News

The 2019-20 Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) figures for England were published today and show a mixed picture. We've posted the annual report and a spreadsheet of the disaggregated local authority rates at www.base-uk.org/employment-rates

Rates have risen again for adults in contact with mental services and now stand at 9% but the learning disability figure has fallen again, this time to 5.6%. This is very disappointing news and reflects the lack of support available to support people with learning disabilities into work. We really need DWP to take a lead on this issue and fund appropriate support in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 27).

BASE has joined the Skills Builder Partnership as a strategic membership body partner. 

Skills Builder is a free resource used in schools, colleges, and workplaces to assess and chart progress on developing the soft skills needed in the workplace. The framework is now used by 700 organisations and covers achievement of the following soft skills:

  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Problem solving
  • Creativity
  • Staying positive
  • Aiming high
  • Leadership
  • Teamwork

The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) has published a new set of resources specifically aimed at raising the levels of confidence in employers and CEC Enterprise Advisors to increase the level of valuable encounters with employers and experiences of the work environment.

The materials cover 3 stages:

  • Awareness and engagement: 
  • Planning and implementation
  • Evaluation and review

There are also some supporting videos.

The Work and Pensions Committee is investigating the gap between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people and how the Department for Work and Pensions can better support disabled people in the labour market.

They will be looking at trends in the disability employment gap, the economic impact of low employment rates for disabled people and the assistance available to help people in work. The inquiry will also cover the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Committee wants to hear from as many people as possible, especially disabled people, and has produced the call for evidence in text, audio, British Sign Language and EasyRead formats.

In association with the Bloomfield Trust, the Employment and Enterprise team at National Autistic Society (NAS) has launched a new employment programme, Autism at Work. The programme supports employers to promote job opportunities to autistic job seekers. It then supports applicants through the recruitment process and successful candidates to prepare for and succeed in their role. 

BASE member Ambitious About Autism has announced a pioneering partnership with Santander Universities UK and 17 high profile higher education institutions. Employers can join the programme for free to access autistic talent, training and support as well as salary costs fully funded by Santander Universities UK. 

Professionals can also register their autistic clients who have attended one of the partner universities. To find out eligibility for this unique and ground-breaking programme for autistic students and graduates, register your interest.

You can also follow them on social media via the following hashtags #SantanderUniEmployAutism #EmployAutism

The Department for Education has published apprenticeship statistics covering the full 2019-20 academic year (August 2019 to July 2020). They show a 46% decline in apprenticeship starts - 58,160 compared to 107,750 in 2018-19. This is unsurprising given the Covid-19 pandemic and there was a steep drop in starts from March 2020. There are encouraging signs that start numbers are picking up again now.

DWP has cconfirmed the organisations that have successfully tendered to be included in the Commercial Agreement for Employment and Health-Related Services (CAEHRS). The agreement goes live on 5 October and replaces the existing Umbrella Agreement.

In total DWP received submissions from 61 organisations with a total of 171 compliant submissions across the 7 regional lots. Overall this has resulted in a total of 28 organisations being awarded a place on CAEHRS, 21 of which have multiple places and 7 have single awards. DWP is able to offer further places should they become available.

DWP has revised the application and claims process for the use of Access to Work within Supported Internships and Traineeships. The changes are mainly due to DWP's security requirements and they now need a customer signature on the application and claims forms. Access to Work are also introducing a declaration letter that the customer must sign and return before claims are approved.

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:

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