Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the quality of outcomes from the Disability Confident employment scheme.

In 2021, we began a review of the Disability Confident scheme which was announced in the National Disability Strategy (NDS). The review was exploring ways the scheme could be strengthened, including the quality of outcomes for disabled people.

In January 2022, the High Court declared the NDS was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations. The Secretary of State wanted to minimise the risk of acting inconsistently with the Court’s declaration therefore, we paused a limited number of policies referred to in the strategy, including work directly related to the Disability Confident review. The Secretary of State has successfully obtained permission to appeal this decision. The Court of Appeal hearing is due to take place on 28 and 29 June 2023.

I am exploring what additional steps we can take, whilst respecting the Court’s decision and awaiting the outcome of the appeal.