March 2021

Now is the Time. As we move towards publication of a national disability strategy, it is timely to reflect on how things stand within the Supported Employment sector. It is telling that 40 years after the introduction of Supported Employment to the UK, we have still not seen any national funding of a sector that is predominantly funded through local authorities and charitable sources.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Disability Commission has published a comprehensive report, Now is the Time, that examines disability policy across education, employment, housing, transport, and access to goods and services. BASE fed views into the report's development. We welcome its recommendations and expect it to influence the development of the National Disability Strategy.

The report has large chapters on education and employment with specific sections devoted to apprenticeships, Supported Interrnships and Supported Employment. The report also contains recommendations around support for employers, Access to Work, Disability Confident, workforce reporting and government procurement.

Department of Education have confirmed that Supported Interns who were not able to meet the core aim of their internship in the 2020-21 academic year may continue their internship into the 2021-22 academic year. This will also apply to 2019-20 interns who continued into 2020-21 and  have not yet completed their internships.

We've now has confirmation that Access to Work will be extended to cover supported interns who are repeating their course.

DWP has issued new Access to Work guidance for education providers and supported Employment providers involved in delivering Supported Internships. They have also revised the application form and support plan. Note that these forms are subject to ongoing change as they are refined by DWP.

Image of strategy and link to download itThe European Union has published its new Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. The new strategy builds on its predecessor, the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020, and contributes to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights for which an Action Plan will be adopted by the Commission this week.