Summary of conclusions and recommendations
What works: a blueprint for a strategy for young disabled people
1.It is vital that services supporting young disabled people are co-produced with those young people, and with disabled people who have already experienced the transition out of education—regardless of whether they have been able to move into work. (Paragraph 16)
2.Vocational profiling provides an effective way to identify the aspirations and development needs of young disabled people at an early stage and may enable schools and colleges to put the right careers support in place. (Paragraph 22)
3.The Government should make vocational profiling a standard part of careers information, advice and guidance for young disabled people in schools. The Government should have developed a clear plan, with a full timeline for implementing this, by September 2025, taking into account the training that careers advisers and leaders will need. (Paragraph 23)
4.Continuous, joined up support for young disabled people, starting in school and continuing until they have secured secure employment, bridges the gap between education and work. It empowers young disabled people both to enter the workplace and to thrive once in employment and, through this, provides concrete value for money. (Paragraph 27)
5.The Government should work with local authorities to improve the availability of ‘ready to work’ programmes such as that provided by ThinkForward, to support young people from school until they are settled in work. A plan and timeline for the rollout of such programmes nationally should be developed once the plan for embedding vocational profiling in the school careers advice system has been completed, and should be published no later than the end of the first quarter of 2026. (Paragraph 28)
6.Supported internships are an effective way to support people furthest from the job market to gain experience of the workplace and enter the workforce. They also provide effective support for employers to address cultural and practical barriers to employing disabled people. (Paragraph 33)
7.The Government should honour the commitment of the previous Government to double the number of supported internships and should take steps to ensure that as many young disabled people as possible are eligible for them. (Paragraph 34)
8.The Government should take steps to increase the number of supported internships, and should introduce ambitious, time-bound rolling targets for this. Building on the success of supported internships in NHS Trusts, the campaign should include targeted work to increase public sector uptake of supported internships. (Paragraph 35)
9.A single information hub that delivers tailored information to young disabled people and their parents or carers would help them navigate the transition from education to work, identify appropriate support, and understand their specific rights and entitlements. (Paragraph 40)
10.Drawing on the experience of Scotland, the Government should develop an information hub modelled on ARC Scotland’s COMPASS tool for people in England. This should be developed through consultation and in partnership with disabled people and launched within 12 months of the date of this report. (Paragraph 41)
11.The Individualised Placement and Support model is a proven, effective way to support disabled people to access and remain in work. It is vital that momentum on rolling out IPS is maintained. (Paragraph 45)
12.The Government should continue the rollout of IPS in Primary Care, setting ambitious targets both for nationwide availability of the scheme and for the number of people the scheme will support every year. The Government should publish detailed statistics on the progress of the scheme at least annually. We ask the Government to set out their policy in this area at the earliest possible opportunity. (Paragraph 46)
Preparing for work: how effective is the education system?
13.There is an overarching concern that the education system is not delivering for young people with special educational needs. As a matter of urgency, the Government should review and improve the support young disabled people receive in the education system. (Paragraph 50)
14.Education, Health and Care Plans help young disabled people receive essential educational support and are fundamental to enabling many young disabled people to access employment programmes such as supported internships or more accessible apprenticeships. However, the current system does not deliver the vital support that many young disabled people need, nor does it adequately support the councils and schools expected to deliver it. The current lack of funding and delays in the application process mean that young disabled people are left without vital support , while local authorities waste public money fighting losing battles at tribunal. Alongside this, local authorities and education providers do not have the resources they need to fulfil the requirements set out in existing EHCPs. (Paragraph 55)
15.The Government should increase its support for local authorities to deliver EHCPs and closely monitor both the timeliness and robustness of their decision-making with reference to the 20-week timeline for producing a draft EHCP, as well as the proportion of decisions overturned on appeal. We ask the Government to update the Committee by June 2025 on its progress in improving processes, reducing delays, and minimising SEND Tribunal costs and appeals with regard to EHCPs. (Paragraph 56)
16.Before June 2025, DfE should collect and publish data on the number of full-time equivalent careers advisers practicing in England and the number of advisers who have received specialist training relating to pupils with SEN. (Paragraph 63)
17.The Government should review training for careers advisers and leaders. This review should consider a) making in-depth SEN training a mandatory aspect of careers adviser qualifications, b) introducing a National Professional Qualification on careers education, information advice and guidance for careers leaders which includes required training on SEN and careers. We ask the Government to provide an update on this by March 2025. (Paragraph 64)
18.Because of the greater barriers they face to accessing employment, and their need for a deeper understanding of the kinds of support employees can access, young disabled people are particularly likely to benefit from targeted, specialist careers advice. It is deeply concerning that this specialist advice is not available to all. (Paragraph 68)
19.The Government’s review of post-16 qualifications reform must take into account the employment outcomes, qualifications and assessments open to young disabled people. (Paragraph 74)
20.The introduction of T Levels offers opportunities for young disabled people to gain valuable workplace experience and skills. There is a risk, however, that it will prevent some from progressing in further education through other routes. For those unable to access T Levels, BTECs are the ideal alternative, and it is concerning that these are being discontinued even though the impact on young disabled people is acknowledged and recognised. We welcome the Government’s decision to pause the defunding of qualifications in August 2024 and to conduct a rapid review of post-16 qualifications reform. (Paragraph 79)
21.The Government’s review of post-16 qualifications reform must consider and prioritise the impact that reforms will have on young disabled people. The Government must commit to retaining all extant BTEC courses at least until there has been a full evaluation of the impact of the introduction of T Levels both generally and specifically on young disabled people. Even if the ultimate decision is to discontinue support for BTECs, this support must continue until alternative level 2 and level 3 qualifications suitable for young disabled people have been fully developed. (Paragraph 80)
22.We welcome the Government’s commitment to providing every young person with two weeks’ work experience. (Paragraph 87)
23.The Government must ensure that young disabled people are given equal access to work experience and must work with DWP, schools, and local government bodies to address the barriers to access to work experience for young disabled people identified in this chapter. This should include introducing further incentives for schools and colleges to develop work experience opportunities, taking steps to improve support for employers offering work experience, and supporting and incentivising local bodies such as Chambers of Commerce to encourage businesses to offer work experience opportunities. We ask the Government to provide an update to us on progress in this area by March 2025. (Paragraph 88)
24.We welcome the roll-out of supported internships and the Government’s efforts to widen eligibility for them. (Paragraph 91)
25.The Government should continue to take steps to widen eligibility for supported internships beyond those with Education, Health and Care Plans while ensuring that supported internships are targeted at those who need a high level of support. (Paragraph 92)
26.We welcome the steps taken to make apprenticeships more accessible to young disabled people, including those without an EHCP, and the commitment to nurturing peer support and learning through the Disabled Apprentice Network. (Paragraph 97)
27.We welcome the Government’s steps to make flexibilities around maths and English requirements accessible to people without an Education, Health and Care Plan. The Government should launch a campaign to clearly communicate the new criteria, promote apprenticeships to employers and training providers and incentivise employers to take on disabled apprentices, and should monitor the number of young disabled people starting apprenticeships due to these changes in eligibility criteria. (Paragraph 98)
28.Working with the Office for Students, the Government should review the provision and quality of accessibility information provided by universities to students. This should include physical accessibility of spaces, adjustments available to students and previous examples of how adjustments have been implemented, considering the views of disabled students and academics. This review should identify actions for the Government, the Office for Students and universities to take, and should be published before March 2026. (Paragraph 101)
Entering the workforce: the role of employment services and programmes
29.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. (Paragraph 111)
30.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. (Paragraph 112)
31.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. (Paragraph 113)
32.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. (Paragraph 120)
33.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. (Paragraph 121)
34.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. (Paragraph 127)
35.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. (Paragraph 128)
36.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. (Paragraph 129)
Going to work: overcoming discrimination and securing rights
37.Despite the introduction of disability discrimination legislation over the past 30 years, disabled people still face discrimination in the workplace and significant numbers of employers hold discriminatory views. For disabled people to access, remain and thrive in work, this must end. (Paragraph 135)
38.We recognise the need for a clear timeframe for responding to a request for a reasonable adjustment. However, we consider that, taking into account the day-to-day pressures on businesses and employers, four weeks would be a more appropriate deadline than two weeks. (Paragraph 139)
39.The Government should introduce a four-week deadline within which employers are obliged to respond to an employee’s request for a reasonable adjustment. The Government should explore the means by which compliance with the deadline could be monitored and enforced, both by Government and, where appropriate, by the employee themselves. (Paragraph 140)
40.Some employers appear to have a poor understanding of the rights of disabled people in the workplace and how to uphold them. (Paragraph 143)
41.Within the next 12 months the Government should launch a campaign aimed at improving attitudes towards disabled people in the workplace. This should be developed in partnership with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations and be targeted at employers. (Paragraph 144)
Supporting employees: upholding workplace rights
42.Disabled people, particularly young disabled people, face significant barriers to upholding their workplace rights. The current enforcement mechanisms fail to uphold these rights in a way that supports disabled claimants to remain in work and do not incentivise employers to respect the rights of their disabled employees. We therefore welcome the Government’s commitment to introducing a Single Enforcement Body and to reforming the Employment Tribunal to simplify the claims process, extend deadlines, and reduce delays. (Paragraph 152)
43.The Government must keep its promise to start the process of implementing its ‘Plan to make work pay’. (Paragraph 153)
44.In establishing the Single Enforcement Body, the Government must ensure that the Body’s remit includes the enforcement of disability-related workplace rights and that these are prioritised. The Government must also ensure that the Body has the powers necessary to support proactively those disabled people who are more vulnerable to having their rights breached or who are less able to engage effectively with other enforcement mechanisms. (Paragraph 154)
45.Alongside the introduction of a Single Enforcement Body, an Employment Tribunal which employees can bring their cases to must remain in place. We urge the Government to complete its reforms of the Employment Tribunal System as a matter of urgency and ask the Government to provide the Committee with an update on progress with this and with reducing the claims backlog by September 2025. (Paragraph 155)
46.We consider that, in addition to the introduction of a duty to inform all employees of their right to join a union, there is a compelling case for introducing a wider duty on employers to inform employees about the most important and consequential workplace rights more generally. In particular, we believe that both employers and the Government should be responsible for ensuring that all employees are informed about workplace rights relating to disability and reasonable adjustments. (Paragraph 159)
47.We ask the Government, whether in conjunction with the proposed duty to inform workers of their right to join union or in separate legislation, to introduce a duty for employers to inform their employees of their workplace rights and, in particular those rights relating to disability and reasonable adjustments. (Paragraph 160)
48.When developing an information hub setting out support for young disabled people during the transition from education to work the Government should ensure that workplace rights are prominently highlighted. (Paragraph 161)
49.The Government should take steps to improve awareness of the Equality Advisory and Support Service. (Paragraph 164)
50.The Government should explore ways of incentivising employers to engage with early conciliation mechanisms, such as the Equality Advisory and Support Service and Acas. (Paragraph 165)
51.In our view, all of the benefits of the voluntary reporting of employers’ disability data would apply equally to mandatory reporting. (Paragraph 168)
52.We welcome the Government’s commitment to the principle that disabled people should be paid equally and to the introduction of disability pay gap reporting. (Paragraph 173)
53.We urge the Government to ensure that disability pay gap reporting is mandatory for employers with more than 250 employees and for all Disability Confident Leaders. (Paragraph 174)
54.We also ask the Government to support companies with fewer than 250 employees to report voluntarily, drawing on best practice from large employers who already report this information in a meaningful way. (Paragraph 175)
Supporting employers: creating inclusive workplaces
55.Achieving Disability Confident status at any level should be made conditional upon the employer demonstrating that it has reached clearly defined thresholds for the percentage of its workforce that is disabled. This reporting should be subject to external audit, with an employer’s status being lost or downgraded after a year where these thresholds are not reached. (Paragraph 187)
56.The Disability Confident scheme itself should be reformed to focus on outcomes rather than the employer’s internal processes and procedures, and to ensure that those accredited at the higher levels are subject to commensurately more stringent requirements. (Paragraph 188)
57.We welcome the introduction of the Government’s Support with Employee Health and Disability service, which may provide valuable support for employers with disabled employees. (Paragraph 190)
58.The content of the Support with Employee Health and Disability website should reflect the barriers and challenges faced by both employers and disabled people and should be developed in partnership with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and employers. The site should act as a single, centralised hub for employers, with signposting to relevant support—regardless of whether that support is delivered by local or central government, or by external organisations. It should also be linked to the single information hub for young disabled people so that both employers and young disabled people can easily access the information they need. (Paragraph 191)
59.Employers and employer organisations have a key role to play in supporting employers of all sizes to develop inclusive employment practices and support young disabled people in the workplace. (Paragraph 194)
60.Alongside work to support and incentivise employer bodies to improve access to work experience, the Government should work with representative bodies and membership organisations, including Chambers of Commerce to improve awareness and support businesses to recruit and retain young disabled people. (Paragraph 195)