APPENDIX 18
Memorandum by RNIB
1. Introduction
1.2 RNIB is the largest organisation representing
the interests of visually impaired people in the UK, offering
a range of some 60 services, a number of which focus on employment
issues. The views expressed below are based on consultations with
clients and colleagues including Committee members who include
representatives of major national organisations of visually impaired
people. These views may reasonably be taken, therefore, to accurately
reflect the opinion of the majority of visually impaired people
of working age.
1.3 The Single Work-Focused Gateway initiative is
generally welcomed by RNIB, a number of the underlying principles
being consistent with RNIB policy.
- Our long-term concern has been about persistent
high unemployment and economic inactivity among visually impaired
people and there is widespread support among our clients for an
initiative which seeks to enable them to obtain employment.
- Pursuing this aim on the basis of a coherent
service handling both employment and benefits issues is also a
principle that RNIB has supported for a number of years.
- RNIB is also committed to the principle of working
in partnerships that draw upon a breadth of expertise that no
one sector can deliver alone.
2. Objectives
2.1 RNIB supports the intention of achieving a higher
level of economic activity for benefit recipients by achieving
a sustainable level of employment. Sustainable employment for
a disabled person requires a recognition that an optimum level
of engagement in the labour market by disabled people may fall
short of full-time mainstream employment but will, nevertheless,
reduce significantly the dependence of individuals on benefits.
2.2 The emphasis on the provision of a support service
that is tailored to individual need is particularly important
in helping individuals to find that optimum level of activity.
The three elements that we feel would be most effective are:
- Providing employment action planning on an individual
basis.
- Offering benefits advice as part of a one-stop
service.
- Providing a caseworker to broker across the complex
network of agencies that disabled people have to deal with.
2.3 RNIB realises that some anxieties have been expressed
about the requirement that disabled people should attend compulsory
interviews. From consulting with our client group, we are aware
that a substantial majority of people are not opposed in principle
to the requirement that they should attend for interview. This
is in part because of the Government's reassurance that particular
circumstances may make an interview inappropriate at a given time.
2.4 There does remain, however, some concern over
the quality of interviews and RNIB's clients would be unhappy
if insensitive interviewing were to undermine a potentially positive
process.
3. Coverage
3.1 It is inevitable that pilot schemes cannot cover
the full range of circumstances that will be met in a nationally
applied scheme. RNIB is content with the coverage proposed in
the pilots, provided that the Government recognises that even
the diversity represented by those pilot schemes will not represent
the full diversity if and when the Single Gateway is rolled out
on a national basis.
3.2 The pilot schemes need to recognise the diversity
of the population. Within the population of people with disabilities
there is a range of different disabilities, levels of severity
and time of onset. All of these factors create different requirements
for those individuals.
3.3 The labour market varies from one region to another,
and even from one area to another within regions. This variation
also applies to the intermediate labour market opportunities which
are available. The distribution of organisations offering sheltered
and supported employment opportunities is not uniform across the
country and the absence of this option restricts the flexibility
of the labour market in some regions. This needs to be taken into
account, when evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot schemes.
4. Quality
4.1 The main issues of quality are likely to revolve
around 4 main elements of the process.
4.2 The interview
Assuming that the focus of the interview is about
employment planning, it needs to be sensitive and requires an
interviewer who is knowledgeable about disability issues and about
the implications of disability on employment. To make appropriate
decisions in relation to employment may entail discussion of related
matters such as impact on benefits and need for further training.
The principle of partnership becomes central in this situation
to ensure that the Gateway is able to draw on appropriate expertise.
4.3 Benefits Advice
The linkage with benefits advice has to be based
on a determination to secure those benefits to which the individual
is entitled. It is important that the relationship between benefits
entitlement and subsequent outcomes is monitored carefully. This
will enable the identification of the kind of benefits regime
which is likely to meet the dual aims of securing a reasonable
standard of living for the individual whilst encouraging individuals
to engage in the labour market.
4.4 Case Working
It is important that the case worker has a professional
relationship with his or her client in the sense that they should
be prepared to act as advocate on the clients behalf when necessary,
putting the clients interests first rather than administrative
priorities of the service. This is no more than a patient would
expect of a doctor or parents and children would expect of teachers.
4.5 Labour Market Flexibility
From the point of view of a disabled person seeking
employment, an important aspect of quality will be the flexibility
with which the case worker is able to deal with the local labour
market conditions to find those opportunities which most accurately
meet the needs and aspirations of the client. It is important
that simply acquiring employment or securing some form of progression
is not seen in itself as a sufficient outcome.
5. Evaluation
5.1 Given variations within the population and within
the labour market opportunities from one region to another it
is important that the underlying principle of evaluation should
be to identify what elements of intervention are successful for
which clients and in what way.
5.2 Clearly there will be some overall statistical
evaluation which will look at numbers moving out of benefit, into
employment and into training. It is perfectly reasonable to look
for overall measures but it is important to recognise that such
measures are crude and in themselves give no clue as to what are
the best options for future development.
5.3 Evaluation has to be at the level of each pilot
area where the progress of cohorts going through the system can
be monitored in detail. There needs to be qualitative feedback
to find out which elements of the process are perceived as successful
by clients.
5.4 There needs to be a value added element where
recognition is given that it is equally significant for a severely
disabled person to secure a place in supported employment less
severely disabled person to obtain employment in the open labour
market.
6. Timescales
6.1 RNIB is supportive of tight timescales in principle.
Evidence consistently indicates that a failure to intervene quickly
with unemployed visually impaired people leads to dissociation
from the labour market. Early intervention appears to lead to
improved success rates in obtaining employment.
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