Disabled people working in the civil service are twice as likely to be bullied than their able bodied colleagues, new figures show.
Shadow children’s minister Emma Lewell-Buck, who herself suffers from dyspraxia, unearthed the “shocking” results of a government survey of Whitehall staff, carried out last year, through a parliamentary question.
It showed that on average 21% of disabled people said they had experienced bullying in the last 12 months, while the figure for staff without a condition was 9%.
National Savings and Investments had the highest ratio, with disabled people six times more likely to be targeted, or 45% vs 7% for those without a condition).
At the Department for Exiting the European Union disabled people were four times more likely to be bullied, or 25% vs 6%, while at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government it was three times.
The majority of the main Whitehall departments, such as the Home Office, the Treasury and the Foreign Office, followed the overall average of twice as likely.
The term ‘disabled’ covered people with a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability.
Lewell-Buck called the figures “unacceptable” as she hit out at the government’s welfare and austerity policies, which the Equality and Human Rights Commission said in 2017 had hit disabled people and women harder.
She said: “This government has consistently discriminated against people with disabilities. I am disappointed, however, sadly not surprised by these statistics.
“Bullying is unacceptable in any workplace but the government especially should be leading the way in creating inclusive workplaces for all. Instead, these shocking statistics show that a culture of discrimination against those with disabilities pervades within government departments.
“This is not good enough and the government should be doing more to prevent these practices.”
Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, which represents civil servants, said the figures showed “there is a culture of bullying and discrimination against disabled staff” which the government “urgently needs to stamp out”.
“It is a damning indictment that disabled staff are twice as likely to be bullied than colleagues and the union will continue to raise these issues at every level of the civil service,” he said.
Business minister Richard Harrington said the government was attempting to improve Whitehall’s reporting procedures.
He said: “Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the civil service.
“In our most recent People Survey, 11% of respondents, on average, told us that they’d experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the survey.
“Whilst this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that certain groups of staff are more like to say they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour than others.
“This includes staff members with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority of departments and agencies, were more likely to say they’d been bullied or harassed in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions.
“We are strengthening the routes for staff to report bullying and harassment to ensure that all staff are fully supported throughout the process, and to ensure cultures are positive and inclusive.”