To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in the Department. [110521]

DFID's target for 2002–03 in respect of the proportion of people with disabilities in the Senior Civil Service was 1.7 per cent. That target has been met. Our target for 2004–05 is 3.3 per cent. We are increasingly advertising senior posts outside the Department and we use the disability media where possible. Adverts carry a statement encouraging applications from under-represented groups, including people with disabilities. We also provide financial support for a bursary scheme for Civil Servants run by the Cabinet Office, that aims to improve the representation of people with disabilities in the Senior Civil Service