Simon Strong is treated like everyone else and that’s the way he likes it. As an information support officer on the civilian side of the Royal Navy at Fleet headquarters in Portsmouth, he asks for no favours.

“I am treated like any other member of the civilian staff and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he says. There is the odd double-take from those who cannot let a wheel-chair go by without a second glance, but Strong is used to such looks. “I’ve had that throughout my life.”

Strong has spina bifida, caused by damage to his spinal cord before he was born, and hydrocephalus. He joined the Civil Service in 1995, when attitudes were universally different. His interview was in an upstairs room without easy access and it took six months to find a suitable workplace in the historic naval buildings.

Have things improved in the 12 years since? “They have all the facilities now and they make darn sure they comply with everything,” Strong says.

Indeed, his employers are now exemplary in their policies and practice with regard to disability, encouraging awareness of rights and responsibilities among all staff.

Richard Osborne, the head of the civilian equality and diversity team, says that becoming an award-winning employer means going further than simple compliance with antidiscrimination laws. “The legislation has not been the carrot or the stick. We simply want the best people for the job,” he says.

Underrepresented groups in the organisation, including disabled people, are the target of specific schemes aimed at boosting career development opportunities. One such scheme helps to prepare managers for senior roles in the Civil Service.

The Civil Service element of the Royal Navy employs about 3,000 people, 7 per cent of whom have a disability.

In Portsmouth, links with local volunteer groups and charities are strong, and both the Hampshire Deaf Association and the Royal National Institute of the Blind have delivered awareness training to staff. An internal disability action forum, which Strong describes as “very, very vociferous”, also plays a central role in raising staff awareness of disability matters. The forum meets quarterly and, as well as supporting individuals with specific issues, it acts as a consultative body, helping to shape policy.

At an action day hosted by the forum staff grappled with football on crutches and a disability obstacle course – all in the name of offering insight. “That was a really good fun activity with a serious message behind it,” Osborne says.

Ultimately, however, policies and forums count for little if individual employees continue to feel isolated because of their disabilities.

In such circumstances, organisations need to be flexible and able to respond quickly. Osborne recounts how a profoundly deaf staff member appeared not to be properly integrated into her team, which affected her morale and effectiveness. Discussing the situation, it was evident that her colleagues avoided talking to her through embarrassment – they had difficulty understanding her. The solution was “Wednesday at One”, a lunch-time club at which the woman taught sign language to her coworkers. Her productivity and motivation quickly increased, communication improved and lasting friendships were developed.

Lord Nelson, famously disabled himself, would surely have approved.

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