Former Paralympian to advise civil service on disability inclusion

 Panel of experts — which include former Paralympic swimmer Chris Holmes — launched to help civil service to improve inclusion for disabled staff


By Suzannah Brecknell

20 Sep 2016

Civil service disability champion Philip Rutnam has launched an External Advice Panel to help improve the way the civil service treats disabled staff.

The panel, made up of eight external advisers and three civil servants, first met in July.

Writing about the panel, Rutnam said: “Their role will be to support and challenge the civil service — including our disability champions and me personally — on achieving greater inclusion in the service for people with a disability.”


Interview: Department for Transport perm sec Philip Rutnam on civil service disability support – and getting Network Rail back on track
Philip Rutnam urges sharper focus on workplace adjustments to help civil servants with disabilities


The external advisers include former paralympian Lord Chris Holmes, businessman and mental health adviser for Mind and Fit4Success John Binns, and disability rights campaigner Kate Nash, founder of Purple Space.

Rutnam said of the panel: “Both individually and collectively they bring to the civil service a wealth of knowledge and expertise, as well as some personal experience and insight into living with disability. I am hugely grateful to them all for agreeing to take on this role.”

The external experts will join Rutnam and Alex Freegard, chair of the civil service disability network; Janet Hill, programme director for civil service disability inclusion, and Matt Meynell, civil service workplace adjustments programme director.

Rutnam – who is also the Department for Transport's (DfT) permanent secretary – was named as civil service disability champion last April, making him Whitehall's top official for ensuring that the organisation offers proper support to the 8.8% of civil servants who have a declared disability.

He told CSW earlier this year that he wanted to improve the standard and consistency of workplace adjustments across the civil service to help departments better adapt their working environments around the needs of officials with disabilities.

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