Progress of the Sayce Review & Disabled Access to Work
Disabled people need individualised support in work
guardian.co.uk, 12 July 2011
Disabled people want the opportunity to work in all sectors of the economy. But some of us will need extra support, writes Liz Sayce
At the current rate of progress it would take until 2070 for the employment rate of disabled people to catch up with that for non-disabled people. Disabled people's employment has crept up – from 41% in 1998 to 47% in 2010 – and over 3 million disabled people are now in paid work. Good news. But little comfort to the 53% still out of work or to disabled people working below their potential.
We need a change to close entrenched employment and pay gaps. Earlier this week, the government launched a consultation in response to recommendations I made last month in a report commissioned by the minister for disabled people, Maria Miller. I suggested that a personalised approach to employment support be extended to disabled people, rather than subsidising separate work places. If the government implements my recommendations to support disabled people to "get in, stay in and get on" in employment, it would make a significant difference.
Disabled people's aspirations have changed. We want the opportunity to work in every sector from hairdressing to engineering, to "get in" through apprenticeships and work experience, and to "get on": progress in our careers and set up our own enterprises. We want to contribute to the economy. The only adjustment most of us need is a fair chance, or low cost flexibilities (such as not travelling in rush hour) – but some need support, extra training or equipment. The support must focus on the person so we can move from job to job and take our support with us.
That is why I am recommending opening up the government's Access to Work programme to offer individual support and equipment to far more people than the 37,000 served in 2010, through innovative technology and peer support delivered by user-led organisations. It should reach people in small businesses and people with mental health problems or learning disabilities. It should cover work experience and internships and people should be able to go to a job interview knowing their likely entitlement, to boost the employer's confidence that adjustments will not cost the earth.
We can learn from the members of Radar's Radiate network of disabled people in senior jobs that the secrets of "making it" include individualised support, mentoring and role models. Academics agree that individual support is more effective than any sheltered work.
Is this pie in the sky when jobs are scarce? Some 300,000 people lose work and go on to benefits each year because of a disability or health condition. Improving Access to Work would help avoid that.
We should reinvest money from old models of support (such as segregated, non-viable manufacturing businesses) into a reformed Access to Work that can offer individualised support. But there must be four provisos. These subsidised manufacturing businesses should be supported to become social enterprises or mutuals where possible; there must be protection of the rights of individuals; employees and trade unions should be involved at every stage; and savings must be invested in personalised employment support for disabled people.
Reform is needed if the employment rate is to move to serious growth.
• Liz Sayce is chief executive of disability charity, Radar.
Please click on the link to see the original article
DWP launches consultation into disability employment services
www.egovmonitor.com, 12 July 2011
Today the Government is launching a consultation into employment services for disabled people and seeking views on the recommendations put forward by RADAR Chief Executive Liz Sayce.
The Government is also publishing its response to the Sayce Review, ‘Getting in, staying in and getting on’, which recommends that employment support should be focused on the individual and not the institution, so disabled people can access jobs across the economy - rather than in segregated employment.
The review also recommends improving and expanding Access to Work – which gives financial help for support workers, interpreters, equipment and other practical support to enable disabled people to get and keep jobs.
Overall, the available funding for specialist disability employment support currently helps around 65,000 disabled people each year. However, there is potential to significantly increase the number of people who can be helped, so that the same level of funding could help nearly 100,000 people, according to Sayce.
RADAR Chief Executive Liz Sayce said:
"The work aspirations of disabled people have changed. People want the chance to work in every role from hairdressing to engineering, in every area of the economy. That is why I recommend support that goes with the person – by opening up the Access to Work programme so disabled people can have the same choice of jobs as everyone else and improving support to people with fluctuating conditions, those working in small businesses, and people seeking work experience and internships.
"There was a consensus amongst disability organisations that segregated employment is not the right model for the 21st Century. There is the potential to help around 35,000 more disabled people through the changes I am recommending, by spending the money we have more effectively and ensuring people who are most disadvantaged get more effective support."
Responding to the Sayce Review and launching the consultation, Minister for Disabled People, said:
"We’ve been clear that the amount of money going into employment services for disabled people is being protected throughout this spending review period. The Sayce Review put forward a number of recommendations about how this money could be better used, to support thousands more disabled people, giving them maximum choice and control over the services they receive.
"If implemented in full, the Sayce recommendations would have a significant impact on how support is delivered and so before taking decisions in these areas, we are seeking views through a public consultation and I would encourage everyone to get involved."
Sayce would see Access to Work improved and expanded, using funding released from reform of Remploy and Residential Training and over time, moving towards a single specialist disability employment programme.
The specific recommendation to form a cross-government Ministerial group to oversee a new strategy for disability employment has already been accepted.
Access the consultation on the recommendations in Liz Sayce’s independent review "Getting in, staying in, and getting on" at: www.dwp.gov.uk/sayce-consultation
Disability organisations and disabled people have welcomed the Sayce recommendations:
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive at the mental health charity Mind, said:
"In particular we welcome the recommendation to make Access to Work more widely available. People with mental health problems are often excluded from traditional disability support systems, despite having one of the highest want to work rates of any disability group. Currently, only one per cent of the budget is spent on people with mental health problems, denying many people access to a valuable resource which could support them on their journey to gain and retain employment."
Dr Rachel Perkins, Chair of Equality 2025, said:
"The system that has grown up historically is not equitable. It does little for people most likely to be out of work - people with mental health conditions, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorders - and it serves far more men than women. We need a system that supports individuals to get any job we choose: after all who wants to pack boxes just because you are disabled?"
Mark Goldring CBE, Chief Executive Mencap, said:
"We can do much more to help people with disabilities into work in a way that directly benefits them and the wider society. Less than 10% of people with a learning disability are currently employed but we know that most want to work. With modest help it is possible for many more people to work in open employment alongside their non disabled colleagues. This is the way that policy and practice should take us."
Mike Adams, Chief Executive Essex Coalition of Disabled People, said:
"Putting support in the hands of disabled individuals will empower far more people to get on at work and to participate fully in society than happens now. And there is nothing more powerful than learning from what other disabled people have found most useful. Disabled people's user-led organisations can have a major role in implementing the important recommendation on peer support."
Please click on the link to see the original article
''Remploy should leave the public sector''
www.publicservice.co.uk, 12 July 2011
The 54 Remploy factories which employ nearly 3,000 people with disabilities will probably close and alternative arrangements will be made for current employees – including integrating them into the main jobs market – the parliamentary under-secretary of state for work and pensions Maria Miller has said. The Remploy business would then become a social enterprise.
Responding to a review of specialist disability employment programmes by Liz Sayce, chief executive of disability charity Radar, Miller said the goal was to make into reality the aspiration that resources should be directed towards disabled people themselves, giving them maximum choice and control over the services they receive.
Sayce had put forward a new direction for specialist disability employment services that would see Access to Work improved and expanded, using funding released from reform of Remploy and residential training, Miller said. She added that over time there would be a move towards a single specialist disability employment programme built on the Access to Work model that would sit alongside and complement the services provided through the work programme.
If implemented in full, Miller said, Sayce's recommendations would have "a significant impact" on some of the organisations that currently deliver employment services to disabled people, particularly Remploy and residential training colleges. And although Remploy was in year four of a five-year modernisation plan – and the government had committed itself to funding that plan at £111m a year – the organisation had failed to meet most of its modernisation plan targets which proved to be unrealistic. Miller said that Sayce found "a total consensus among disabled people's organisations and charities that the Remploy factories were not the model for the 21st century".
Announcing that she was "attracted" by the new model for Remploy set out in the Sayce review, Miller said: "This model would see Remploy leaving public sector ownership, with organisations and employees themselves being given the opportunity to create new businesses or acquire existing businesses, where viable. Where businesses were not viable, and could not continue, employees would receive a comprehensive package of support to find alternative employment. Before taking decisions about the future for Remploy, I am inviting views on these specific recommendations as part of the public consultation."
Please click on the link to see the original article
Chris Grayling: unemployment down, but economic challenges remain
www.hrmagazine.co.uk, 13 Jul 2011
The Government has said the latest fall in unemployment still means that there are big economic challenges ahead
The latest figures show a fall in unemployment (ILO measure) to 2.45 million and a rise in the number of people in work to nearly 29.3 million. But the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has risen by 24,500, underlining that the jobs market is still fragile and Government must continue to take measures to support the economy and encourage growth.
The figures published today by the Office for National Statistics show a quarterly fall in youth unemployment with 18,000 fewer 18-24 year olds not in full time education and looking for work - the overall figure now stands at 644,000.
Ministers are clear that while the labour market has stabilised over the past few months and over the past year private sector employment has risen by around 500,000, there are still challenges ahead.
Employment minister Chris Grayling (pictured) said: "There continue to be some encouraging signs in the labour market figures, particularly with the continued rise in private sector employment. It's really important that we continue to support the economy and encourage businesses to invest and create jobs.
"However, we do not underestimate the scale of the challenge that we face to help people into employment. We always said that the road to recovery would be choppy; for people who lose their jobs our new Work Programme is now up and running and will offer jobseekers flexible support tailored to their needs to help them into employment."
Last month the Government launched the new Work Programme to give jobseekers the help to get back into sustained employment. Private and voluntary sector organisations are investing £581 million upfront in the biggest welfare to work programme this country has ever seen to provide tailored support built around the needs of individuals.
Organisations will be paid by results and allowed to develop support that really addresses the needs of jobseekers.
This week the Government has also launched a consultation into disability employment services, based on recommendations from RADAR chief executive Liz Sayce.
Recommendations include expanding Access to Work - which gives financial help to support workers, interpreters and equipment to enable disabled people to keep and get jobs. The funding for specialist disability employment support is being protected, but by spending the money more effectively, Sayce suggests an extra 35,000 disabled people can be supported into work.
Access the consultation at: www.dwp.gov.uk/sayce-consultation
Please click on the link to see the original article
Please see the Easy Read Version of the Sayce Review
Sayce Review Easy Read August 2011
Please see the Government Response to the Sayce Review
Govt Response to Sayce Review of Specialist Disability Employmt Programmes July 11