News

DWP has announced future changes to the way that Access to Work applications will be handled for Supported Internships and Traineeships. We expect the changes to come into force in early September and DWP have asked that applications are not submitted before then. BASE is working alongside the Department for Education and a group of providers to advise DWP on the proposed changes. We will be posting updates when we can but DWP has released the following text:

It is with great sadness that we heard that Mark Kilsby passed away this morning. We send our love and hugs to his partner, Julie Allan, who was with him when he died peacefully in a hospice in Cardiff. Mark had been ill for a few weeks and had spent some time in hospital.

We have received revised guidance from the Department for Education about Supported Internships. Providers have been understandably keen on clarity about whether, and how, Supporterd Internships can continue into the next academic year.

We understand that the following text has been cleared by Treasury and Ministers for input into the FE operational guidance. 

DWP has issued new guidance to Supported Businesses confirming ministerial approval has been granted for the Transitional Employer Support Grant (TESG) to be claimed whilst an employee is at home due to Covid 19. The guidance also sets out the requirements for providing evidence of the continued support provided by the SB and offers options as to how signatures can be obtained.

Cooper Gibson Research (CGR) has published a research report looking at how Supported Internships are delivered. The research, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), aimed to explore: 

  • The models and approaches to delivery of supported internships available for young people with EHCPs in England. 
  • The factors perceived to be associated with success for supported internships. 
  • Perceived barriers to the success of supported internships, and how these may be overcome. 

The Centre for Social Justice has published a new report, Commissioning Excellence in Disability , that examines DWP's nationally contracted disability employment provision. 

The report is critical of performance over recent years and highlights some of the problem areas including commissioning processes, funding models and supply chain management. It suggests ways of making better use of the expertise within the voluntary sector and makes a series of recommendations.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report 'Supporting Disabled People into Work' on how the Department for Work and Pensions supports people with a disability into work. BASE supported the NAO's work on the report and we will be commenting on the content soon.

The report is about the Department’s support to help disabled people overcome barriers to work. It examines the Department’s:

A new plan has been launched to help support people with learning disabilities.

There are 26,349 people with learning disabilities in Scotland with only 7%  employed and 6.2% in further education.

The Keys to Life framework, launched by the Scottish Government and council umbrella body Cosla, sets out plans to inform more employers about available help, such as a job coach or supported employment.

The Scottish Governnment has published its Employment Action Plan for people who have a disability.

With only around 40% of working age disabled adults in employment, compared with more than 80% of non-disabled adults, the new funding is part of an action plan outlining how this gap can be at least halved over the next 20 years. The plan sets an initial ambition to increase the employment rate of disabled people to 50% by 2023 then to 60% by 2030.

The action plan also includes:

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, has announced increased funding to support businesses that provide extra employment support for disabled people with the greatest barriers to work.

When the Work Choice employment programme ends in March 2019, ongoing support will be offered to individuals working in Supported Businesses through specially designed new elements of the government’s Access to Work scheme.

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