MP calls for retailers to become more ‘Disability Confident’

The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Sarah Newton, is encouraging more retailers to realise the benefits of employing disabled people.

The government has launched a new campaign to get retailers to sign up to its Disability Confident scheme which launched in 2016.

According to the latest official statistics, around 123,000 vacancies exist in the retail and wholesale sector. With the government’s ambition to see a million more disabled people in work by 2027, the retail and wholesale sector offers huge potential for disabled people.

Retailers and associations have come together for the campaign including the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and the Post Office.

Newton said: “Disabled people can bring a wealth of talent and different perspectives to an organisation, and I want to encourage more retailers to make sure they’re not missing out on this huge untapped pool of talent.

“Becoming Disability Confident sends a clear message to both colleagues and customers that retailers take inclusion seriously and value diversity. We’ve made progress, but I want more retailers to sign up to improve equality of opportunity in this thriving sector and give more disabled people the chance of a fulfilling career.”

She added: “The spending power of the 11 million disabled people in the UK and their households – ‘the purple pound’ – is almost £250bn.”