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 Supported Internship Quality Framework has been published. It was developed for the Department for Education by the Education and Training Foundation and their centres of excellence. The framework has been developed over the last 6 months and aims to improve the quality of Supported Internships (SIs) provision and outcomes.
The Government has published the National Disability Strategy. The strategy contains a range of proposals covering education, employment, housing, transport, leisure and access to services.
The government has published a new national autism strategy. Backed by nearly £75 million in the first year, it aims to speed up diagnosis and improve support and care for autistic people. The funding includes £40 million through the NHS Long Term Plan to improve capacity in crisis services and support children with complex needs in inpatient care.
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.
