Employment: Disability

(asked on 1st November 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to make sure that British Sign Language users are made aware that the two-ticks scheme is being transferred to Disability Confident.


Answered by
Penny Mordaunt Portrait
Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
This question was answered on 9th November 2016

Disability Confident is a pan-disability scheme that has been designed and developed by disabled people, disability organisations and employers. The scheme provides employers with the tools they need to recruit, retain and develop disabled employees. Embedded within the scheme are links to useful videos, information and a range of guidance.

The scheme went live in a test and learn phase in July and was formally launched on 2nd November 2016 at the Recruitment Employment Confederation in London, with press releases and promotion through mainstream media, social media, Jobcentre Plus, disability organisations, and Disabled People's User Led Organisations. Further promotion of the scheme is being planned, including material in BSL.

The aim of the scheme is to reach the widest possible number of employers, covering all sizes and sectors. This includes employers from the construction industry, a number of whom have already signed up. Officials from my Department have worked with representatives from the Construction Industry Council (CIC) to help the construction industry become Disability Confident.

The Disability Confident scheme contains embedded links to information for employers about supporting staff with hearing loss, including references to Access to Work. The Access to Work scheme can assist where disabled people need support above and beyond employer-provided reasonable adjustments. Access to Work features specialist teams who provide a dedicated service to particular groups of customers, including deaf customers. The Government has committed to supporting an additional 25,000 people through Access to Work by 2021.

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