Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effectiveness of (a) the Get Set Progress scheme and (b) paid internship programmes for disabled people; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues to (i) increase internships for disabled people and (ii) diversify the sources from which departments recruit.

Ministers have been encouraged by the briefing they have received on the ‘Get Set Progress’ scheme, but no assessment has been carried out by this department.

Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. All government departments and employers must consider the Equality Act when providing internships.

Civil Service internships are a matter for Government Skills, part of the Cabinet Office and supported internships are a matter for the Department for Education.