Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for the Department of Work and Pensions in evidence to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee on 3 May, when the root and branch review of the Disability Confident scheme will take place.

In 2021, we began a review of the Disability Confident scheme which was announced in the National Disability Strategy (NDS). 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.

The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work is exploring what additional steps we can take, whilst respecting the Court’s decision and awaiting the outcome of the appeal.