Written questions by Grady.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to his Department's services for deaf claimants.

The Department is committed to pursuing a just, equal, and inclusive society, ensuring independence and control for everyone, including our deaf customers. Customers can communicate with us using Relay UK. We also offer email as a reasonable adjustment as well as a range of different (or alternative) formats such as Easy Read, which uses succinct and simplified language combined with images to convey information about government benefits and services.UC customers can also communicate with us using the UC journal. As a department we continue to recognise the importance and value of British Sign Language. We take our commitments seriously and are continuously seeking ways to improve the BSL services we offer.We’re almost one year into our BSL 5-year plan and have made good progress against our goals. This includes:Deployment of the Video Relay Interpreting service into all Job centres and Universal Credit Review (UCR) Service CentresDeveloping our first set of BSL video standards, which are currently being reviewed by stakeholders prior to implementationReviewing all existing learning content, identifying improvements for deaf and hard of hearing customersCreating DWP’s first ever ‘YouTube Short’ in BSL to improve our target reach and communication mediums For customers with additional support needs, the department offers a wide range of reasonable adjustments, including a visiting service for vulnerable customers who are unable to use our other contact routes, and support from Disability Employment Advisors within our jobcentres. We continue to review our services and make improvements to ensure they are accessible and responsive to customer needs.

What steps his Department is taking to improve service accessibility for deaf claimants who also have additional support needs.

The Department is committed to pursuing a just, equal, and inclusive society, ensuring independence and control for everyone, including our deaf customers. Customers can communicate with us using Relay UK. We also offer email as a reasonable adjustment as well as a range of different (or alternative) formats such as Easy Read, which uses succinct and simplified language combined with images to convey information about government benefits and services.UC customers can also communicate with us using the UC journal. As a department we continue to recognise the importance and value of British Sign Language. We take our commitments seriously and are continuously seeking ways to improve the BSL services we offer.We’re almost one year into our BSL 5-year plan and have made good progress against our goals. This includes:Deployment of the Video Relay Interpreting service into all Job centres and Universal Credit Review (UCR) Service CentresDeveloping our first set of BSL video standards, which are currently being reviewed by stakeholders prior to implementationReviewing all existing learning content, identifying improvements for deaf and hard of hearing customersCreating DWP’s first ever ‘YouTube Short’ in BSL to improve our target reach and communication mediums For customers with additional support needs, the department offers a wide range of reasonable adjustments, including a visiting service for vulnerable customers who are unable to use our other contact routes, and support from Disability Employment Advisors within our jobcentres. We continue to review our services and make improvements to ensure they are accessible and responsive to customer needs.

What steps he is taking to encourage employers to provide feedback to job applicants who are unsuccessful.

The DWP encourages employers to provide feedback to unsuccessful job applicants wherever possible. This includes asking employers to adapt their recruitment processes so they can identify applicants and share outcome information with Employer Adviser teams, enabling Work Coaches to support individuals to strengthen future applications. Where employers are unable to provide structured feedback, Jobcentre Plus continues to seek voluntary comments, using this insight to enhance employability support and address any barriers identified. The National Careers Service also works closely with individuals, providing tailored careers guidance and feedback to help them improve the quality of future applications Ahead of vacancies going live, the Department also works with employers to help Work Coaches and Employer Advisers better understand recruitment processes and what employers are looking for in applications. This enables them to support jobseekers to be better prepared before applying for roles.