Guidance

Candidate information pack

Updated 1 November 2024

We are currently recruiting 3 new ambassadors for buses and coaches, energy and housing.

1. Ministerial foreword

Thank you very much for your interest in a Disability and Access Ambassador role.

The ambassadors use their influential status as business leaders, to drive improvements to the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in their sector for disabled people, as consumers and employees.

They also work together as a group to galvanise and encourage accessibility generally across the private sector, and work on projects of joint benefit.

There are currently 20 ambassador positions covering:

• advertising
• arts and culture
• aviation
• banking
• brand and design in the built environment
• buses and coaches
• countryside
• creative industries
• energy
• heritage
• hospitality (restaurants and pubs)
• housing (private)
• insurance
• rail
• recruitment
• retail (shops)
• sports and physical activity
• technology and web accessibility
• tourism
• universities

Previous and current ambassadors have become a catalyst for change. Their activities have led to, for example:

• improved airport travel experiences for disabled people including training films for baggage handlers concerning wheelchair damage
• significant improvements in rail and bus access including station adaptations and lanyard schemes
• greater awareness of the needs of disabled shoppers, and the production of support guides for retailers in how to provide accessible shopping experiences
• improved access to the countryside and to heritage sites
• awards for hoteliers in the provision of disabled facilities
• significant signposting in the insurance industry to products and services for customers with disabilities
• access cards to enable greater participation in the arts, and greater performance opportunities for learning disabled musicians
• improved banking access for d/Deaf and disabled customers
• improvements in support for short term contracts for disabled people in the creative sectors
• significant improvements in built environment guidance and building standards to recognise neurodiversity

I am now looking for new ambassadors who are ambitious, passionate and dynamic, with strong networks in their sectors and the ability to reach out to a wide range of organisations to create momentum for change. They will replace the current ambassadors who have reached the end of their 3-year tenures.

More details of these roles are below. If you are ready for this challenge, I encourage you to apply.

I look forward to welcoming new ambassadors.

Rt. Hon. Sir Stephen Timms MP
Minister for Social Security and Disability

2. Background information

The Disability and Access Ambassadors represent a range of different sectors and businesses. They use their influential status as leaders in their sectors to drive improvements to the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in their sector, and to encourage equal employment opportunities for disabled people.

Many businesses already recognise the needs and the business potential of disabled consumers, however, disabled people still find many venues and businesses inaccessible.

There are more than 14 million disabled people in the UK. Data from the Family Resources Survey shows that the annual spending power of their households, known as the ‘purple pound’, is £274 billion. The Disability and Access Ambassadors help to promote the business case for making products and services available to a group of consumers who are often overlooked. They showcase good practice in their sectors and, in doing so, show other businesses the moral and economic merit of meeting the needs of disabled customers.

3. Background to the Disability Unit

The Disability Unit in the Cabinet Office is a cross-government team. It works across different government departments and with a wide range of stakeholders.

The Disability Unit works with Disability and Access Ambassadors on behalf of the Minister for Social Security and Disability, and is overseeing this recruitment exercise.

4. Disability and Access Ambassadors role

The Disability and Access Ambassadors tackle the issues that disabled people face as consumers and employees. They use business-to-business engagement to share good practice, and highlight specific changes and improvements their sectors can make that will make a difference to millions of disabled people. They also work together to support more systemic change in the private sector.

The Disability and Access Ambassador is a voluntary, unpaid role, which the individual undertakes alongside their day job.

As a Disability and Access Ambassador, it is expected that you will be:

• a self-motivated, successful business person, with strong networks
• credible and respected by your sector, and able to reach out to a wide range of businesses
• passionate about driving social change for disabled people

To take forward this role, it is expected that you will:

• be a public advocate for improving accessibility and quality of services or facilities in your sector
• showcase best practice in accessibility
• work constructively and objectively with civil servants and ministers to drive improvements within your sector
• highlight the business benefits of making services accessible to disabled people
• ensure that businesses in your sector understand the benefits of employing disabled people
• share progress with the Minister for Social Security and Disability, your sector, and the interested public, including using social media where appropriate

Successful candidates will be asked to provide a statement outlining their plans, aims and objectives in the role. Quarterly, and at the end of each year, Disability and Access Ambassadors will be asked to provide a report detailing their actions, and outcomes achieved.

5. Confidentiality

You will be required to treat in confidence the information received whilst undertaking this appointment, and will be subject to the Official Secrets Act 1989. Further information will be provided to the successful candidates.

6. Duration of appointment

The appointment will be made by the Minister for Social Security and Disability. It will be for one year initially, and can be renewed twice to give a total period of 3 years.

7. Equality of opportunity

The Disability Unit is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all staff, including voluntary appointments. We will not discriminate on grounds of gender, gender identity, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, those with caring responsibilities, part time workers or any other factor irrelevant to a person’s work.

8. Description of new role remits

8.1 Buses and coaches

This ambassador will work across the industry and with other transport representatives and ambassadors to improve support and accessibility for disabled bus and coach passengers, and also for those working in these industries.

8.2 Energy

This ambassador will work across the industry and with other sectors to encourage and support improvement of accessibility tools, and standards, across the energy industry itself, to improve the support for disabled customers.

8.3 Housing 

This ambassador will work across the industry and with other sectors to encourage and support improvement and representation of disabled people in the private building and rental housing sectors. They will also work closely with the Disability and Access Ambassador for the built environment.

9. The recruitment process

A selection panel will sift candidates for appointment based on the criteria in the application pack. If 2 or more candidates have equally met all the criteria for a particular role, they will be invited to an interview. Should interviews be required they will be held remotely.

The panel will submit its recommendation for appointment to the Minister for Social Security and Disability who will decide on, and make, the appointments. The minister may also wish to meet the candidate recommended by the selection panel.

Read more about how to apply.

10. Standards of conduct and conflicts of interest

The successful candidate will be required to agree their commitment to the Seven Principles of Public Life, as drawn up by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, more commonly known as the Nolan Principles. These can be found at Annex 1.

Public bodies are expected to maintain a register of members’ interests to avoid any danger of board members being influenced or appearing to be influenced by their private interests in the exercise of their public duties. Candidates will be asked to disclose any real or perceived conflicts of interest. These do not constitute an automatic bar to appointment, but they must be manageable. Conflicts could include:

• financial arrangements – for example, fees or shareholdings of the candidate, business associates or close family
• membership of organisations whose aims might be perceived to be in conflict with those of the government
• any activity which, if revealed after appointment, could cause embarrassment to the government

While undertaking the role you must not lobby the government on either your own behalf or on behalf of your parent company, or be seen to be doing so.

11. Data Protection

We take our obligations under the Data Protection Act seriously. Any information about you will be held in secure conditions with access restricted to those who need it in connection with dealing with your application and the selection process.

Data may also be used for the purposes of monitoring the effectiveness of the recruitment process, but in these circumstances, all data will be kept anonymous.

If you are unsuccessful, your personal data relating to your application will be destroyed after 12 months.

For further information about how your personal data will be handled, please see the attached Privacy Notice (Annex 2).

12. Annex 1: Seven Principles of Public Life

Members will be required to show commitment to the Seven Principles of Public Life, as recommended by the Nolan Committee. These are:

12.1 Selflessness

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.

12.2 Integrity

Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.

12.3 Objectivity

In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

12.4 Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

12.5 Openness

Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.

12.6 Honesty

Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

12.7 Leadership

Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

13. Annex 2: Privacy notice

This notice sets out how we will use your personal data, and your rights. It is made under Articles 13 and or 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

13.1 Your data: purpose

Disability and Access Ambassadors are voluntary appointments of senior leaders across individual private sector industries such as banking, insurance, retail and rail travel. The ambassadors are asked to facilitate improved accessibility for disabled people within their sectors.

The purposes for which we are processing your personal data are:

• to recruit and appoint Disability and Access Ambassadors
• to publicise and promote the existence of Disability and Access Ambassadors
• to communicate with Disability and Access Ambassadors and provide materials, information and support
• to organise events involving Disability and Access Ambassadors
• to make any required reasonable adjustments for Disability and Access Ambassadors
• to monitor the diversity of ambassadors in line with our public sector equality duty

13.2 The data

We will process the following personal data: names, email addresses, job titles, employers, photographs, and information about disabilities where these are needed to make reasonable adjustments or the ambassador wishes to publicise them.

For diversity monitoring we will collect (where volunteered): disabilities, sexuality, ethnicity, gender, age, religious belief.

13.3 Legal basis of processing

The legal basis for processing your personal data is as follows:

For promotional photographs:

• Because you consent to us doing so.

For all other data:

• Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller, such as the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department. In this case that is the Cabinet Office’s role to promote disability awareness and equality.

Sensitive personal data is personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

The legal basis for processing your sensitive personal data is:

• It is necessary for the purposes of performing or exercising our obligations or rights as the controller, or your obligations or rights as the data subject, under employment law, social security law or the law relating to social protection making reasonable adjustments.

• Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department. In this case that is promoting disability awareness and equality.

• Processing is of data concerning ethnicity, religious or philosophical belief, health including disability or sexual orientation, and it is necessary for the purposes of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment between groups of people with a view to enabling such equality to be promoted or maintained.

If you are acting in a role or event involving vulnerable persons you will be asked to collect enhanced DBS, which will involve the processing of criminal convictions data.

13.4 Recipients

Your names, job title, employer, and photographs (where provided) will be published on GOV.UK or social media to promote your role as an ambassador. We may with permission publish additional information.

As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will also be shared with our data processors who provide email, and document management and storage services.

13.5 Retention

Your personal data will be kept by us for 3 years until your appointment comes to its end.

If you wish to continue as an alumnus, it will be held for 2 years since our last contact.

13.6 Your Rights

You have the right to request information about how your personal data are processed, and to request a copy of that personal data.

You have the right to request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay.

You have the right to request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement.

You may have the right to request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed.

You have the right in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.

In relation to any photographs provided:

You have the right to withdraw consent to the processing of your personal data at any time.

You have the right to request a copy of any personal data you have provided, and for this to be provided in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

13.7 International transfers

As your personal data is stored on our IT infrastructure, and shared with our data processors, it may be transferred and stored securely outside the UK. Where that is the case it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through the use of Model Contract Clauses.

13.8 Contact details

The data controller for your personal data is the Cabinet Office. The contact details for the data controller are:

Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7276 1234

Contact form: Public Enquiries

The contact details for the data controller’s Data Protection Officer are:

Email: [email protected]

The Data Protection Officer provides independent advice and monitoring of Cabinet Office’s use of personal information.

13.9 Complaints

If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113
Email: [email protected]

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.