Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2025 to Question 51541 on Disability: Employment, what the criteria is to qualify for the Disability Confident Scheme.

Internal management information suggests that as of the 1^st June 2025, there are:

a) 31 members signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme in Fylde.

b) 368 members signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme in Lancashire.

Whether a member is based in these geographies has been determined using the postcode provided by the organisation upon registration i.e., when they signed up to the scheme or renewed their membership. This will not capture Disability Confident members who operate in Fylde or Lancashire, but who have provided a postcode from outside the region. As internal management information, this data has not been fully quality assured.

Any employer can join the scheme. The scheme is designed as a learning journey with all employers starting at Level 1 and encouraged to progress through the scheme to Levels 2 and 3. As they progress on their learning journey, we expect they will continue to increase and share their understanding with employees and put in place specific, effective and inclusive policies and procedures in support of disability employment. The criteria can be accessed on gov.uk using the following link: Disability Confident: guidance for levels 1, 2 and 3 - GOV.UK

The strengths of the scheme lie in its ability to raise awareness, provide valuable resources, and support employers in their journey towards becoming disability confident. There are no benchmarks set to measure the success of the scheme, but in 2022, the department commissioned a survey to understand from members’ perspectives the impact that signing up to the scheme has had on their recruitment and retention attitudes and practices towards disabled people. The survey can be accessed on gov.uk using the following link: Disability Confident: survey of participating employers, May 2022 - GOV.UK.

We work closely with Jobcentre Plus including the Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) who are committed to promoting Disability Confident to their network of employer contacts across the UK. This is delivered through one-to-one meetings, employer focused events and workshops, job-fairs etc.

We also work closely with the Disability Confident Business Leaders Group (BLG). The BLG, comprising senior leaders from significant businesses across all sectors, is helping to increase engagement with employers. The group promotes the scheme through their sectors and network and works with DWP officials to identify any changes or developments that will improve the effectiveness of the scheme.

I have been discussing ideas for making the Disability Confident scheme criteria more robust and officials will continue to discuss reform proposals with stakeholders throughout the summer.