The Government announced a review of specialist disability employment programmes on 2 December 2010.
Ensuring equality for disabled people is a key priority for the Coalition Government. Since May 2010, the Government has set out an ambitious programme of employment support to ensure that people disadvantaged in the labour market will get the help they need to find and keep jobs. Our aim is that Government programmes should support more disabled people than ever before into employment.
On 25 October, DWP launched Work Choice – a new flagship programme to support disabled people with complex disability-related barriers to work. From summer 2011, the Work Programme will provide personalised employment support to a wide range of customers, including disabled people. Building on these foundations, the Department has announced an independent review of specialist disability employment programmes. Liz Sayce, Chief Executive of RADAR, the UK’s largest disability campaigning organisation, is leading this review.
To support this review the Government has published the following call for evidence. This provides an opportunity for people and organisations to submit written evidence to inform the review. We expect to publish the review by summer 2011.
This call for evidence will close on 28 February 2011.
Please send your responses or any queries about this document to:
Disability Employment Support Review Team
Disability and Work Division
Floor 2
Caxton House,
Tothill Street,
London, SW1H 9NA.
Email: employmentsupport.review@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Fax: 0207 449 5746
Please ensure your response reaches us by 28 February 2011
PDF version Employment support programmes for disabled people are to be put under scrutiny in a government-commissioned review headed by leading disability campaigner Liz Sayce.
Sayce, the chief executive of disability network Radar, will examine the various Department for Work and Pensions programmes to support disabled people to gain, retain and progress in work.
At 48%, the disability employment rate is well below that of the whole population (71%), while the rates for certain groups, such as people with learning disabilities or mental health problems, are far lower still.
Sayce said: "Disabled people continue to face barriers to employment and I hope that this review will help the department make real improvements to the services that support disabled people who want to develop fulfilling careers."
Her review follows the launch of Work Choice in October, a programme to support the most severely disabled people into work, and ahead of the introduction of the Work Programme, the government's overarching employment support scheme that will cater for many disabled people.
The British Association of Supported Employment (BASE), which represents providers, has warned that the Work Programme may not tailor services sufficiently to the needs of disabled people given its wide reimt. It has also warned that the Work Choice funding regime, under which providers are paid according to clients' job outcomes, will lead to them focusing on the easiest to help rather than the most severely disabled.
While Sayce can suggest ways of improving both the Work Programme and Work Choice, she cannot subject them to a fundamental review.
She has also been tasked with looking at the future of government-supported employment provider Remploy, the Access to Work scheme, which funds adaptations to help disabled people work, and the residential training colleges for the disabled that the DWP also funds.
The review will not cover employment support programmes funded by local authorities or the NHS, typically for people with learning disabilities or mental health problems.
This is despite the fact that BASE has warned that council programmes are at risk from significant cuts on the back of the government's comprehensive spending review.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/12/02/115937/top-campaigner...
PRESS RELEASE - Radar Chief Executive to undertake independent review
Radar CE Liz Sayce, undertaking independent review
Message from Liz Sayce.
'I am pleased to have been asked by the Secretary of State to lead an Independent Review of specialist disability employment programmes. This will give me the freedom to make recommendations based on the lived experience and aspirations of disabled people and directly inform Government policy.
I look forward to working with a wide range of people as part of the review process - people with lived experience of the spectrum of disability and long term health conditions; employers; trade unionists; and all involved, or with an interest in, employment programmes.
Today an initial call for evidence has gone out - see below for further details. We are keen to know what you see as the most important features of specialist disability employment programmes for the future. In the New Year we will be talking with the range of stakeholders to explore the major issues in greater depth; and I will always be pleased to hear your views throughout the review period.
My aims are to review the support the Department for Work and Pensions provides to disabled people to support them in gaining, retaining and progressing in work, and to make recommendations on future strategy in this area. I hope that by starting from disabled people's experience and aspirations, and reviewing evidence from research and from practice, we will understand the most effective approaches to supporting satisfying, sustainable employment'.
DWP PRESS RELEASE
02 December 2010 – Getting it Right – RADAR Chief Executive will review Employment Support for Disabled People
Employment support for disabled people has to offer more help then ever before. That’s the message from Minister for Disabled People Maria Miller today.
To ensure that disabled people get the help and support they need, RADAR’s Chief Executive Liz Sayce will review the current specialist employment support services and consider whether they provide the most effective support possible.
Through the Work Programme and the new Work Choice, disabled people will get more personalised support to get the job they want. Alongside these, disabled people can access other employment services through Remploy, Residential Training Colleges and Access to Work.
Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller said:
"For many disabled people, true equality and independence in their lives is achieved through help to find work and stay in those jobs. Too often in the past disabled people have been failed by the programmes that were meant to help them and that has to stop.
"We are introducing the Work Programme and Work Choice which we expect to support more disabled people into employment each year than any of its predecessor government programmes. Building on these foundations, we need to ensure that all our programmes provide the very best support for disabled people to get into work and then stay in employment and, in this tough financial climate, the very best value for money.
"As Chief Executive of the UK's largest disability campaigning organisation, Liz will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the review."
Liz Sayce, Chief Executive of RADAR said:
"I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead this important piece of work. Disabled people continue to face barriers to employment and I hope that this review will help the Department make real improvements to the services that support disabled people who want to develop fulfilling careers."
The review will examine DWP’s current employment support for disabled people who need the most help to get into work and will consult with a wide range of stakeholders including disabled people themselves.
The terms of reference for the review and further information on how to contribute ideas are available here: http://dwp.gov.uk/consultations/. The review team can be contacted via employmentsupport.review@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.
Employment support for disabled people has to offer more help then ever before. That’s the message from Minister for Disabled People Maria Miller today.
To ensure that disabled people get the help and support they need, RADAR’s Chief Executive Liz Sayce will review the current specialist employment support services and consider whether they provide the most effective support possible.
Through the Work Programme and the new Work Choice, disabled people will get more personalised support to get the job they want. Alongside these, disabled people can access other employment services through Remploy, Residential Training Colleges and Access to Work.
Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller said:
Liz Sayce, Chief Executive of RADAR said:
The review will examine DWP’s current employment support for disabled people who need the most help to get into work and will consult with a wide range of stakeholders including disabled people themselves.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2010/dec-2010/dwp169-10-02...
http://benefits.tcell.org.uk/forums/experiences-and-expectations-disable...