Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps they have taken in their Department to operate the Disability Confident employer scheme for those seeking a lateral transfer; and how many and what proportion of candidates who declared themselves as having a disability and who applied under that scheme where (a) interviewed and (b) laterally transferred in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.

The FCDO has a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) in place for staff applying for roles on level transfer. Through the FCDO intranet we provide advice for candidates and hiring managers to ensure the process is clear and we monitor its implementation. We do not however currently hold the data on how many colleagues applying under the DCS were (a) invited to interview and (b) secured roles on level transfer within the FCDO in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.