Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department took to ensure that disabled people were adequately engaged during the recent Health and Disability green paper consultation.

In the 18 months prior to the formal launch of the consultation, we ran a significant engagement programme to ensure that the views of disabled people and their representatives shaped the content of the consultation.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we continued to engage with a series of virtual events organised with national charities, and a series hosted by MPs from across the political spectrum, attended by individuals and organisations from their constituencies.

The Green Paper was published on 20 July 2021 in a variety of accessible formats. These include braille copies, a British Sign Language video with an audio track and subtitles, a large print version, a full audio version available digitally and on CD and an easy read version.

Throughout the consultation period itself, we held more than 40 events with disabled people, people with health conditions and their representatives, including a series of virtual events as well as face-to-face events across the UK.