Learning disability employment policy in England was led by the Valuing Employment Now (VEN) Team until it was disbanded in April 2010. Employment policy is now led by the Valuing People Now team. Only 6.4% of people with a significant disability are in paid employment in England (2010). Valuing Employment Now was published in June 2009 and is the main cross-Government policy document for England.
The £220m Community Renewal Fund is designed to help the UK prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Fund aims to support our communities to pilot innovative programmes and new approaches, aligning national and local provision.
Projects must be completed by 31 March 2022 and projects may align with one, or deliver across several, of the following investment priorities:
Young people on or about to start the work experience placement of a supported internship, or traineeship with a disability or health condition, can apply to the Department for Work and Pensions' Access to Work fund. Young people can apply for: * funding of travel (providing assistance for additional travel costs to and from their work experience placement because of their disability); * the costs of support workers, including job coaches; and * specialist equipment for days that a young person is at the employer's premises.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Disability has published its report on employment. The report, Ahead of the Arc, offers proposals to help halve the disability employment gap. The Inquiry was launched amid concerns that too much attention was being paid to reducing the benefits bill and not enough attention to helping disabled people participate in the labour market.
The Improving Lives Programme was established by the Welsh Government to review how well people with a learning disability are supported throughout their lives. The document contains a number of recommendations in Appendix 2.
Social care provision and funding has been the subject of numerous reports, commissions and Government papers over many years. Despite agreement on the urgent need for reform, this has not translated into action or consensus on how it should be achieved.
Individual Placement & Support (IPS), Best practice
Year of Publication:
2018
Type:
Web link, Best practice
The government’s Joint Work and Health Unit has commissioned an independent consortium to support the growth of IPS services. As part of its work, the consortium has produced a number of useful tools and templates to support the growth of consistently high quality IPS services. These can be accessed at www.ipsgrow.org.uk, a new website that brings together a range of information, guidance and template documents to support the development of IPS services.
DWP has published a research report on a survey of Universal Credit claimants. It makes for difficult reading with particular problems around levels of debt and the accesibility of digital technology..
People with a criminal conviction face several barriers on release from prison, with access to employment and education being at the forefront. Not only are many ex-offenders often unprepared for employment on release in terms of their skills and training, but there remains a stigma among some employers about hiring people with a criminal conviction. With reoffending costing the UK billions each year, more must be done to improve employment opportunities for ex-offenders to reduce the number of prison leavers that reoffend.
