Disability Equality Scheme 2006 - 2009:
5. Confidentiality and Disclosure

5.1 Figures for academic year 2005-2006 indicate that almost 1,000 students (5.6% of the student population) disclosed a disability to the University. Of these students, 564 (56%) registered with the University's Disability Services' department for individual support. Current figures for disabled staff indicate that almost 100 staff (3.3%) have disclosed a disability either at recruitment or on the University's Staff Record Form (SRF). The SRF is sent to staff on issue of a new contract or when the University undertakes a verification exercise for all staff to comply with a Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) return.

5.2 The University encourages disabled students to disclose and provides repeated opportunities to do so, for example on application forms for admission, at interview, at matriculation, and before field trips and examinations. Staff have the opportunity to disclose a disability at the recruitment stage on the University's equal opportunities monitoring form. Following appointment, disabled staff may choose to disclose through several routes including to their line manager, the University's Occupational Health Service or Disability Services. In addition, a staff data verification exercise is carried out every three years, during which staff can confirm or change their record in relation to their personal details, including those relating to disability.

5.3 Procedures are in place to enable the appropriate handling of disability information should a disabled student disclose to any member of staff. There is, as yet, no formal equivalent procedure for disabled staff. All personal and sensitive data that is disclosed is processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998) and the University's confidentiality policies.

5.4 Disclosure of a disability is encouraged to ensure that all reasonable adjustments are made to meet specific individual needs. However, the University recognises that there is no duty on disabled people to disclose that they have a disability, and that the incidence of disclosure may reduce as the University becomes more inclusive and barriers to access are removed.

5.5 The University also recognises the diverse, dynamic and often hidden nature of disability and that perception of disability can vary. Disabled members of the University community may not consider themselves to be disabled or may not consider their disability to be of relevance to their work, studies or their use of the University's services and facilities. Disabled staff and students may also have concerns about the impact of disclosure for their employment and educational opportunities.

5.6. The University will therefore endeavour to create an institutional culture that encourages disability disclosure, linked with transparent policies on data protection, confidentiality and communication that clarify the purpose of requesting disability information and build confidence in the University's response.

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