Disability: Employment

(asked on 31st January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy published July 2021, what recent steps his Department has taken on (a) encouraging and supporting workplace disability networks, (b) achieving and maintaining the highest level of Disability Confident accreditation, (c) ensuring responsive and timely support to meet workplace adjustment needs and (d) developing and embedding flexible working.


Answered by
Lee Rowley Portrait
Lee Rowley
Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
This question was answered on 8th February 2022

The Department has taken the following steps:

a) BEIS has an existing disability network which brings together colleagues with disabilities and long-term health conditions. The network is supported by a champion from the Senior Civil Service and has access to Purple Space, which is a professional development hub for disability network leaders.

b) BEIS was accredited as a Disability Confident Leader in 2017 and was successfully reaccredited in 2020. This was validated by Business Disability Forum (BDF) and the Department continues to work closely with BDF as well as the disability network to ensure that BEIS maintains the standards of a Disability Confident Leader.

c) Support is given at recruitment stage for reasonable adjustments or in the event of ill health during employment. We have specialist software readily available to support several different disabilities, policies that allow flexible working patterns, and access to specialist equipment.

d) BEIS has developed a wide range of flexible working practices that have been operating since our creation in 2016. A recent addition is the opportunity for staff to work in a hybrid way (a blend of office and home working).

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