Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 17
Second Report - Disability employment gap
Published 30 Jul 2021
Paragraph 78
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee Disability employment gap All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We welcome the fact that DWP already encourages providers of some of its disability support schemes to adopt job carving as part of their support to participants. The Department, however, should do more to support and encourage employers to adopt job carving practices when recruiting a person with a disability. As part of its National Strategy for Disabled People, DWP should provide detailed guidance to both providers and employers on how they can job carve roles for disabled people. It should also ensure that Jobcentre Plus engages with local employers to encourage them to carve out roles for disabled people.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, Second Report - Disability employment gap (HC 189), paragraph 78, 30 July 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 November 2021 (deadline 30 September 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it shares the Committee's aim and is progressing its reforms, but keeps its existing goal of one million more disabled people in work by 2027 rather than adopting the Committee's proposed targets.
- On targets, it says it has "goals" rather than targets, because external factors affect disability employment, and that a 1.2 million goal is "very unlikely to halve the gap".
- On workforce reporting by large employers, it points to a Cabinet Office consultation, exploring "both voluntary and mandated workplace transparency", as "the right next step".
- On Disability Confident, it will review levels 2 and 3 and "consider" how to measure the scheme's impact and success, and says the review will provide an opportunity to seek views on external assessment.
- On the Work Capability Assessment, it says detailed proposals will be set out in a White Paper in 2022 following analysis of Green Paper responses.