Vicky Foxcroft

The Disability Unit was established in November 2019, when a Machinery of Government Change transferred officials from the former Office for Disability Issues (ODI) to the Cabinet Office from the Department for Work and Pensions to form the Disability Unit.

*Data was not held on our systems in December 2019

Of those that declared their disability status:

Percentages exclude those who did not declare their disability status or who declared that they would prefer not to say.

The Disability Unit was established in November 2019, when a Machinery of Government Change transferred officials from the former Office for Disability Issues (ODI) to the Cabinet Office from the Department for Work and Pensions to form the Disability Unit.

*Data was not held on our systems in December 2019

Of those that declared their disability status:

Percentages exclude those who did not declare their disability status or who declared that they would prefer not to say.

I (The Rt Hon. Johnny Mercer MP) was appointed as the Ministerial Disability Champion for the Cabinet Office.

I look forward to working with the other Ministerial Disability Champions appointed in each Government Department to represent the interests of disabled people and drive forward progress on disability policy across government.

The Cabinet Office “COVID-19 Response; Living with COVID-19” publication in February 2022 set out how England would move into a new phase of managing COVID-19. The Cabinet Office has no plans at present to review the strategy.

The UK Health Security Agency publishes a number of guidance documents in relation to living safely with respiratory infections, including COVID-19. All guidance is kept under review to ensure our response remains effective.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 23 November is attached.

My hon. Friend, the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), has been appointed Minister for Disabled People. A summary of her responsibilities can be found on gov.uk here:

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We are committed to ensuring that government communications are available and accessible across multiple channels and in a number of alternative formats in order to meet a range of needs. The Government’s most crucial content is available in alternative accessibility formats including Easy Read, large text formats, videos with British Sign Language interpretation and audio. Speeches from the Prime Minister are also made available in transcript form on GOV.UK, aligning with accessibility standards.

Following Royal Assent of the British Sign Language (BSL) Act (2022) and the legal recognition of British Sign Language as a language of England, Wales and Scotland, the Government Communication Service will promote and facilitate the use of British Sign Language in communications with the public, where appropriate. We are currently developing our plans to do this and will be reporting on our progress via the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 2nd September is attached.

Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 22 April is attached.

For management and staffing purposes Downing Street is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

1. The Cabinet Office has a disability network, known as the ABLE network. The ABLE network is supported through a number of wider disability specific communities. At the Civil Service level, the ABLE Chair meets with other Disability chairs at the Civil Service Diversity Network where best practice is shared at the CS level. In addition, the Cabinet Office supports ABLE’s membership of Purple Space where all disabled network colleagues have the choice to link up with disability networks across the Purple Space community which has cross sector membership where disability inclusion knowledge is shared across different organisations.

2. Cabinet Office was reaccredited as a Disability Confident Leader in January 2021. This is the highest level of accreditation that can be achieved for the scheme.

3. The Cabinet Office Adjustments team is a dedicated resource within the Department that provides advice to employees and managers. The team aims to respond to all requests for assistance within three working days. For employees requiring workplace adjustments, the team provides end-to-end support to managers to implement physical adjustments. Managers are also supported by a Casework Service provided by MoJ (the Cabinet Office third party supplier) on the implementation of non-physical adjustments.

4. The Cabinet Office embraces flexible working and this is often used as workplace adjustment to enable colleagues to work to their full potential.

For management and staffing purposes Downing Street is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

1. The Cabinet Office has a disability network, known as the ABLE network. The ABLE network is supported through a number of wider disability specific communities. At the Civil Service level, the ABLE Chair meets with other Disability chairs at the Civil Service Diversity Network where best practice is shared at the CS level. In addition, the Cabinet Office supports ABLE’s membership of Purple Space where all disabled network colleagues have the choice to link up with disability networks across the Purple Space community which has cross sector membership where disability inclusion knowledge is shared across different organisations.

2. Cabinet Office was reaccredited as a Disability Confident Leader in January 2021. This is the highest level of accreditation that can be achieved for the scheme.

3. The Cabinet Office Adjustments team is a dedicated resource within the Department that provides advice to employees and managers. The team aims to respond to all requests for assistance within three working days. For employees requiring workplace adjustments, the team provides end-to-end support to managers to implement physical adjustments. Managers are also supported by a Casework Service provided by MoJ (the Cabinet Office third party supplier) on the implementation of non-physical adjustments.

4. The Cabinet Office embraces flexible working and this is often used as workplace adjustment to enable colleagues to work to their full potential.

Following the publication of the National Disability Strategy, the Cabinet Office has continued to issue internal guidance on accessibility to government departments reiterating their duties under the Equality Act 2010. This is to ensure that communications are accessible using appropriate and inclusive formats.

The Cabinet Office has continued to liaise with departments to encourage and support the development of accessible content - most recently to mark the International Day of People with Disabilities.

The Cabinet Office also created a disability communications stakeholder working group in 2020 and regularly engages with that group to improve new messages.

GOV.UK ran an audit in 2020 to identify and improve content and navigational issues. Following the audit, GOV.UK has updated publishing tools and guidance, and worked with departments to ensure their content adheres to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Claire Pimm, Director of Communications, National Resilience Hub is the nominated senior civil servant to champion accessible communications across government.

It is the Government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office.

Officials in the Cabinet Office Disability Unit continue to work with colleagues at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DHLUC) on this issue. DHLUC is developing a new scheme to support those seeking to become candidates and to support those who have been elected to public office. That work is a part of the 2022/23 local government improvement work which will be launched from April this year.

Officials are also speaking to the National Association of Local Councils and the Local Government Association about enhancing support and guidance for disabled councillors.

Government Communications teams regularly engage with disability charities as well as a wide range of stakeholder groups in order to better understand and manage those varying audiences' needs and preferences.

The Government’s response to COVID-19 significantly improved our overall communications approach in providing important public information to a wide range of audiences, including those with disabilities. As an example, key government publications on COVID have been published and made available in accessible formats, and communications materials have been made available in formats such as large print, BSL, audio and video.

Since the publication of the National Disability Strategy last July, the Government’s Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) has also published the outcome of its monitoring of the UK’s public sector websites and mobile applications. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accessibility-monitoring-of-public-sector-websites-and-mobile-apps-2020-2021/accessibility-monitoring-of-public-sector-websites-and-mobile-apps-2020-2021.

The report also explains CDDO’s ongoing work to implement the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (“accessibility regulations''). This includes publication of guidance on how users can report accessibility issues with a public sector website or mobile app and guidance on how to make mobile apps accessible. CDDO will continue to monitor public sector websites and mobile applications throughout 2022.

We are unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

Throughout the pandemic, we have been guided by data and scientific advice and have acted quickly and decisively to save lives and livelihoods.

Every death from this virus is a tragedy and our sympathies are with everyone who has lost loved ones.

On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed to this House that a public inquiry into COVID-19 would be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers, and that it will begin its work in spring 2022.

Further details, including terms of reference, will be set out in due course.

Throughout the pandemic, senior ministers, including the Prime Minister, have met and will continue to meet with bereaved families.

The Government is committed to ensuring that elections are accessible for all those eligible to vote and is actively working to improve the electoral process for voters with disabilities.

The Government intends to introduce legislation to improve the support provided to disabled voters at polling stations, and to allow a wider range of people to act as a companion to support disabled voters at the polling station.

The Cabinet Office has led work to make electoral registration more accessible to people with disabilities. This work, coordinated through the Cabinet Office’s Accessibility of Elections Working Group, includes providing accessible information on registering to vote and voting; including easy read guides which sit on the Register to Vote Website, and provides support on the online application process.

There will be an estimated £92 million of government funding that will be provided to Returning Officers and local authorities for the elections; of this, £31 million is an uplift to directly address costs associated with making the elections COVID-secure. This funding will support Returning Officers to deliver the polls and ensure that all eligible electors are able to vote in a way of their choosing, either in person, by proxy or by post. We encourage those wishing to use a postal vote to apply early.

The Government does not collect data on the protected characteristics of voters.

The Government is committed to ensuring that elections are accessible for all those eligible to vote and is actively working to improve the electoral process for voters with disabilities.

The Government intends to introduce legislation to improve the support provided to disabled voters at polling stations, and to allow a wider range of people to act as a companion to support disabled voters at the polling station.

The Cabinet Office has led work to make electoral registration more accessible to people with disabilities. This work, coordinated through the Cabinet Office’s Accessibility of Elections Working Group, includes providing accessible information on registering to vote and voting; including easy read guides which sit on the Register to Vote Website, and provides support on the online application process.

There will be an estimated £92 million of government funding that will be provided to Returning Officers and local authorities for the elections; of this, £31 million is an uplift to directly address costs associated with making the elections COVID-secure. This funding will support Returning Officers to deliver the polls and ensure that all eligible electors are able to vote in a way of their choosing, either in person, by proxy or by post. We encourage those wishing to use a postal vote to apply early.

The Government does not collect data on the protected characteristics of voters.

The Government is committed to ensuring that elections are accessible for all those eligible to vote and is actively working to improve the electoral process for voters with disabilities.

The Government intends to introduce legislation to improve the support provided to disabled voters at polling stations, and to allow a wider range of people to act as a companion to support disabled voters at the polling station.

The Cabinet Office has led work to make electoral registration more accessible to people with disabilities. This work, coordinated through the Cabinet Office’s Accessibility of Elections Working Group, includes providing accessible information on registering to vote and voting; including easy read guides which sit on the Register to Vote Website, and provides support on the online application process.

There will be an estimated £92 million of government funding that will be provided to Returning Officers and local authorities for the elections; of this, £31 million is an uplift to directly address costs associated with making the elections COVID-secure. This funding will support Returning Officers to deliver the polls and ensure that all eligible electors are able to vote in a way of their choosing, either in person, by proxy or by post. We encourage those wishing to use a postal vote to apply early.

The Government does not collect data on the protected characteristics of voters.