Ministers have announced plans to help disabled people in the workplace, part of a wider disability strategy billed as the most ambitious in a generation, but condemned by some campaign groups as notably thin in specific policies.
The 120-page strategy, led by the cross-departmental government disability unit, is intended as the first step in an annual process by which all departments will be assessed on how well their policies help disabled people.
The first incarnation, backed by £1.6bn in funding – although this is all money previously announced – focuses on the workplace, tackling inclusion and seeking to cut a disability employment gap currently at 28.6%.
Ideas include the possibility of making all larger companies say how many disabled people they employ, and increasing the number of disabled people employed by official institutions including the civilian military and reservists, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
There will also be a pilot scheme for what is called an “access to work adjustments passport” for people moving from education to work, or changing jobs; plus an online advice centre for disabled people and employers, covering areas such as flexible working and disability discrimination.
In other areas, one proposal is for 10% of [...]