Disabled

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what targets his Department has set in relation to its employment of people with disabilities over the next five years. (199055)

Departmental targets relating to the employment of people with disabilities, to be achieved by April 2008, are as follows:

*Progress towards numerical targets*
			1 April 2008	10 point plan target	BERR target
	10 point plan target (%)	BERR target (%)	Number minority staff	Number of staff at Band	Current %age	Number of staff required to meet target	Difference	Number of staff required to meet target	Difference
SCS Disabled	3.2	4.7	8	176	5	6	+2 (exceeded)	8	0 (exceeded percentage)
Band C disabled	None set	None set	59	1,014	6	—	—	—	—

10 Point Plan for a Diverse Civil Service, published in November 2005, set a target that 3.2 per cent. of Senior Civil Service (SCS) posts are to be filled by disabled people by April 2008. Final measurements of achievement against this target will be available by October 2008.

The Department is in the process of agreeing a Diversity Strategy for the period April 2008 to March 2011. An appropriate target for the representation of people with disabilities is currently under consideration.

13 per cent. of staff responding to the November 2007 Staff Opinion Survey reported that they had a disability or long term health condition.

Volume 475: debated on Tuesday 13 May 2008