• Drive to create more inclusive work environments and equip employers with advice on how people from all backgrounds can thrive at work and grow the economy
• Businesses and disability groups invited to test and shape new service which supports employers to employ more diverse and inclusive workforces

Thousands of businesses across the UK will benefit from a new £6.4 million online service to help employers better support disabled people and those with health conditions in the workplace.

The early test version of the Support with Employee Health and Disability service provides essential information about supporting and managing employees with disabilities or health conditions at work.

Any employer can access the service, which provides free advice on how to manage staff who may be in or out of work with a disability or long-term health condition in a user-friendly online Q&A format.

The service is aimed at smaller businesses, many of which do not have in-house HR support or access to an occupational health service and will help them to build more diverse and inclusive workforces.

The new service also covers potential changes an employer could make to help them return to and stay in work, supporting a government drive to boost numbers of people in employment and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to benefit from being in work.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Claire Coutinho said:

Since 2017 we have seen one million more disabled people in work, beating our target by five years. Now we want to go even further by giving more employers the tools and information they need to ensure disabled people and those with health conditions can succeed in the workplace.

As the new Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, there is no end to my ambition to build on the success of the Department by making sure disabled people have the same opportunities as everyone else to start, stay and succeed in work.

The site is currently in test mode, with businesses and disability groups invited to have their say through a short online survey, to help shape the future of the service.

The site will be constantly updated and improved over the next three years, informed by feedback given from the survey

The service has been designed to give employers easy access to the advice they need to create the best environments for their staff with disabilities or long-term health issues, so that anyone from any background can start, stay and succeed in work.

Once fully developed, the service will also help employers understand their legal obligations, including how to make adjustments for disabled people and those with health conditions.

Over the next three years, the government will invest £1.3 billion in employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions. This money will go towards building up existing provision, including expanding employment support, to grow the economy and help people with the cost of living.

Further Information

• The new online service is a direct response to the government’s 2019 consultation, ‘Health is everyone’s business’, in which employers asked for joined-up advice on supporting health in the workplace that is easier to find and act upon.
• The Support with Employee Health and Disability service is available online here – Support with employee health and disability – GOV.UK (dwp.gov.uk)
• The website is the first public version of the service and is part of an almost £6.5 million (£6.428 million) programme of work to help employers support and manage employees with disabilities or health conditions.
• The latest figures show the number of disabled people in employment has increased by 1.3 million since 2017, delivering on a government goal to see one million more in work by 2027.
• The 10-year employment goal was a government manifesto commitment originally set in 2017 to break down barriers for disabled people and those with health conditions and to build more diverse and inclusive workforces.

Media enquiries for this press release – 0115 965 8781

Follow DWP on:

The British Office Taipei, together with the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei and 22 British renewable energy businesses, will be showcasing the UK’s offshore/floating wind and hydrogen/hydrogen mobility expertise at the ‘UK Offshore Wind Pavilion’ and ‘UK-Taiwan Hydrogen Pavilion’ at Energy Taiwan in Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre Hall I on 19-21 October.

This is the second time that the UK participates with themed pavilions at the Energy Taiwan exhibition, demonstrating the UK’s commitment to support Taiwan’s 2050 net zero goals with strongrenewable energy development.

UK Offshore Wind Pavilion

The UK is the world leader in offshore wind, and has the highest total pipeline of offshore wind globally, reaching up to 86 GW to date. Taiwan is now the UK’s largest offshore wind market in Asia Pacific region with over 36 UK offshore wind companies setting up offices in Taiwan, many of these offices serving as the regional Asia-Pacific hub.

Twelve UK companies will be exhibiting to showcase UK supply chain expertise on offshore and floating windfarm planning & construction, engineering consultancy services, subsea equipment rental, O&M services, floating wind technology, and temporary power & temperature solutions for offshore and floating wind farms. The UK’s credit agency, UK Export Finance that provided more than five hundred million pounds in credit guarantees to three offshore wind farms in Taiwan will also be exhibiting at the pavilion this year.

John Dennis, Representative at the British Office Taipei will be opening the UK pavilion welcoming the industry practitioners to visit the Pavilion.

UK-Taiwan Hydrogen Pavilion

The British Office Taipei in partnership with Scottish Development International, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research and Taiwan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Partnership, bring ten pioneering UK companies from across the hydrogen value chain to demonstrate the UK’s expertise on hydrogen compression solutions, hydrogen production, refuelling, storage, hydrogen fuel systems, and engineering and environmental consultancy.

Low carbon hydrogen play a critical role in energy transition to net zero. The UK Government has published a hydrogen strategy in 2021 to sets out the approach to developing a thriving low carbon hydrogen sector in the UK to meet its ambition for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.

Venue: Booth K0508, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre Hall I

More Information:

1. Detailed information of the 12 UK companies at UK Offshore Wind Pavilion at Energy Taiwan.

2. Detailed information of the 10 UK companies at UK-Taiwan Hydrogen Pavilion at Energy Taiwan.

Today marks the year anniversary of the recommendations made by Rt. Hon. Sarah Atherton MP in her report ‘Protecting Those Who Protect Us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life’. A year on, Defence have taken on these recommendations and introduced an extensive programme of work alongside the work that was already being undertaken to tackle unacceptable sexual behaviour, improve the experience for women in the Armed Forces and build trust in the Service justice System.

Most recently Defence has launched three new measures that provide clearer direction to prevent and address incidents. These are the Zero Tolerance to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) Policy (JSP 769), the Zero Tolerance to Unacceptable Sexual Behaviour: A Victim/Survivor Focused Approach Policy (2022DIN01-073) and the Tackling Sexual Offending in Defence Strategy. These policies will ensure that Defence continues tackle unacceptable sexual behaviour and is a place where people are proud to work and have faith in their justice system.

In parallel to the recently published policies, a significant programme of work has been delivered across Defence and were set out in the Government’s Response to Sarah Atherton’s Inquiry. This includes training developments, transformation of the Service Complaints system, the stand-up of the Defence Serious Crime Unit HQ, delivery of improvements to uniform and equipment and the Servicewomen’s Health Improvement Sprint.

Recruitment

Defence has set a Level of Ambition to achieve a 30% inflow of women to the Armed Forces by 2030. It is recognised that 30% is a very challenging level of ambition, and one which has not yet been achieved by many of our NATO partners. In meeting this ambition, a Whole Force approach has been developed including tailored recruiting activities, women-focussed marketing campaigns and making greater use of Servicewomen as recruiters. Defence, however, recognises that recruitment alone is not enough and recognise that a greater focus on retention, behaviour and inclusion continues to be vital.

Women’s Health

As part of the commitment to improving the health and wellbeing for women in the Armed Forces, The Servicewomen’s Health Improvement Focus Team (SHIFT) was established to deliver the six-month Women’s Health Sprint, bringing together military and civilian skills and experiences to deliver key women’s health policies and initiatives. This includes menstruation disposal bags and a urinary support device, which are currently under procurement. Furthermore, a series of blogs on women’s health has been published by the SHIFT, with the aim of normalising the discussion of women’s health topics. These have received thousands of views and positive comments from Servicewomen, who feel like their voices are finally being heard and acted upon, and by others who welcome the opportunity to better understand and support their Servicewomen colleagues.

Diversity & Inclusion

A thorough training needs analysis was undertaken and a common standard introduced. Active Bystander Training continues to be an important part of the training offering, with the course being streamed 135,000 times, and we introduced a new Holistic Allies Training package in March 22.

April 22 saw the implementation of Climate assessments across Defence and work continues to upskill our diversity and inclusion Advisers and Practitioners to better support our people

Uniform and Equipment

As part of the pledge to improve the uniform and equipment offerings for women in the Armed Forces the Services have all made amendments to uniform and clothing that address women’s sizing, body shape and body changes. This includes the development of the Narrow Scalable Tactical Vest (STV). Wider revisions to uniform and clothing for each of the Services is in progress and rollout will commence in Summer 2022 and complete in 2023.

Service families

In recognition of the requirement to support a modern and diverse workforce, the UK Armed Forces Families Strategy was launched in January 22. As part of the support to service families there are currently six pilot locations running the Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme, with full rollout in September 22, with almost 2000 Service children benefitting from before and after school free childcare.

Service Complaint & Service Justice Reform

In June this year we published the Service Complaint Reform which introduces a range of reforms and improvements to the existing Service Complaints system for Service Personnel. This is a new system that will increase efficiency; make the system more independent through the introduction of Central Admissibility Teams; improve the support available for those who engage with the process and increase trust and confidence in the system and its decision makers.

In order to address the recommendations regarding the investigation of serious crime the Defence Serious Crime Command was established in April this year and the Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) will be fully operational by December 2022.

Defence continues to build trust in the Service Complaints System and Service Justice System through a revised approach to the publication of official statistics. This is part of a commitment to being transparent and continually seeking to develop and improve policies and support to serving personnel.

Understanding behaviours

We have also launched several targeted interventions to enable Defence to improve our understanding of unacceptable behaviours. These have included the implementation of recommendations from the ‘Wigston Review into Inappropriate Behaviours’ and the subsequent Gray Review. April 22 saw the implementation of Climate assessments across Defence and work continues to upskill our diversity and inclusion Advisers and Practitioners to better support our people.

These delivered measures ensure that Defence continues to be a place where people are proud to work and have faith in their justice system. However, this is only the beginning and we are continuing to develop and improve policies to ensure our brave and dedicated serving personnel are proud to be part of the British Armed Forces.

Thousands of people visited the exhibition, led by the UK Space Agency, as part of the countdown to the first launch by Virgin Orbit from Spaceport Cornwall.

Families took part in a range of exciting, free space-themed activities and hands-on exhibitions, including a Virtual Reality experience offering the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be at Mission Control, the chance to try on a real astronaut suit and handle a real meteorite.

Science Minister Nusrat Ghani, who officially opened the event, said:

We are proud to be playing an important part in the first ever satellite launch from UK soil, and we want to harness this incredible opportunity to inspire more young people to consider careers in science, engineering and space.

By establishing the UK as the leading European base to launch small satellites, we can build on our existing strengths in space manufacturing to create new jobs, grow the economy and attract significant investment into our growing space sector.

Following a successful wet dress rehearsal by Virgin Orbit in the US, the real LauncherOne rocket and its carrier aircraft – an adapted Boeing 747 dubbed “Cosmic Girl”– arrived in the UK last week. The integration of customer satellites into the rocket has been taking place in the newly inaugurated Space Systems Integration Facility (SSIF) at Spaceport Cornwall.

The mission, which has been named ‘Start Me Up’ in tribute to the iconic British band, the Rolling Stones, will mark the first orbital launch from the UK, meeting a key ambition of the Government’s National Space Strategy, as well as the first commercial launch from Europe and the first international launch from Virgin Orbit.

Ian Annett, Deputy CEO at the UK Space Agency, said:

Our work to establish launch capabilities in the UK is already bringing new growth through investment and jobs into local communities, and inspiring a new generation of space professionals whether in science, engineering, law and other disciplines.

A strong space sector depends on attracting future talent, so it was fantastic to see so many young people inspired by our full-size replica rocket in the centre of London and the activities this weekend. I hope we have ignited a passion for future space careers in many of them and made people aware of how space contributes to global sustainability and our prosperity as a nation.

The activities were supported by Virgin Orbit, Spaceport Cornwall, the Science Museum, Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum.

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said:

I’m proud to stand alongside this distinguished group as we strive to bring a historic launch into space from UK soil – the first in many more milestones to come as the United Kingdom enters a new era as a leading space economy, opening up opportunities for the generations of scientists, engineers, and explorers we see here today.

This launch is being enabled through the dedication and hard work of so many, and we at Virgin Orbit are so very honoured to be playing a part in it.

Squadron Leader Mathew Stannard, Chief Pilot, Virgin Orbit, who will pilot the plane that is set to launch the rocket, said:

I’m really excited to be here. Normally rockets are a business – we build it, we ship it, we get it ready, and we launch it. So to actually have a model one here to show people is really cool. Most people come up to you and ask, ‘Is this something you’re doing in five years time?’, but no, we’re weeks away from launch now.

The flight manifest includes payloads from seven customers, based in the UK and internationally.

The UK Government’s National Space Strategy sets out how the UK will become the first country in Europe to launch satellites into orbit in 2022. Spaceport Cornwall is one of seven spaceport sites being developed across the UK which will help unleash a wave of innovation and create hundreds of new jobs across the country. All UK launches are subject to receiving a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority.