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Think Work First: The transition from education to work for young disabled people Contents

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Chapter 4: Entering the workforce: the role of employment services and programmes

102.We turn now from the role of the education system to that of the employment support system. This is a significant transition for many young disabled people as they move from the purview of DfE and the local authority to that of DWP. We explore the various national programmes that support disabled people moving into work and how effective they are, and examine newer ‘supported employment’ approaches to helping disabled people to access and remain in work.

National Careers Service

103.The National Careers Service (NCS) is sponsored by DfE and provides free and impartial careers advice, information, and guidance to anyone aged 13 or older. Individuals can access support from NCS via its website, webchat, and phone service. Those aged 19 (or 18 if they have been referred by Jobcentre Plus) are also eligible for face-to-face advice. The previous government stated that “young people aged 19–24 with SEND in need of transition support are a National Careers Service priority group”.181

104.Unison and the Careers Development Institute (CDI) suggested such support was often “self-serve”182 and lacked flexible provisions,183 arguing that this presented “a barrier to young disabled people in need of transitional support.”184 Careers England argued that the “payment by results” funding model limits the amount of time spent supporting people,185 which we heard can lead to retention issues.186

Jobcentre Plus

105.Jobcentre Plus (JCP) is often the first service a young disabled person engages with once they leave education and it is where they first learn about employment support schemes.187 JCPs employ Work Coaches, who support Universal Credit claimants by helping them to find, and stay in, work. However, contributors questioned the efficacy of JCP support.

106.Dr Rachel Moseley, principal academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University, noted that autistic people had been extremely critical of JCP’s understanding of autism and had reported “highly distressing and invalidating encounters.”188 Sense argued that “disabled people often do not get the support they need from Work Coaches”, reporting that a third of 18–25 year olds with complex disabilities189 did not feel supported by Work Coaches, and that Work Coaches’ initial training did not include specific training about disability.190 Career Connect argued that it can be difficult for young people to “access and form relationships” with JCP staff and that “it can be difficult for young people to find the path to the appropriate support”.191

107.Amy Little, Head of Advocacy at Leonard Cheshire, suggested that reasonable adjustments were not guaranteed for those attending JCP meetings, adding a further barrier to obtaining support.192 Sense found that no JCPs were equipped with specialist assistive technology.193 This means that some disabled people are unable to use the computers at JCPs to look for work, and may be unable to do so at home due to not being able to afford the technology.194

108.Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) are also employed by JCPs. They are expected to be expert at supporting disabled people into work, and train Work Coaches, link JCP staff with local organisations, and promote Government schemes such as Access to Work195 and Disability Confident.196 In April 2024, the then Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Mims Davies MP told the Committee that there were “about 750 Disability Employment Advisers”.197 As of 29 April 2024 there were 634 JCPs across Great Britain,198 meaning that each JCP may be able to access 1–2 DEAs.

109.Leonard Cheshire was positive about the introduction of DEAs.199 However, we also heard that “lots of young people are not even aware of what a Disability Employment Adviser is.”200 Sense reported that “a third of 18–24-year-olds with complex disabilities did not feel supported” by DEAs and argued that there were “clear gaps in what [DEAs] are taught. They do not, for example receive any specific training on assistive technology.”201

110.In its manifesto for the 2024 General Election, the current Government committed to bringing “Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service together to provide a national jobs and careers service, focused on getting people into work and helping them get on at work.”202

111.The joining together of Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service to create a national jobs and careers service presents an opportunity to ensure these services are delivering high-quality, tailored, joined-up advice for young disabled people.

112.In the process of establishing the proposed national jobs and careers service, the Government should introduce further training for Work Coaches and DEAs to ensure they are fully able to understand the specific barriers young disabled people face, including in the commissioning and use of assistive technologies. New training should be in place before March 2025.

113.The Government should take steps to ensure that employment support services such as Jobcentre Plus and National Career Service facilities are fully accessible for disabled people, including for those who require reasonable adjustments or assistive technology to search for work.

Access to Work

114.Access to Work is a Government programme that provides a grant for disabled people moving into work or retraining for employment. It can be used to cover costs related to disability and work which go beyond ‘reasonable adjustments’203, to a maximum value of £66,000 per year.204 Disability charities stressed the value of the Access to Work programme in providing “crucial support” to young disabled people,205 but witnesses also highlighted a number of problems with the programme.

115.A key issue for Access to Work applicants is the length of time the process takes.206 We heard of delays of up to a year between the application for support and the receipt of a report setting out the adjustments needed.207 Evidence from Leonard Cheshire stated that “61% of disabled people have said that it took over three months for their application to be processed and for 1 in 5 (20%) it took over six months”208

116.Angela Matthews Head of Policy and Research for the Business Disability Forum stated that delays can lead to “young disabled people … having their interviews withdrawn because the Access to Work applications are not going through quickly enough … [and employers] declining interviews for applicants who cannot get adjustments done from Access to Work in time”.209 Disabled people are often in insecure roles,210 and Dr Brewer argued that these delays can make it impossible for “accommodations to be implemented in sufficient time for a temporary contract”211. In addition, Leonard Cheshire told us that the information available to Access to Work advisers is sometimes out of date, meaning that they do not always consider accessible technology that can be used on standard devices, recommending instead the purchase of technology that is not compatible with the employers’ systems.212

117.Those that are able to access appropriate support through Access to Work may then find themselves facing another problem when they come to move jobs: they are frequently unable to transfer the support to their new employer. Guide Dogs for the Blind described how assistive technology for blind people “such as adapted laptops, screens or audio equipment … is often owned by an employer and isn’t transferable between jobs.”213 However, Lorraine Jackson, Director of the Joint Work and Health Directorate in DWP and DHSC, saw the ability of employers to retain the equipment or the adjustment as a good thing, “because they are able to employ or support another person”.214

118.In addition to these issues with the programme as it currently operates, a further impediment is that awareness of Access to Work is low among young disabled people and many “only become aware … after entering full time employment.”215 Lynne Turnbull, Chief Executive Officer of Disability Positive, a Disabled People’s Organisation whose services include support for employers, described Access to Work as a “best kept secret”,216 and others noted that this lack of awareness also affects employers.217 Countering this view, Ms Jackson reported that there had been “a marked increase” in the number of younger disabled people applying for Access to Work.218

119.In its manifesto for the 2024 General Election, the current Government promised to “tackle the backlog of Access to Work claims”219.

120.The Access to Work programme has the potential to be transformational in supporting young disabled people to access and remain in work but its potential is not being realised. Poor awareness of the scheme, and delays in processing applications, are preventing it from supporting as many disabled people as it could. We, therefore, welcome the new Government’s commitment to reducing the delays in application process.

121.We ask the Government to provide the Committee with regular updates on progress with reducing the Access to Work application backlog and cutting application times, starting in March 2025.

Supported employment approaches

122.Supported employment is a five-step model used to support people into work, sometimes referred to as the place, train and maintain model. The model focuses on matching the individual’s aspirations and skills to a role, working with employers to create or amend roles to match the individual’s profile. The employers and the supported employment provider then support the individual to learn their jobs while in work, and ensure appropriate adjustments are put in place for the individual to flourish.220 Examples of supported employment programmes include supported internships221 and IPS.222

123.Academics, local authority leads and supported employment providers argued that supported employment approaches were well evidenced and effective,223 achieving “consistently better outcomes” than other types of employment programmes.224 BASE also argued that there is a strong costs/benefit case for the schemes, and that investment in supported employment programmes would bring savings to local government and NHS trusts, and increase tax returns, while also supporting disabled people to live independently. Assessments of locally delivered supported employment schemes have shown they can deliver £1.17 for every £1 invested.225

124.Access to supported employment programmes is dependent on whether the local authority commissions them and the availability of relevant partners—there is no statutory requirement for local authorities to provide supported employment programmes.226 This presents a significant barrier for young disabled people, with several witnesses stating that access to supported employment is a “postcode lottery”.227 Overall, Dr Stephen Beyer, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cardiff’s National Centre for Mental Health told us, “job coach supported employment … is not available in anywhere like the numbers needed to cope with demand.”228

Universal Support

125.The Universal Support programme was launched on 13 September 2023, and is gradually being rolled out. DWP states that it is a “voluntary programme designed to support disabled people … into sustained employment” using a supported employment approach.229 The programme is “grant funded and delivered by local authorities”.230 BASE welcomed the Government’s Universal Support programme saying it “has the Supported Employment model at the heart”231 and “will support 100,000 participants each year” once fully rolled out.232

126.Laura Davis, Chief Executive of the British Association for Supported Employment and Inclusive Trading CIC (BASE) suggested that there was an opportunity to link supported internships233 with Universal Support. She recommended that, at the later stages of a supported internship, the 30 per cent of participants who were not likely to move into work could be moved onto Universal Support to ensure a “seamless journey out of education and into employment support” while they were still in their internship.234 This would prevent them dropping out of work at the end of their internship.

127.Supported employment provides an effective way to support people to access and remain in work and can deliver value for money investment. The Universal Support programme has the potential to increase availability of supported employment programmes. It is essential that the Government continues introducing and rolling out Universal Support and we hope that the Government will move quickly to allay concerns within the sector that they are not committed to the programme.

128.The Government should set out clear timelines and targets for improving the regional and national availability of Universal Support, as well as metrics focused on employment outcomes for the disabled people who participate in supported employment programmes.

129.As part of the rollout of Universal Support, the Government should take steps to link Universal Support offers to supported internships to ensure that young disabled people with the highest needs do not drop out of work at the end of their internship. We ask the Government to update the Committee on progress of the rollout by March 2025.

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