Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in her Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.

In the 2014 People Survey, 28% of Department for Education respondents declaring a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability reported that they had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months.

11% of Department for Education respondents declaring that they did not have a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability reported that they had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months.

There are actions already in place to help address the issue of bulling and harassment of disabled staff. This includes improving line manager capability and support, the effectiveness of the Department’s reasonable adjustments process and mandating of unconscious bias training for all managers. The disabled staff networks are currently being consulted on what further action can be taken to improve engagement of disabled staff.