Business owners and employers were strongly advised by number of experts at a showpiece gathering in Gloucestershire today about the benefits of employing a diverse workforce.

Keynote speaker Mark Harper MP, chair of the all-party Parliamentary group for learning disabilities, spoke passionately at the Business in the Community event about providing help to enable people with disabilities get into work.

Chris Hickey, director of Charlton Associates, explained to guests at Lloyds Bank Group in Barnwood that of the 12million people in the UK with disabilities, 10 million acquired the disability during their lifetime.

Mr Charlton said one of the main barriers to helping people with disabilities into the workplace was an apparent unwillingness from businesses to provide flexible working hours, an attitude that needed to change.

Other speakers included Carole Stubbs, a partnership manager at DWP who highlighted the financial support available to businesses from the Government aimed at helping people with disabilities into work.

As well as hearing from businesses about initiatives and good practice, guests had the opportunity to meet different stakeholders that provide funding, training and support for disabled people to re-enter the workplace.

Today's event was based around the Government's Improving Lives Green Paper on work, health and disability and was intended to encourage those attending to consider their current recruitment and employee support systems.

Currently, the cost of sickness absence to the UK economy is an estimated £9billion per year and that the cost of replacing an employee earning £25,000 is between £20,000 and £40,000.

Punchline says that for an early-morning start this was an excellent event packed full of enthusiasm, passion and information and with a real desire to encourage businesses to give people with learning or mental health problems a gateway into work.

It was just a shame that not enough businesses knew about the event because they missed real opportunity to make a difference.

Picture: Mark Harper MP speaking at the event today