefully considering our approach and listening to their views.
The Disability Confident scheme needs to be more robust, and we acknowledge the need for reform. Officials are currently exploring options to enhance the criteria, and we will collaborate closely with employers, disabled people’s organisations, and disabled individuals themselves to fully realise the scheme's potential.
Our independent review into the role of employers in supporting healthy and inclusive workplaces will also make recommendations for change, and as part of this we are committed to working closely with disabled people. As set out in the White Paper, we will establish a disability panel to ensure the views and voices of disabled people are put at the heart of the design and delivery of our reforms.
As in all policy areas, any further reform proposals would be announced in due course in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what methods they plan to employ to engage with disabled people and people with long-term health conditions and their representative organisations in developing the independent review into the role of employers in creating and maintaining healthy and inclusive workplaces.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are shortly going to launch “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review into the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, led by the former Chair of John Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield. Sir Charlie Mayfield is recognised and respected in the business community and is ideally placed to engage with employers, businesses, disabled people and their representative organisations.
In appointing Sir Charlie Mayfield as the Lead Reviewer, we have taken due regard to the Nolan principles, and the Terms of Engagement for this review will commit the chair to conducting their appointment by these principles.
We will work closely with the lead reviewer to ensure appropriate stakeholders are engaged as the review progresses. We are looking to engage a broad range of stakeholders across the country, including employers, employees across various sectors, clinical practitioners, and lived experience. An expert panel will be established following the results of the discovery phase, and will be supported by a diverse range of external stakeholders.
The review will give appropriate consideration to proposals from all stakeholders, including the Disability Employment Charter.
We want to work alongside employers, disabled people, and people with long-term health conditions to understand this problem, and do our part to support them. We will work to strengthen these relationships and trust, and welcome any insights that are shared through this review.
In addition to this independent review, the department is working to establish a disability panel to consult disabled people as part of our wider efforts to ensure that the views and voices of disabled people are put at the heart of the design and delivery of our reforms. Once established, the panel will be engaged on the independent review.