Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Lord Shinkwin, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
A Bill to make provision for disability equality in respect of abortions.
A Bill to make provision for certain employers to be required to publish information about differences in pay between people from prescribed ethnic backgrounds; and connected purposes.
A bill to make provision for certain employers to be required to publish information about differences in pay relative to protected characteristics
Lord Shinkwin has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The most recent data available on UK ethnicity pay gaps is for 2022. The adjusted pay gaps for the most recent 5 years (2018 to 2022) for the Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Caribbean ethnic groups are provided below. A positive percentage value for the ethnicity pay gap means that the relevant ethnic group earns less than the white reference group.
Adjusted Ethnicity Pay Gaps | Bangladeshi | Pakistani | Caribbean |
2022 | UK born 8.3% Non UK born 17.4% | UK born estimate considered unreliable (-2.0%) Non UK born 14.1% | UK born 3.3% Non UK born 4.7% |
2021 | UK born 18.3% Non UK born 20.4% | UK born 9.5% Non UK born 11.9% | UK born 8.0% Non UK born 10.5% |
2020 | UK born 3.5% Non UK born 22.6% | UK born 12.1% Non UK born 20.8% | UK born 4.2% Non UK born estimate considered unreliable (3.7%) |
2019 | UK born 7.0% Non UK born 20.6% | UK born 3.2% Non UK born 16.0% | UK born 6.3% Non UK born 11.9% |
2018 | UK born 9.7% Non UK born 28.7% | UK born 6.1% Non UK born 14.7% | UK born 7.5% Non UK born 9.4% |
Adjusted pay gaps account for a variety of pay determining characteristics such as occupation, age, sex and geographical region. These figures are split into UK and non-UK born as we do not have the overall adjusted pay gap available for these specific ethnic groups. Further data on ethnicity pay gaps is available from the ONS website at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/articles/ethnicitypaygapsingreatbritain/2012to2022/relateddata.
Closing ethnicity pay gaps requires much wider shifts in society. Our ambitious Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March 2022, set out 74 bold actions to tackle entrenched ethnic disparities in employment, education, health and criminal justice. This includes our comprehensive guidance for employers on ethnicity pay reporting, published last April, which set out best practice on measuring, analysing and reporting ethnicity pay gaps. We also launched an Inclusion at Work Panel last year aimed at helping employers achieve fairness and inclusion in the workplace.
The Government published guidance in April which sets out how employers can measure, report on, and address any unfair ethnicity pay gaps within their workforce. This was an action from our ambitious Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March 2022.
We have no plans to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. Instead, we want to encourage and support employers who want to use ethnicity pay reporting to improve transparency and build trust among their employees. We are engaging with employers and representative bodies to promote the new guidance. We will also seek case studies from those that are already reporting on their ethnicity pay data, so that others can benefit from their experience.
Inclusivity and accessibility were key priorities for the COP26 summit and the venue was designed to facilitate that. The SEC venue has been awarded the Gold Charter of Best Practice by the charity Attitude is Everything.
The COP26 permanent structures were fully wheelchair accessible, and the venue holds gold level accessibility status. A complete accessibility audit for the temporary structures was completed by the production company, Identity. The structures were all fully compliant.
The COP26 Unit Civil Society Engagement Team established an officials-led Disability Inclusive Working Group, composed of disability Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and disabled people’s organisations. This group provided helpful guidance to the unit in the run up to COP26, which was incorporated into our planning.
We remain committed to an inclusive COP26, accessible to all, and the venue was designed to facilitate that. When officials were made aware of the issue in question, which was a genuine mistake, they worked urgently with the Israeli delegation to resolve this and the UK Government apologised to Minister Elharrar.
The COP26 permanent structures were fully wheelchair accessible and the venue holds gold level accessibility status. For the temporary structures a complete accessibility audit was completed and they were fully compliant.
The COP26 Unit Civil Society Engagement Team established an official-led Disability Inclusive Working Group, composed of disability Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), who provided helpful guidance to the unit in the run up to COP26.
The Equality Hub is part of the Cabinet Office, and therefore its work is covered by the Cabinet Office’s wider Outcome Delivery Plan. All departments’ Outcome Delivery Plans for the current year were published on 15 July 2021. The Equality Hub’s work includes development and delivery of specific strategies across government, for example the National Disability Strategy.
Each department is responsible for the equality work relating to their portfolio. This will be reflected in their Outcome Delivery Plan, Equality Objectives, and other relevant strategies, and equality considerations will be factored into their wider work in line with the public sector equality duty.
The creation of the new Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities reflects the Government’s commitment to levelling up and will be instrumental in driving forward the agenda across government, ensuring we are geared up to deliver on our ambitions. This is a transformative agenda and the Department’s priority is to produce a White Paper which matches our ambition and which will drive change for years to come. The links between levelling up and equality work will be even stronger given the Minister of State for Equalities is now based in that Department.
The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations, came into force in September 2018. They aim to ensure public sector websites and mobile apps are accessible to all users.
In May 2020, Government Digital Service (GDS) began monitoring a sample of public sector websites using a combination of automated and manual audits. GDS also monitors websites where complaints have been sent to the Equality Advisory and Support Service and the Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland.
More information on how GDS monitors the accessibility of public sector organisations websites can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-sector-website-and-mobile-application-accessibility-monitoring
GDS is creating an independent group of stakeholders consisting of organisations who represent the interests of users with a wide range of access needs to help aid GDS’s accessibility monitoring duty as well as ensuring that website users and the wider accessibility community’s views are heard.
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is testing websites in accordance with the Accessibility Regulations.
GDS will periodically publish information about their monitoring. GDS will also, on behalf of the Minister for the Cabinet Office, publish a list of websites with non-compliant accessibility statements.
GDS encourages organisations to engage with them to increase the accessibility of their websites for users.
The Government's response was unfortunately delayed due to Covid-19. We will announce further details of our revised timings in the usual way.
There are currently no plans to undertake a new survey in the Workplace Employee Relations Study (WERS) series. The study offered detailed information on employment relations and the impacts of legislation on both employees and employers. The previous survey methodology is challenging to replicate as it relies on sampling via the employer which is harder to obtain due to the increased salience of privacy related issues in recent years.
The Department undertook the Management and Wellbeing Practices Survey in 2018/19 which provides evidence on employment relations and management practices in British workplaces.
The Priority Service Register (PSR) records domestic customers who, due to their personal characteristics or otherwise being in a vulnerable situation, may require Priority Services. In Ofgem’s Consumer Protection Report: Autumn 2021 the Priority Service Register (PSR) had recorded 7,032,854 consumers for electricity and 5,935,528 consumers for gas in 2020.
Elderly and disabled consumers are protected. As per Ofgem’s rules, in winter, energy suppliers must not disconnect domestic premises where the customer is of pensionable age. Additionally, suppliers must take all reasonable steps to avoid disconnecting a premise if the occupants include a person who is of pensionable age, disabled, or chronically sick. Vulnerable customers who feel they are struggling to pay their energy bills should contact their energy supplier as soon as possible to agree on a payment plan.
The Government ran a consultation from October 2018 to January 2019 on Ethnicity Pay Reporting. The Government met with businesses and representative organisations to understand the barriers towards reporting. A response will be published in due course.
His Majesty’s Government takes any threat to the safety of Jewish people in the UK extremely seriously, and stands strongly against antisemitism in all its forms.
The attacks carried out by Hamas in Israel since 7 October are terrorist acts, committed by a terrorist organisation which has been proscribed in the United Kingdom since 2021 and designated as such by many other governments and international organisations.
On the misattribution of responsibility for the strike on the Al-Alhi hospital, as the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House of Commons on 23 October, “the misreporting of this incident had a negative effect in the region – including on a vital US diplomatic effort – and on tensions here at home. We need to learn the lessons and ensure that in future there is no rush to judgement.”
Whilst respecting the editorial independence of the media, the Government has been clear that media organisations should reflect on their coverage and learn lessons for the future.
On 31 January, the UK launched the new Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route for those with BN(O) status and their eligible family members to come to the UK to live, study and work in virtually any capacity, on a pathway to citizenship.
There is no cap on numbers on the BN(O) route, nor are there any requirements for BN(O) status holders to have a job offer in order to apply. As such, those on the BN(O) route will be able to work in virtually any capacity (with the exception of working as a professional sportsperson or sports coach) whilst in the UK, including in the sectors and occupations highlighted in the most recent Employer Skills Survey.
The Employer Skills Survey collects data on how many vacancies are proving hard to fill due to a lack of applicants with the right skills, experience, or qualifications – these are called skill-shortage vacancies (SSVs). The most recent survey conducted in 2019 found that 24% of all vacancies were SSVs. By sector, the rates of SSVs were highest in the Construction and Manufacturing industries, with both sectors reporting that 36% of their vacancies were SSVs. By occupation group, the Skilled Trades had the highest rates of SSVs (48% of vacancies were classed as SSVs). The three specific occupations with the highest rates of SSVs were Carpenters and Joiners, Welding trades, and Metal machining setters.
These findings from the Employer Skills Survey can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936489/ESS_2019_Skills_Needs_Report_Nov20.pdf.
Departments across Government are working together closely to ensure that necessary support and guidance is provided for BN(O) status holders who take advantage of the new visa route.
We want the UK to be the first choice for the highly skilled both from Hong Kong and around the world. This can be seen in the focus on high skilled migration in the Budget, including plans to modernise the immigration system and make it easier to use, as well as new routes for high skilled talent. We also want to ensure the UK is seen as open and welcoming to talent by those who are thinking of moving. At this stage we are considering those coming to the UK from Hong Kong as part of the wider picture of high skilled migration.
Supported Internships are an educational study programme and, as such, are inspected by Ofsted.
This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the noble Lord and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The Government agrees that disabled people should be able to go about their everyday business without being affected by the unlawful and inconsiderate actions of others. It agrees that the issues highlighted in the Policy Exchange paper, including the disruptive actions of protestors and the inconsiderate behaviour of some cyclists and e-scooter riders, can have a disproportionately negative impact on the journeys of disabled people in and around the Westminster area.
However, the Government does not agree that there is a culture of impunity in relation to these issues. Cycling or riding an e-scooter on the pavement is already an offence, and enforcement of this is a matter for the police, who also have powers to deal with protestors who are blocking the pavement or highway. Like all highway authorities, Westminster City Council has the power to remove items including abandoned rental cycles or scooters from the pavement or highway if they are causing an obstruction. Operational decisions on these and other issues are a matter for the police and Westminster City Council.
The STATS19 data on road casualties published on 19 October is summarised in the Department’s Reported Road Casualties Statistics Great Britain 2020 annual report published on 30 September 2021.
E-scooter casualties during 2020 based on data reported to the police are summarised in a separate factsheet published alongside the annual report, which shows that in 2020 there were 460 reported accidents involving e-scooters resulting in 484 casualties, of which 384 were e-scooters users. The majority of casualties involved minor injuries.
The consultation on the proposed changes to The Highway Code closed in October 2020, with nearly 21,000 replies received, and the Government response to the consultation was published in July 2021. Given the feedback received, we will be seeking to introduce all the proposed changes and will lay the revised version of The Highway Code in Parliament shortly.
E-scooters were not part of the consultation on the proposed changes. E-scooter trials are live in 31 areas. The evidence gathered during the trials will inform whether e-scooters should be legalised in the future, and how we can ensure their use is as safe as possible. Until we have that evidence we cannot commit to a legislative timetable.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of motoring offences in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. However, information on the type of vehicle issued with a motoring offence is not collected.
The Department has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials. We will be publishing reports in Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022, with a summary of the evidence collected and reviewed so far by our evaluation contractor, Arup.
This will include high level information on the number of trips; average distance and duration; scooter availability; and demographic information about users, from across the trials.
The evaluation is collecting data on accidents and injuries through surveys with e-scooter users and residents living within trial areas, along with an estimation of e-scooter casualties using free text in the STATS19 database. STATS19 is a collection of all road traffic accidents that resulted in a personal injury and were reported to the police within 30 days of the accident.
Outside the trial areas e-scooters are not currently one of the designated vehicle types collected in STATS19, and as such they would be classed as ‘other’ and can only be identified using a free text field in the STATS19 database.
Data for 2020 are currently being collated and validated. Subject to the data recorded in the free text field being of sufficient quality, the Department intends to publish data on e-scooters and other vehicle types, which can be reliably identified from the free text field alongside the publication of the annual publication of the Reported Road Casualties Great Britain in September 2021.
The Department is not collecting data on the number of e-scooters sold.
It is not illegal to sell an e-scooter, however under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled. The regulations ban commercial practices through which omissions and actions cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to make a decision they would otherwise not make, for example, to purchase goods or a service that they would otherwise not have purchased. The CPRs carry criminal penalties and are enforced by local authority trading standards officers.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) leads on ensuring responsible business practices. However, in December 2018 Ministers from this Department wrote to micromobility retailers to remind them of the law regarding the sale of e-scooters and we are planning to do so again shortly. It is in everyone’s interest that consumers can make properly informed decisions when buying these products.
The vehicle special orders (VSOs) issued to allow the trials to take place, contain the maximum number of e-scooters that are allowed in a trial area. This number is set by the local authority and the e-scooter operator, taking into account local circumstances, and is authorised by the Department. We collect monthly sit-rep reports from the local authorities in the trial areas and these include the size of the current fleet. We do not hold, nor are we collecting, any data on the number of e-scooters in use outside trial areas.
Since July 2020 we have held four e-scooter roundtable meetings with groups representing the interests of disabled people, including those with sight loss. The most recent roundtable was held on 7 June 2021, where three local areas involved in the trials, gave presentations on what they are doing to address the concerns of disabled people in trial areas.
We have instructed all local authorities participating in trials to engage throughout the trial period with these groups in their local areas to ensure their concerns are being heard and, where possible, mitigated. Following our consultation last year, and feedback from subsequent stakeholder activities, we have required all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can make others aware of their presence. The Department’s guidance for trial areas is also clear that there needs to be sufficient parking provision in trial areas; where a dockless operating model is being used, local authorities should ensure that e-scooters do not become obstructive to other road users and pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities.
The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme and we have also made additional commitments such as allowing vulnerable road user groups to take part in the evaluation process.
There are offences and penalties for using an e-scooter illegally. Users can be fined up to £300, have 6 points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. We are speaking with the police about enforcement during trials, and local authorities are speaking to police forces in their areas.
The Department has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials. We will be publishing reports in Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022, with a summary of the evidence collected and reviewed so far by our evaluation contractor, Arup.
This will include high level information on the number of trips; average distance and duration; scooter availability; and demographic information about users, from across the trials.
The evaluation is collecting data on accidents and injuries through surveys with e-scooter users and residents living within trial areas, along with an estimation of e-scooter casualties using free text in the STATS19 database. STATS19 is a collection of all road traffic accidents that resulted in a personal injury and were reported to the police within 30 days of the accident.
Outside the trial areas e-scooters are not currently one of the designated vehicle types collected in STATS19, and as such they would be classed as ‘other’ and can only be identified using a free text field in the STATS19 database.
Data for 2020 are currently being collated and validated. Subject to the data recorded in the free text field being of sufficient quality, the Department intends to publish data on e-scooters and other vehicle types, which can be reliably identified from the free text field alongside the publication of the annual publication of the Reported Road Casualties Great Britain in September 2021.
The Department is not collecting data on the number of e-scooters sold.
It is not illegal to sell an e-scooter, however under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled. The regulations ban commercial practices through which omissions and actions cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to make a decision they would otherwise not make, for example, to purchase goods or a service that they would otherwise not have purchased. The CPRs carry criminal penalties and are enforced by local authority trading standards officers.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) leads on ensuring responsible business practices. However, in December 2018 Ministers from this Department wrote to micromobility retailers to remind them of the law regarding the sale of e-scooters and we are planning to do so again shortly. It is in everyone’s interest that consumers can make properly informed decisions when buying these products.
The vehicle special orders (VSOs) issued to allow the trials to take place, contain the maximum number of e-scooters that are allowed in a trial area. This number is set by the local authority and the e-scooter operator, taking into account local circumstances, and is authorised by the Department. We collect monthly sit-rep reports from the local authorities in the trial areas and these include the size of the current fleet. We do not hold, nor are we collecting, any data on the number of e-scooters in use outside trial areas.
Since July 2020 we have held four e-scooter roundtable meetings with groups representing the interests of disabled people, including those with sight loss. The most recent roundtable was held on 7 June 2021, where three local areas involved in the trials, gave presentations on what they are doing to address the concerns of disabled people in trial areas.
We have instructed all local authorities participating in trials to engage throughout the trial period with these groups in their local areas to ensure their concerns are being heard and, where possible, mitigated. Following our consultation last year, and feedback from subsequent stakeholder activities, we have required all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can make others aware of their presence. The Department’s guidance for trial areas is also clear that there needs to be sufficient parking provision in trial areas; where a dockless operating model is being used, local authorities should ensure that e-scooters do not become obstructive to other road users and pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities.
The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme and we have also made additional commitments such as allowing vulnerable road user groups to take part in the evaluation process.
There are offences and penalties for using an e-scooter illegally. Users can be fined up to £300, have 6 points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. We are speaking with the police about enforcement during trials, and local authorities are speaking to police forces in their areas.
The Department has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials. We will be publishing reports in Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022, with a summary of the evidence collected and reviewed so far by our evaluation contractor, Arup.
This will include high level information on the number of trips; average distance and duration; scooter availability; and demographic information about users, from across the trials.
The evaluation is collecting data on accidents and injuries through surveys with e-scooter users and residents living within trial areas, along with an estimation of e-scooter casualties using free text in the STATS19 database. STATS19 is a collection of all road traffic accidents that resulted in a personal injury and were reported to the police within 30 days of the accident.
Outside the trial areas e-scooters are not currently one of the designated vehicle types collected in STATS19, and as such they would be classed as ‘other’ and can only be identified using a free text field in the STATS19 database.
Data for 2020 are currently being collated and validated. Subject to the data recorded in the free text field being of sufficient quality, the Department intends to publish data on e-scooters and other vehicle types, which can be reliably identified from the free text field alongside the publication of the annual publication of the Reported Road Casualties Great Britain in September 2021.
The Department is not collecting data on the number of e-scooters sold.
It is not illegal to sell an e-scooter, however under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled. The regulations ban commercial practices through which omissions and actions cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to make a decision they would otherwise not make, for example, to purchase goods or a service that they would otherwise not have purchased. The CPRs carry criminal penalties and are enforced by local authority trading standards officers.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) leads on ensuring responsible business practices. However, in December 2018 Ministers from this Department wrote to micromobility retailers to remind them of the law regarding the sale of e-scooters and we are planning to do so again shortly. It is in everyone’s interest that consumers can make properly informed decisions when buying these products.
The vehicle special orders (VSOs) issued to allow the trials to take place, contain the maximum number of e-scooters that are allowed in a trial area. This number is set by the local authority and the e-scooter operator, taking into account local circumstances, and is authorised by the Department. We collect monthly sit-rep reports from the local authorities in the trial areas and these include the size of the current fleet. We do not hold, nor are we collecting, any data on the number of e-scooters in use outside trial areas.
Since July 2020 we have held four e-scooter roundtable meetings with groups representing the interests of disabled people, including those with sight loss. The most recent roundtable was held on 7 June 2021, where three local areas involved in the trials, gave presentations on what they are doing to address the concerns of disabled people in trial areas.
We have instructed all local authorities participating in trials to engage throughout the trial period with these groups in their local areas to ensure their concerns are being heard and, where possible, mitigated. Following our consultation last year, and feedback from subsequent stakeholder activities, we have required all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can make others aware of their presence. The Department’s guidance for trial areas is also clear that there needs to be sufficient parking provision in trial areas; where a dockless operating model is being used, local authorities should ensure that e-scooters do not become obstructive to other road users and pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities.
The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme and we have also made additional commitments such as allowing vulnerable road user groups to take part in the evaluation process.
There are offences and penalties for using an e-scooter illegally. Users can be fined up to £300, have 6 points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. We are speaking with the police about enforcement during trials, and local authorities are speaking to police forces in their areas.
The Department has in place a national monitoring and evaluation programme for the e-scooter trials. We will be publishing reports in Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022, with a summary of the evidence collected and reviewed so far by our evaluation contractor, Arup.
This will include high level information on the number of trips; average distance and duration; scooter availability; and demographic information about users, from across the trials.
The evaluation is collecting data on accidents and injuries through surveys with e-scooter users and residents living within trial areas, along with an estimation of e-scooter casualties using free text in the STATS19 database. STATS19 is a collection of all road traffic accidents that resulted in a personal injury and were reported to the police within 30 days of the accident.
Outside the trial areas e-scooters are not currently one of the designated vehicle types collected in STATS19, and as such they would be classed as ‘other’ and can only be identified using a free text field in the STATS19 database.
Data for 2020 are currently being collated and validated. Subject to the data recorded in the free text field being of sufficient quality, the Department intends to publish data on e-scooters and other vehicle types, which can be reliably identified from the free text field alongside the publication of the annual publication of the Reported Road Casualties Great Britain in September 2021.
The Department is not collecting data on the number of e-scooters sold.
It is not illegal to sell an e-scooter, however under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled. The regulations ban commercial practices through which omissions and actions cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to make a decision they would otherwise not make, for example, to purchase goods or a service that they would otherwise not have purchased. The CPRs carry criminal penalties and are enforced by local authority trading standards officers.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) leads on ensuring responsible business practices. However, in December 2018 Ministers from this Department wrote to micromobility retailers to remind them of the law regarding the sale of e-scooters and we are planning to do so again shortly. It is in everyone’s interest that consumers can make properly informed decisions when buying these products.
The vehicle special orders (VSOs) issued to allow the trials to take place, contain the maximum number of e-scooters that are allowed in a trial area. This number is set by the local authority and the e-scooter operator, taking into account local circumstances, and is authorised by the Department. We collect monthly sit-rep reports from the local authorities in the trial areas and these include the size of the current fleet. We do not hold, nor are we collecting, any data on the number of e-scooters in use outside trial areas.
Since July 2020 we have held four e-scooter roundtable meetings with groups representing the interests of disabled people, including those with sight loss. The most recent roundtable was held on 7 June 2021, where three local areas involved in the trials, gave presentations on what they are doing to address the concerns of disabled people in trial areas.
We have instructed all local authorities participating in trials to engage throughout the trial period with these groups in their local areas to ensure their concerns are being heard and, where possible, mitigated. Following our consultation last year, and feedback from subsequent stakeholder activities, we have required all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can make others aware of their presence. The Department’s guidance for trial areas is also clear that there needs to be sufficient parking provision in trial areas; where a dockless operating model is being used, local authorities should ensure that e-scooters do not become obstructive to other road users and pedestrians, particularly those with disabilities.
The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme and we have also made additional commitments such as allowing vulnerable road user groups to take part in the evaluation process.
There are offences and penalties for using an e-scooter illegally. Users can be fined up to £300, have 6 points put on their driving licence, and the e-scooter can be impounded. We are speaking with the police about enforcement during trials, and local authorities are speaking to police forces in their areas.
The Access for All Programme prioritised the busiest stations first and took into account factors such as the incidence of disability in the area, proximity to a hospital, and stations that have high numbers of interchange passengers. A proportion of the funding was also set aside for smaller projects such as customer information systems which promote confidence to travel. This is how we recognise that improved accessibility has benefits that are hard to quantify and are therefore not explicitly reported in terms of social value.
Network Rail have continued to successfully deliver the Access for All programme which is due to deliver a total of 110 accessible routes at stations between April 2019 and 2024. 11 of these projects have been completed and the remainder are at various stages of development and design. The Department and the Office of Rail and Roads are working closely with Network Rail to ensure the continued successful delivery of the programme and all projects remain on track to be completed by on schedule.
The commitment to consult on disability workforce reporting was set out in the National Disability Strategy. In January 2022, the High Court declared that the strategy 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.
The Department aims 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 have paused a limited number of policies referred to in the Strategy or directly connected with it, including the planned findings report and next steps publication for the Disability Workforce Reporting consultation and work directly related to the Disability Confident review.
We are committed to disability policy that supports all areas of life, and to taking action to create a society that works for everyone.
No assessment has been made. Official poverty statistics for individuals living in disabled families, covering the period 2020/21, will be published in March 2022, as part of the Department’s Households Below Average Income publication, subject to the usual checks on data quality. This is an annual publication.
As well as receiving support through ESA or UC Health, disabled people may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment, which helps towards some of the extra costs arising from having a long-term health condition or disability. Spending on benefits for disabled people and people with long-term ill health has never been higher and is set to increase further. In 2021/22 we are forecast to spend £59 billion.
Vulnerable households in most need of support will also benefit from the £421m Household Support Fund (HSF), a new grant made by DWP to upper tier Local Authorities across England. The Devolved Administrations will receive £80m through the Barnett Formula.
We are reviewing responses to the Health and Disability Green Paper and intend to publish a White Paper next year, setting out changes to the benefits system that will better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future by improving claimant experience of our services, enabling independent living and improving employment outcomes.
The Government recognises that the Public Sector Equality Duty set out in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 is ongoing. As such, a full equality impact assessment was completed prior to the introduction of the uplift to Universal Credit and that equality impact assessment was reviewed and updated prior to implementation of the temporary six-month extension announced by the Chancellor at the Budget on 3 March 2021.
Consideration of the impact of the end of the uplift was implicit in those equality impact assessments, because the uplift was always intended as a temporary measure only. No separate assessment was therefore needed when the uplift came to an end.
Since 2013 (the earliest comparable year using the current definition of disability) up to the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic the general trend in disability employment had been positive. There had been strong growth in the number and rate of disabled people in employment and a narrowing of the gap, between the rate of disabled and non-disabled people in employment.
While quarterly statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the pandemic initially reversed these trends, there are now signs of the trends improving, with the disability employment rate returning to its pre-pandemic level in Q2 2021. The disability employment gap has also started to narrow again during Q1 and Q2 of 2021. This suggests that, in the long term, disability employment rates have not been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
We continue to monitor the data and annual statistics, published by the Department on 4 November 2021, provided a more detailed view of disabled people in the labour market. These included breakdowns by a number of individual and work-related characteristics and covered the first 12 months of the pandemic. The number of disabled people in employment continued to increase (year-on-year) throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but at a slower rate than seen in previous years. The number of disabled people in employment is now above pre-pandemic levels.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have provided specialist employment support remotely and made programmes easier to access. A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to start and stay in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.
Data from the Annual Population Survey shows the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on young Black people in relation to employment. Before the Covid-19 pandemic (July 2018 - June 2019) the employment rate for 16-24 year-old black people was 36.3%. This fell during the pandemic to 27.4% between July 2020 - June 2021.This is the latest available published data and therefore we cannot yet see how the employment rate of young black people has changed as the economy recovers from the pandemic.
Throughout these unprecedented times, the Government has provided crucial support to record numbers of claimants. . This includes the Youth Offer, which has been developed to ensure that 18-24 year olds claiming Universal Credit have the skills they need to look for, find and keep employment. We also have a national programme of mentoring circles, involving employers offering specialised support to young jobseekers from ethnic minority backgrounds, including young black people.
The Department has not completed an equality impact assessment of the removal of the Universal Credit temporary uplift as it was introduced as a temporary measure.
The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.
Through our existing programmes such as Work and Health Programme and the Intensive Employment Support Programme we are keen to see disabled people progress in work. Over the last 8 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by 1.5m.
The systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK is expected to conclude in autumn 2021. It is one strand of the Disability Unit's analytical work. It is part of a long-term programme of analytical work to improve and systematise the evidence base and ensure that government departments make decisions that are driven by robust evidence. It will inform the Disability Unit’s post-strategy work, including evaluation.
Any publication of the review would not be before Autumn 2021 at the earliest, due to the time it takes to conduct and write-up the review. Ministers will decide whether the final output of the review - or a condensed version of it - will be published, nearer the time.
The UK Disability Survey and the systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people are two distinct but complementary strands of our evidence and insight and engagement work
The systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK is expected to conclude in autumn 2021. It is one strand of the Disability Unit's analytical work. It is part of a long-term programme of analytical work to improve and systematise the evidence base and ensure that government departments make decisions that are driven by robust evidence. It will inform the Disability Unit’s post-strategy work, including evaluation.
Any publication of the review would not be before Autumn 2021 at the earliest, due to the time it takes to conduct and write-up the review. Ministers will decide whether the final output of the review - or a condensed version of it - will be published, nearer the time.
The UK Disability Survey and the systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people are two distinct but complementary strands of our evidence and insight and engagement work
The systematic review is part of Disability Unit’s ongoing work to improve and systematise the evidence base on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK.
The tendering process has been overseen by Disability Unit (DU) staff as well as procurement specialists from Crown Commercial Service (CCS). We do not know about those from the CCS side, but some DU staff involved do have lived experience of disability.
The scope and criteria were drawn up by Disability Unit, informed by knowledge of the existing evidence base and its gaps, and also incorporating the focus areas of the National Strategy for Disabled People. Since the tender was conducted as an open competition, all of the criteria (e.g. the requirements and the evaluation criteria) for the tendering process were available on Contracts Finder.
The systematic review is part of Disability Unit’s ongoing work to improve and systematise the evidence base on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK.
The tendering process has been overseen by Disability Unit (DU) staff as well as procurement specialists from Crown Commercial Service (CCS). We do not know about those from the CCS side, but some DU staff involved do have lived experience of disability.
The scope and criteria were drawn up by Disability Unit, informed by knowledge of the existing evidence base and its gaps, and also incorporating the focus areas of the National Strategy for Disabled People. Since the tender was conducted as an open competition, all of the criteria (e.g. the requirements and the evaluation criteria) for the tendering process were available on Contracts Finder.
The systematic review is part of Disability Unit’s ongoing work to improve and systematise the evidence base on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK.
The tendering process has been overseen by Disability Unit (DU) staff as well as procurement specialists from Crown Commercial Service (CCS). We do not know about those from the CCS side, but some DU staff involved do have lived experience of disability.
The scope and criteria were drawn up by Disability Unit, informed by knowledge of the existing evidence base and its gaps, and also incorporating the focus areas of the National Strategy for Disabled People. Since the tender was conducted as an open competition, all of the criteria (e.g. the requirements and the evaluation criteria) for the tendering process were available on Contracts Finder.
The systematic review is part of Disability Unit’s ongoing work to improve and systematise the evidence base on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK.
The tendering process has been overseen by Disability Unit (DU) staff as well as procurement specialists from Crown Commercial Service (CCS). We do not know about those from the CCS side, but some DU staff involved do have lived experience of disability.
The scope and criteria were drawn up by Disability Unit, informed by knowledge of the existing evidence base and its gaps, and also incorporating the focus areas of the National Strategy for Disabled People. Since the tender was conducted as an open competition, all of the criteria (e.g. the requirements and the evaluation criteria) for the tendering process were available on Contracts Finder.
The Government is committed to transforming the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year. It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, and will focus on the issues that disabled people say are most important across all aspects of life.
On Friday 15th January, we launched the online UK Disability Survey, which complements the range of engagement already undertaken and ongoing, including lived experience research with disabled people, discussions with the Disabled Charities Consortium, the Regional Stakeholder Networks and others. Contributions to the survey will feed not only into the development of the strategy but also its delivery.
The survey questions were also included in the Easy Read document published online on the survey page (link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-in-the-uk-survey). The key findings and analysis of the survey will be published in due course.
The National Strategy will be subject to the usual processes for collective agreement by ministers which are outlined in the Cabinet Manual. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place through Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.
We’re working hard to deliver the National Strategy for Disabled People to support our ambition to level up opportunity and inclusivity, and will publish the strategy this year. It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, focusing on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects and phases of life, including employment, housing, education and transport.
The Cabinet Office Disability Unit, established in November 2019, is leading and coordinating this work at official level within Government, and also with external stakeholders. The unit has engaged widely across government departments to support the development of the National Strategy. No meetings have taken place with other government departments specifically to draft the National Strategy, but regular meetings have taken place to develop the Strategy. We are also working closely with the 13 Ministerial Disability Champions on the development of the National Strategy.
The Disability Unit has also engaged with a diverse range of external stakeholders through our Disability Charities Consortium, Regional Stakeholder Networks and UK Disability online survey. By 4th March, the survey had generated more than 14,800 responses from disabled people, carers and the wider public. Other engagement has included businesses and business organisations, regulators, academia, professional bodies and the Devolved Administrations.
The Government is committed to transforming the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year. It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, and will focus on the issues that disabled people say are most important across all aspects of life.
On Friday 15th January, we launched the online UK Disability Survey, which complements the range of engagement already undertaken and ongoing, including lived experience research with disabled people, discussions with the Disabled Charities Consortium, the Regional Stakeholder Networks and others. Contributions to the survey will feed not only into the development of the strategy but also its delivery.
The survey questions were also included in the Easy Read document published online on the survey page (link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-in-the-uk-survey). The key findings and analysis of the survey will be published in due course.
The Government is committed to transforming the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year. It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, and will focus on the issues that disabled people say are most important across all aspects of life.
On Friday 15th January, we launched the online UK Disability Survey, which complements the range of engagement already undertaken and ongoing, including lived experience research with disabled people, discussions with the Disabled Charities Consortium, the Regional Stakeholder Networks and others. Contributions to the survey will feed not only into the development of the strategy but also its delivery.
The survey questions were also included in the Easy Read document published online on the survey page (link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-in-the-uk-survey). The key findings and analysis of the survey will be published in due course.
The Government is committed to transforming the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year. It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, and will focus on the issues that disabled people say are most important across all aspects of life.
On Friday 15th January, we launched the online UK Disability Survey, which complements the range of engagement already undertaken and ongoing, including lived experience research with disabled people, discussions with the Disabled Charities Consortium, the Regional Stakeholder Networks and others. Contributions to the survey will feed not only into the development of the strategy but also its delivery.
The survey questions were also included in the Easy Read document published online on the survey page (link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-in-the-uk-survey). The key findings and analysis of the survey will be published in due course.
The National Strategy will be subject to the usual processes for collective agreement by ministers which are outlined in the Cabinet Manual. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place through Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.
We’re working hard to deliver the National Strategy for Disabled People to support our ambition to level up opportunity and inclusivity, and will publish the strategy this year. It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, focusing on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects and phases of life, including employment, housing, education and transport.
The Cabinet Office Disability Unit, established in November 2019, is leading and coordinating this work at official level within Government, and also with external stakeholders. The unit has engaged widely across government departments to support the development of the National Strategy. No meetings have taken place with other government departments specifically to draft the National Strategy, but regular meetings have taken place to develop the Strategy. We are also working closely with the 13 Ministerial Disability Champions on the development of the National Strategy.
The Disability Unit has also engaged with a diverse range of external stakeholders through our Disability Charities Consortium, Regional Stakeholder Networks and UK Disability online survey. By 4th March, the survey had generated more than 14,800 responses from disabled people, carers and the wider public. Other engagement has included businesses and business organisations, regulators, academia, professional bodies and the Devolved Administrations.
The National Strategy will be subject to the usual processes for collective agreement by ministers which are outlined in the Cabinet Manual. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place through Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.
We’re working hard to deliver the National Strategy for Disabled People to support our ambition to level up opportunity and inclusivity, and will publish the strategy this year. It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, focusing on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects and phases of life, including employment, housing, education and transport.
The Cabinet Office Disability Unit, established in November 2019, is leading and coordinating this work at official level within Government, and also with external stakeholders. The unit has engaged widely across government departments to support the development of the National Strategy. No meetings have taken place with other government departments specifically to draft the National Strategy, but regular meetings have taken place to develop the Strategy. We are also working closely with the 13 Ministerial Disability Champions on the development of the National Strategy.
The Disability Unit has also engaged with a diverse range of external stakeholders through our Disability Charities Consortium, Regional Stakeholder Networks and UK Disability online survey. By 4th March, the survey had generated more than 14,800 responses from disabled people, carers and the wider public. Other engagement has included businesses and business organisations, regulators, academia, professional bodies and the Devolved Administrations.
Since the National Audit Office’s report on Supporting was published in March 2019, we have been working to fulfil all of its recommendations. For example, as part of the evaluations of Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, we will measure the impact of the programmes on participant employment outcomes.
We have invested in 60 minutes additional work coach time per claimant per year to offer ‘supportive steps’. For some claimants, this extra support may include activities and tailored support around work options, journey towards work and work preparation activity.
In September 2019, the Department created a Customer Experience Directorate to further our commitment to improve customer service.
We have strong oversight of DWP contracted employment provision. Since the publication of the report we have reviewed and revised our commercial processes.
The new nationally contracted employment programmes for disabled people since 2017 are the Work and Health Programme (WHP), which began in November 2017, and Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES), which began in November 2019. Both of these programmes are being delivered as Randomised Control Trials to enable us to measure the average impacts they have on participants’ employment. Both include full evaluations which will also capture the impact on wider health and wellbeing outcomes.
Separately, both of these programmes also have defined job outcomes which are used for the provider payment models and for performance management purposes.
In the Work and Health Programme, a participant is classed as achieving a job outcome when they have reached a specified level of earnings once in employment, or reach six months of being in self-employment. The specified level of earnings varies across the different regions. The national WHP and the majority of Local Government Partners have an earning threshold as 16 hours per week for 26 weeks at the National living wage. However, for the West London Alliance this is at the London Living Wage and for Greater Manchester Combined Authority at the Real Living Wage. Job outcome rates are published in the Work and Health Programme statistical publication attached.
For IPES, there are two job outcome measures used; a lower threshold income measure, which is defined as earnings equivalent to eight hours per week for 26 weeks; and a higher threshold, which is the equivalent to 16 hours per week for 26 weeks. There is not currently a statistical publication for IPES as the programme has not been running for long enough.
WHP was the first programme to utilise HM Revenue & Customs Real Time Information data in its identification, payment and validation of employment programme outcomes. This use of earnings has ensured that only sustained outcomes are paid for with participants having to acquire a pre-defined level of earnings synonymous with six months in employment, rather than a durational outcome. This has had significant advantages in terms of speed and reducing the resource required by the Department for Work and Pensions and contracted providers in tracking and evidencing outcomes.
There is no requirement for employers to notify the Government if they are using the Voluntary Reporting Framework on Disability, Mental Health and Wellbeing. As such, no data is held on the total number of businesses and related employees that are currently reporting on this. From November 2019 however those employers signing up to or renewing Disability Confident Level 3 Leader status have been required to use the Voluntary Reporting Framework, and other Disability Confident employers are being encouraged to use it.
As at 31 March 2020, 17,869 employers had signed up to Disability Confident (DC). This represents 1 per cent of UK employers in 2019, of which there are estimated to be 1.329 million (Business population estimates 2019).
The information requested on private and public sector employers is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
In the current climate it is not possible to estimate the number of DC employers at the end of 2020.