Letter to Committee Secretary from the
Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR) (SG36)
Please find enclosed the transcript of evidence
given by RADAR to the Social Security Committee and Employment
Sub-Committee last week. I have suggested certain amendments in
accordance with your guidance note, ie where I believe there to
have been some inaccuracies in the reporting of the evidence.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank
the joint inquiry into the Single Work-Focused Gateway for providing
RADAR with the opportunity to contribute oral evidence towards
this important piece of work.
It was evident that Committee members were aware
of the need to examine the initiative with considerable care and
ensure that the Single Work-Focused Gateway is perceived by disabled
people as a tool to employment and not as a threat to benefits.
This will inevitably depend on how it is seen
by, and delivered to, disabled people. In addition, and a point
touched on during the session but worth emphasising here, is that
there is a need for the Single Work-Focused Gateway to be linked
to the wider process of enabling disabled people to become work-ready.
This requires a continuum of support and information that allows
disabled people to obtain the assistance often required to access
opportunities like voluntary work, casual jobs and work experience,
which are widely seen as traditional routes into employment. Specifically,
RADAR would like to see an Access to Work type mechanism available
to disabled people who are not in paid employment but wanting
to access vocational activities.
Increasing the employment opportunities for
disabled people will also require further consideration on the
eligibility criteria's of local authorities for providing services
to disabled people in, or seeking employment. Means testing employed
disabled people and only providing "home care" services
within tight time scales often creates additional disincentives
and barriers to employment. RADAR has always argued that an inter-agency
approach is needed to get disabled people into employment and
this means removing disincentives to earning and increasing the
flexibility of service provision.
The Committee asked RADAR to provide specific
examples of the type of training that should be provided to Personal
Advisers. RADAR is happy to do so and is pleased that the inquiry
recognises the fundamental need for appropriate and sufficient
training for Personal Advisers of the Single Work-Focused Gateway.
It is essential that the elements of training
provided to Personal Advisers enable disabled people to play an
active and integral role in the interview process. This can only
be achieved if an environment of trust can be created and maintained
between the Personal Adviser and the client. This will require
an understanding, by Personal Advisers, of disability issues and
an ability to communicate with disabled people in a constructive
way. RADAR would advocate that Personal Advisers receive training
in both disability etiquette and the use of positive language.
A disabled person's employability is dependent
on a range of dynamics, some of which may not be explicitly linked.
For example access to transport and the provision of local authority
services can have an effect on a disabled person's employability
but are not always discussed when exploring employment opportunities.
RADAR would like to see Personal Advisers given training on the
identification of barriers to employment often encountered by
disabled people. This will require Personal Advisers having knowledge
on how the different agencies work in providing services to disabled
people. As was stated in our evidence RADAR believe that there
is value in appropriate disabled people being guest speakers during
Personal Advisers' training sessions to provide an overview of
individual disabled people's experiences of disability and barriers
into employment.
Personal Advisers will require extensive knowledge
of benefits for disabled people and other sources of financial
support, such as Access to Work and the Independent Living Fund,
that can affect a disabled person's ability to gain employment.
In addition Personal Advisers will require access to specialist
advice on benefits issues. RADAR was recently informed of a disabled
person who was misinformed, by a member of the Employment Service,
about eligibility for therapeutic earning. The case was pursued
by the Benefits Agency and caused extreme concern to the claimant.
The case highlighted the very serious consequences of providing
inadequate information.
Those acting as Personal Advisers should have
some knowledge of the equipment and services used by disabled
people and the effect this can have on a disabled person's ability
to pursue certain types of employment. For example, a person who
wears a hearing aid may have difficulty with a job that involved
communication with large numbers of people at once and an electric
wheelchair user may not have the battery capacity to undertake
employment that requires considerable travel on a daily basis.
In addition a disabled person who does require personal support
may find it logistically difficult to pursue employment that requires
large amounts of time away from the area where the service is
provided.
The above illustrates some of the specific training
that RADAR believes should be provided to Personal Advisers of
the Single Work-Focused Gateway. At present a number of national
and local organisations provide disability awareness training.
RADAR has a well-established consultancy arm and would be happy
to discuss ways in which we can help, either directly or by referring
to high quality trainers.
RADAR is in contact with the Employment Service
concerning the development and delivery of a training programme
for Personal Advisers.
I hope the enclosed is of some interest[11].
RADAR would be pleased to assist the inquiry further in its work.
Neil Betteridge
Head of Projects and Campaigns
18 May 1999
11 Not printed. Back
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