Legislation in recent years has been a major factor in improving opportunities for the disabled in the public sector.

That’s the conclusion of research undertaken by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It said the Disability Discrimination Acts of 1995 and 2005 had been major reasons given by employers for integrating disability issues into their mainstream plans.

The vast majority of participating organisations had adapted their work environment and implemented flexible working time to help disabled employees.

Nearly all public bodies in the survey had an Action Plan to meet the needs of disabled employees and service users.

A large number of organisations in the survey had a Disability Equality Scheme in place. However, the DWP added: “Only a minority had involved disabled employees or service users in drafting it.”