Work shadowing at the Department for Communities and Local Government

Recently I took part in a work shadowing scheme at a government department.

I had a great time shadowing the Team Leader for the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Welfare Reform Team. I was supported by Sophie who is one of my colleagues at Mencap.

The shadowing scheme was a good opportunity for me to get to know what they do and for them to know what I do.

The work shadowing scheme is run by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and I was the first person with learning disability to take part. Charities can learn more about the work the government is doing. They can build a good relationship and keep in contact with each other by taking part in the scheme. To find out more visit the NCVO website.

I spoke about why I was interested in working with the Government by shadowing at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

I started by speaking about my role and what being a spokesperson means to me.

I talked about exactly what it means to be included and how to get our voices heard.

I spoke briefly about our campaigns and talked to them about Welfare Reform.

I spoke about:

• employment,
• benefits,
• social care,
• hate crime,
• housing,

I said that I have been involved in the All Party Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability. I told them that I had been to lots of meetings and that I gave a presentation on employment.

The reason I was interested in shadowing at the Department was because it would be a good opportunity to help improve the Welfare Reform Bill.

It’s interesting to see what they do and to have a good networking relationship. It’s good to see how the civil service and voluntary sector can work together and improve the Welfare Reform Bill.

I was shown how their Welfare Reform Team Structure Chart looked and saw each individual’s responsibilities. I attended some of their meetings and I was interested to hear what they do.

I had a chat with a communications manager and I had a good chat about what he does and what his responsibilities are. He was also interested to hear about accessible consultations and we talked about both our websites and the difference between theirs and Mencap’s.

The person who I shadowed asked myself and Sophie if we had any questions for her. We said how interesting it was seeing as a whole what they do. In campaigns we do a lot of work on the Welfare Reform Bill and it was good to see how this government department is working on it. 

I would recommend the NCVO Shadowing scheme to anybody. It is very interesting and useful and I learnt a lot from doing it.