Supported Business webinar

BASE promoted a webinar for Supported Businesses on 17 February. The aim was to update businesses on current policy and to get feedback on the pressures that they currently face.

Some businesses noted that they had been winding down over last few years. Others reported increased trade and service level agreements with customers. Now trade is picking back up, they want to recruit. However, a barrier was around understanding the steps they needed to take to attract someone who may benefit from the support that a TESG environment offers. Health and wellbeing resources were also discussed.

There was discussion around some of the difficulties faced during Access to Work claims and several action points were noted for discussion with DWP.

The Supported Business Steering Group continues to meet regularly with DWP and a new DWP Steering Group will be established to advise on the Access to Work Plus (AtW+) initiative. AtW+ will eventually replace TESG payments and a proof of concept will begin this year to test the model.

Policy updates are posted at www.base-uk.org/supported-business-policy