Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to tackle the disability pay gap in the last 12 months.

This Government is committed to providing targeted support for people so that everyone is given the very best chance of getting into and then thriving in work.

From April 2019, Jobcentre Plus introduced an enhanced Disability Employment Adviser and a new Disability Employment Adviser Leader role, in total more than 800 individuals supporting Jobcentre colleagues to provide high quality services to disabled people and those with health conditions. One of the key transformational elements of Universal Credit is that it provides us with the opportunity to support people who are in work to progress and increase their earnings.

Using an Innovation Fund funded by DWP, DHSC, and NHS England we are testing initiatives to support disabled people and those with health conditions to get into, and then remain in, work.

The government published the voluntary reporting framework on disability, mental ill health and wellbeing in November 2018.This is aimed at large employers (over 250 employees) and it is recommended that they publically report on the pay and progression of disabled people at regular intervals. It can also be used to support smaller employers who are keen to drive greater transparency in their organisation or industry.