News

National Disability Strategy published

28/07/21

The Government has published the long-awaited National Disability Strategy. It follows a consultation that was strongly criticised by disability campaigners. It is published on the DWP website rather than by the Cabinet Office which led development of the strategy.

The strategy contains a range of proposals covering education, employment, housing, transport, leisure and access to services.

 

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BASE members secure Scottish procurement contracts

24/07/21

Supported Businesses have been awarded more than £2 million in contracts to support the set-up of Social Security Scotland offices in Dundee and Glasgow.

The Scottish Government Framework for Supported Businesses was used to invite bids from organisations that employ at least 30% disabled or disadvantaged people within their workforce. BASE has been active in supporting the development of the Scottish procurement frameworks.

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National Autism Strategy published

22/07/21

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published the long-delayed National Autism Strategy. It includes a section on employment but, unfortunately, there's little in the way of new measures or ambition. It includes an implementation plan that focuses on promoting Access to Work, improving awareness amongst employers and continued access to the IPES programme (for which we've seen no outcome data yet). We hope that the strategy will become more ambitious following the next spending review.

In the first year, the key employment support commitments will be to:

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DWP Green Paper published: Shaping Future Support

21/07/21

The government has published its Green Paper on Health and Disability, Shaping Future Support, and will consult on the content until 11 October 2021. BASE will be responding and invites your views on the proposals contained within it. The Government has also published it's response to the 2019 consultation, Health is Everyone's Business. We expect the long-awaited National Disability Strategy to be published very soon.

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New IPS career resources

20/07/21

Health Education England has launched a new Individual Placement Support (IPS) career resource, hosted on the elearning for healthcare website, to raise awareness of the IPS employment specialist role.

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DWP market engagement on autism accreditation

20/07/21

The Department for Work and Pensions is organising a market engagement event for an Autism Accreditation Contract. They are seeking a provider that is well experienced in working with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and highly experienced in developing accreditations.

The following information is taken from the Test & Learn DPS and may be subject to amendment. Please log in to ensure that you are reading the latest documentation.

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YEG seeks youth employment policy drive

19/07/21

The Youth Employment Group (YEG) has launched a new paper, 'Levelling up for young people: Building an Opportunity Guarantee', which sets out a three-stage approach to improving the prospects of young people in the post-COVID economy. The YEG now brings together over 200 organisations, including BASE, to lobby for improved policy on youth employment.

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Event: Report launch by the APPG on Assistive Technology

07/07/21

15th July sees the launch of a new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Assistive Technology, Talent & Technology: Building bridges to employment for disabled people, with keynote speeches from Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson MP, Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee and Julia Green, BASE Chair. The report is embargoed until 15 July but we'll post it on our Knowledge pages after that.

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Updated DfE Covid guidance for further education

07/07/21

The Department for Education has published updated Covid-19 operational guidance for further education providers.

It has been confirmed that supported interns who were not able to meet the core aim of their internship in the 2020 to 2021 academic year may continue their internship into the 2021 to 2022 academic year. Where necessary and appropriate, priority for accessing work placements in the 2021 to 2022 academic year should be given to supported interns who were enrolled on a supported internship in 2020 to 2021.

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Lords call for SEND amendments to Education & Skills Bill

05/07/21

The Post-16 Education and Skills Bill must be amended to include clauses around provision for students with special educational needs, Lord Addington has said. 

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