Disabled people deserve better than current employment programmes
Speaking at the Welfare to Work Conference yesterday Liz Sayce’s message was:
The Work Programme is a vast programme - over a million referrals - that is dramatically failing disabled people. Although some agencies have done positive work, the overall results are that 5.3 per cent of ESA new claimants helped have secured employment - against a performance target of 16.5 per cent (and even that is not high).
Work Choice has slightly better results but a recent evaluation shows it is not serving people with the most complex needs - the very people it was set up for. For instance, in 8 months it only helped 80 people with mental health problems get jobs in the whole country. One NHS Trust in just one patch of London helped 3 times more people with mental health problems into jobs.
Rather than compelling people to use programmes that don't even work, we should have really individualised support, that is voluntary, and that we as disabled people can manage if we want to (with a personal budget). Disabled people know what we need and are the best problem solvers. We should significantly expand peer support and peer mentoring, because there is nothing like learning from disabled people in employment to help you see what is possible, to know what adjustments and supports would help your career journey and what could work for you.
There should also be better support and advice for employers, and challenge to those that still discriminate, so they seriously open up opportunities to disabled people to get and keep employment.