NDA Annual Reports on Compliance with Part 5 of the Disability Act

The legal obligations of Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005 took effect for the first time in 2006 and we produced the first compliance report that year.

The reports capture the the total number of people employed in individual departments and agencies and the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed in each. An overall percentage is also produced as can be seen in the table further down on this page. We have provided advice to help public bodies collect data.

Our Monitoring and Reporting System

The NDA continues to develop and progress the monitoring and reporting system for Part 5. Since 2007, the annual compliance reports have been based on data received from relevant public bodies. The data received showed the total number of employees and the number and percentage of employees reporting a disability.

Take a closer look at the data in the table below.

Year

Total number of employees

Employees reporting a disability

% of total employees reporting a disability

2007

238,833

5,879

2.5%

2008

229,000

6,083

2.7%

2009

219,653

6,380

2.9%

2010

210,249

5,748

2.7%

2011

205,068

6,171

3.0%

2012

197,588

6,611

3.3%

2013

192,576

6,464

3.4%

2014

195,278

6,771

3.5%

2015

201,341

7,245

3.6%

2016

213,991

7,457

3.5%

2017

225,809

7,796

3.5%

2018

231,784

7,584

3.3%

2019

238,174

7,319

3.1%

2020

245,190

7,637

3.1%

2021

251,552

9,011

3.6%

2022

260,434

10,631

4.1%

  • Between 2007 and 2010, the public sector did not reach the minimum 3% target

  • Since 2011, the public sector has been reaching the minimum 3% target

  • Between 2007 and 2013, the total number of public sector employees decreased every year while the total number of employees reporting a disability fluctuated over the same period

  • Since 2014, the total number of public sector employees has increased every year. The total number of employees reporting a disability increased each year from 2014 to 2017

  • In 2015 3.6% of people employed in the public sector reported a disability. This is the highest percentage reached since monitoring began

  • In 2018 and 2019, the number of people reporting a disability decreased which led to a drop in the percentage of employees with disabilities. It went from 3.3% in 2018 to 3.1% in 2019. In both years, this decrease took place alongside an increase in the overall number of employees in the public sector

  • In 2020, the total number of employees in the relevant public sector bodies continued to increase as did the number of employees reporting a disability

  • The overall percentage of employees reporting a disability in the public sector in 2020 remained at 3.1%, the same percentage as in 2019.

  • In 2021, the total number of employees in the relevant public sector bodies continued to increase as did the number of employees reporting a disability. The overall percentage of employees reporting a disability in the public sector in 2021 increased from 3.1% to 3.6%

  • In 2022, for the first time the number of employees reporting a disability passed 4%. The number of employees reporting a disability was 10,631 (4.1%), an increase of 1,620 (+18.0%) from the 2021 figure which was 9,011(3.6%)

  • The minimum target will increase to 4.5% by 2024 and 6% by 2025. Read more on the Minimum Statutory Employment Target on this page