Employment support for disabled people

Work and Pensions Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 16 Jul 2025 Parliament page
With the disability employment gap persistently at nearly 30%, the Government has announced it will spend an additional £2.2 billion on employment support over the next four years. The Committee will explore the reasons behind the disability employment gap, scrutinise Government programmes to support disabled people into work and make … Read more
9 Recommendations
9 Conclusions
4 Reports
3 Oral sessions
1 Letter
3 Events
Activity timeline 11 events
21 May
2026
Report published
21 May
2026
Report published
21 May
2026
Report published
21 May
2026
Report published
15 Apr
2026
Correspondence
11 Feb
2026
Oral evidence
11 Feb
2026
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
17 Dec
2025
Oral evidence
17 Dec
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
12 Nov
2025
Oral evidence
12 Nov
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions
11 Feb 2026
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Work and Pensions Committee
Angus Gray · Department for Work & Pensions David Lillicrap · West London Alliance Dr Simon Marlow · Department for Work and Pensions Lorraine Jackson · Department of Health and Social Care Ruth Cooper · Renfrewshire Council The Rt Hon. Dame Diana Johnson MP · Department for Work and Pensions
17 Dec 2025
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Work and Pensions Committee
Becci Newton · Institute for Employment Studies Gareth Parry · Maximus UK Laura Davis · British Association of Supported Employment Nicola Whiteman · Papworth Trust Professor Adam Whitworth · University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Professor Benjamin Barr · University of Liverpool Professor Bruce Stafford · University of Nottingham Richard Clifton · Shaw Trust
12 Nov 2025
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Work and Pensions Committee
Conor D'Arcy · Money and Mental Health Policy Institute Evan John · Sense Geoff Fimister · Inclusion Barnet Jamie Cater · Make UK Kate Nicholls OBE · UKHospitality Michelle De Oude · Greater Manchester Disabled People's Panel Patrick Milnes · British Chambers of Commerce
Recommendations & Conclusions
18 results
1 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
For too many disabled people, the workplace remains a hostile environment.
For too many disabled people, the workplace remains a hostile environment. This manifests itself in two main ways: a reluctance among employers to make reasonable adjustments, and inaccessible workplaces and practices that leave disabled people unnecessarily reliant on reasonable adjustments … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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2 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
To improve disabled people’s experiences of requesting reasonable adjustments, the government should strengthen the Equality...
To improve disabled people’s experiences of requesting reasonable adjustments, the government should strengthen the Equality Act 2010 by requiring employers to respond to requests for such adjustments in writing within two weeks. It should also provide in legislation that any … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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3 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
To provide a stronger evidence base for future policymaking, the government should commission more research...
To provide a stronger evidence base for future policymaking, the government should commission more research into: • the impact of flexible working, particularly remote working, on productivity; 38 • the costs and benefits of giving disabled people the right to … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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4 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We also recommend that the government provide an update on its plans to improve disabled...
We also recommend that the government provide an update on its plans to improve disabled people’s access to assistive technology, including the proposal to establish an Assistive and Accessible Technology Centre. (Recommendation, Paragraph 35)
Department for Work and Pensions
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5 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
To ensure that no disabled person misses out on reasonable adjustments through a lack of...
To ensure that no disabled person misses out on reasonable adjustments through a lack of awareness or confidence, the government should require employers to provide all new employees, whether they know them to be disabled or not, with information about … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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6 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We wholeheartedly support the ambition in the Keep Britain Working Report to transform the way...
We wholeheartedly support the ambition in the Keep Britain Working Report to transform the way employers manage the health of their employees and thereby prevent people from falling out of work and into economic inactivity. If it succeeds, disabled people, … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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7 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We urge the Vanguard Taskforce, and ultimately the government, to clarify the nature of the...
We urge the Vanguard Taskforce, and ultimately the government, to clarify the nature of the Workplace Health Provision (WHP) by the end of the year and to include within its scope at least some element of occupational health for small … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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8 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We recognise that the focus of the Keep Britain Working Report was on preventing people...
We recognise that the focus of the Keep Britain Working Report was on preventing people from falling out of work, but the proposals being trialled by the Vanguards present an opportunity to support more disabled people into work by encouraging … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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9 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We recommend that encouraging employers to make their workplaces more accessible for disabled people, beyond...
We recommend that encouraging employers to make their workplaces more accessible for disabled people, beyond improving access to reasonable adjustments, be made an explicit aim of the Healthy Working Lifecycle (HWL) and Workplace Health Provision (WHP). The Vanguards should explore … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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10 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We have concerns about the idea of sharing the burden of funding the Workplace Health...
We have concerns about the idea of sharing the burden of funding the Workplace Health Provision (WHP) equally between all employers. While we disagree that smaller employers will not benefit from the WHP, making these employers pay too much, too … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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11 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We recommend that the government explore alternatives to asking small business owners to pay for...
We recommend that the government explore alternatives to asking small business owners to pay for the WHP, at least until the costs and benefits have started to be clearly defined. Among these alternatives, it should include the possibility of asking … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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12 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
Employers often overestimate the costs and risks of employing disabled people, and underestimate the return...
Employers often overestimate the costs and risks of employing disabled people, and underestimate the return on investment and long-term benefits, but employers’ concerns will sometimes be justified. It is right, therefore, that the government explore financial incentives for employers who … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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13 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
Financial incentives for small employers to engage with the proposals in Keep Britain Working and...
Financial incentives for small employers to engage with the proposals in Keep Britain Working and hire more disabled people should be among the first concrete proposals coming out of the Vanguards. In its response to our report, we ask the … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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14 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
Mandatory disability reporting has the potential to improve disability employment rates.
Mandatory disability reporting has the potential to improve disability employment rates. (Conclusion, Paragraph 69)
Department for Work and Pensions
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15 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We recommend that the government legislate as part of the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill...
We recommend that the government legislate as part of the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill to require businesses with more than 250 employees to report on the number of disabled people they employ. Alongside a commitment to legislate, the government … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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16 Conclusion
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We agree with the Keep Britain Working Report that the Workplace Health Provision (WHP) does...
We agree with the Keep Britain Working Report that the Workplace Health Provision (WHP) does not need to reinvent the wheel and should instead bring together and expand existing provision. There are already many third sector organisations, including disability charities, … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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17 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
We recommend that the WHP capitalise on the existing support available from third sector organisations...
We recommend that the WHP capitalise on the existing support available from third sector organisations by providing a single point of entry to that support for employers and employees. (Recommendation, Paragraph 75)
Department for Work and Pensions
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18 Recommendation
7th Report - Employment support fo…
In the light of evidence set out throughout out report, we recommend that the Workplace...
In the light of evidence set out throughout out report, we recommend that the Workplace Health Intelligence Unit seek to gather data on: • the impact of adjustment passports on disabled people’s access to, and experiencing of requesting, reasonable adjustments; … Read more
Department for Work and Pensions
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Correspondence 1 letter
15 Apr 2026 Correspondence with the Minister for Employment, following her appearance before the Committee on Wednesday 11 February 2026
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