Thank you to everybody who came to the Ismaili Centre in South Kensington for our Sixth Disability Colloquium, entitled “Closing the disability employment gap”. Here is a taste of what our guest speakers had to say:-

Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson: "I am committed to halving the disability employment gap. So far 150,000 more disabled people are in work than last year, but I’m not complacent. Too often employers overlook the skills and experience that disabled people can bring to the workplace. Through events like this we can share best practice and make halving the disability employment gap a reality."

Clare Pelham, Chief Executive, Leonard Cheshire Disability: "The Government’s commitment to halve the disability employment gap is very ambitious and it is vitally important that even more disabled people have opportunities to participate in the UK’s workforce. To achieve this goal it is important that disabled people are able to access the support they need and for employers to become more disability confident."

Sarah Lambert, Head of Policy, The National Autistic Society: "Our surveys indicate that just 15% of autistic people are in full-time paid work. Concerted action is needed from Government, employers, the voluntary sector and others to address this.

"Autistic people have a lot to offer to employers, but face significant barriers in finding and staying in work. We are currently researching these barriers, and the Government should look carefully at our findings which will be available in the autumn."

Vicki Nash, Head of Policy and Campaigns, Mind: "Supporting more than a million extra disabled people into work has the potential to change the public narrative around disabled people. It also has the potential to lift hundreds of thousands of disabled people out of poverty. However, we are acutely aware of the scale of the challenge and know that bold and radical reform will be needed to achieve this."