Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many events have they held to meet and persuade employers to employ disabled people as part of their policy to close the disability employment gap, in each of the last three years.

Throughout these unprecedented times, the DWP Disability Confident (DC) Team has continued to work collaboratively with DC Leader organisations on a series of webinars (26 to date), covering topics, such as: Virtual Hiring, Recruitment and Retention, Mental Health in the Workplace and Workplace Adjustments.

The DC Team has delivered employer focused online events (11), entitled ‘A little less conversation, A little more action’ with DWP Work and Health Programme Providers and DC Leaders with the aim of encouraging employers to attract, recruit and retain disabled people.

The team has actively supported MPs to sign up to the scheme and has delivered employer focused events (8) in local constituencies to encourage sign-up to DC and have also co-facilitated a number of external events with other organisations, including national conferences to raise the profile of disability employment.

The DC Team has delivered an inaugural DC Awards ceremony (December 2021) in collaboration with the Business Disability Forum awarding employers from across the UK, who had actively encouraged the employment of disabled people.

Colleagues across Jobcentre Plus work on a daily basis with employers at both a national and local level and through these relationships secure support for our customers. This includes securing commitments to recruit disabled people and demonstrating this by joining the Disability Confident Scheme. This is done through both discussions with individual employers and also through local employer events