Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work calls on large businesses to reveal number of disabled staff employed

As 10,000 businesses sign up to the disability Confident Scheme, Ministerfor Disabled People, Health and Work Sarah Newtonhas called on large businesses to reveal number of disabled staff they employ.

DISABILITY CONFIDENT

Today saw the ten thousandth business sign up to the Disability Confident Scheme, which aids knowledge and promotion of accessibility in business to allow employers to feel more confident in hiring disabled employees.

Marking its second anniversary this month, Transparity has been comfirmed as brining the number of businssess signed up to 10,000.

This afternoon the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Sarah Newton hosted a roundtable at Downing Street with leading businesses, including Barclays, Channel 4 and KPMG, and disabled employees to discuss accessible employment and what more companies can do to build inclusive workforces.

ACCESSIBLE

The Prime Minister Theresa May has said: “I am committed to creating a society where we empower disabled people, celebrate their talents, and enable them to achieve their hopes for the future.

“And we’ve taken steps in the right direction with almost a million more disabled people in work over the last five years, and 10,000 businesses having signed up to the Disability Confident scheme. But the disability employment gap is still too wide. I call on employers in every sector to take an honest look at how many disabled people they employ.

“I ask them to look at the support they are offering and how accessible their workplaces are so everyone can be given the chance to reach their full potential at work.”

Recent employment figures have revealed that more than half of disabled people are still in work. However, there is still a long way to go with many disabled people still facing difficulties to get into full or part-time paid employment.

CAMPAIGN

Scope, the disability charity, has been working tirelessly to tackle the inequalities in employment and bridge the disability employment gap. Anna Bird, Scope director of policy and research, said: “This is a watershed moment – we will only be able to tackle disability unemployment if we understand the scale of the problem.

“We frequently hear from disabled people about difficulties they face – from negative attitudes and inaccessible recruitment processes, to inflexible workplaces and difficulties getting adjustments.

“Data on disability is crucial for employers to understand what action they need to take to recruit and retain disabled people.

“The Government must ensure that this information shapes future approaches to increasing disability employment. This will be vital in realising the ambition to get one million more disabled people into work by 2027.”

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