Employment programmes to be reviewed

Tuesday 07 December 2010

The government is reviewing employment support for disabled people

The Department for Work and Pensions has commissioned Liz Sayce, chief executive of the disability organisation RADAR, to carry out an independent review of specialist disability employment programmes.

On 25 October 2010, the Department launched Work Choice – a programme of support for people with complex disability-related barriers to work. And next year it plans to introduce Work Programme, a package of personalised support for disabled people.

The review will focus on more specialist support, including:

• Access to Work, which gives advice about reasonable adjustments and financial support to disabled people and their employers
• Residential Training Colleges, which provide vocational training and support to unemployed disabled adults with the most severe barriers to employment
• Remploy, which provides specialist employment services for disabled people, including the direct employment of around 2,800 disabled employees

Liz Sayce said: "Disabled people continue to face barriers to employment and I hope that this review will help the Department make real improvements to the services that support disabled people who want to develop fulfilling careers."

Jane Alltimes, Mencap senior campaigns and policy officer, welcomed the review. "Given the government's push to move large numbers of people off benefits and into work, it is critical that the employment support is available to people with a learning disability. We need to look thoroughly at what is effective in supporting disabled people into sustainable employment."

Individuals and organisations are invited to submit evidence to the review by 28 February 2011.

Find out more about the plans and submit evidence