The Usual Place – written evidence (YDP0079)

Additional Evidence from ICET/The Usual Place

The following evidence is intended to enhance and complement the evidence already provided in written form and through interview with Heather Hall, CEO and the young people at The Usual Place.

Summary

Case studies and interviews

This additional evidence is provided with the intention to show the benefits of our enablement approach for disabled young people, their families and their employers. Also the long term benefits of relatively short term investments for the wider community including providing high quality training programmes including externally accredited and assessed vocational courses and qualifications. People have a life, not a service.

It includes written statements and video interviews with young people from The Usual Place, as well as those who have moved on into employment. It also tracks the case studies of two young people transitioning from The Usual Place into employment and the issues and achievements associated with both them and their future employers. This has led to us creating a new job role of Employer-Ability Officer (funded by The National Lottery Young Start Fund) which has been appointed this week.

We also include interviews and written pieces by parents who have experienced the transitions alongside their sons and daughters.

ICET Facts and Figures

In addition there are a number of relevant documents giving detailed information about the impact of The Usual Place and costings for providing our programmes. Essentially we are providing something very simple, but the funding jigsaw of over 18 different funders and very little statutory support means that our resources are stretched and possibly unsustainable in the long term. Although we have a good income from the café we will never make enough cups of tea to survive and thrive without some form of subsidy and investment rather than grants.

Customer Survey

Customer Surveys demonstrate the high quality community facility which is well used by a huge range of individuals across all demographics, as well as community groups and businesses.

Our building provides direct modelling of diversity in action which is experienced and fully accepted as part of every exposure to The Usual Place

Glasgow University Research

External evaluation of the model transfer and scaleability: Glasgow University Research. Expert Placement for Health and Social Care Providers where students learn directly from the young people about the work first approach.

CONCERNS

We also wish to raise some concerns and awareness in relation to employability policy and practice:

         No-one Left Behind

• failed to include the recommendations made in Scottish Government Employment Review, the resulting generalist approach leaves behind people with additional support needs.

         The Implementation Gap

• between national strategy and local policy and delivery – the Disability Employment Gap document was written in the absence of the voice of any disabled person. NO equality impact assessment was carried out (we have been told this was because there was no time to include people!)

• The resulting Tender Document can only be described as inhumane: requiring an organisation to deliver programmes with a minimum of 60 disabled people in a year at £833 per person with 80% expected to make a successful transition.

• The Disability Employment Gap in Dumfries & Galloway is the highest in Scotland, young people are telling us that they think this is in part to do with the way that self-directed support is used in Dumfries & Galloway. Young people are held in services with no incentive for the organisation to create exit plan or outcomes to move them on because the organisation would lose the money that comes with each individual young person:

10 April 2024

Appendices

The following information is attached:

1.   Impact Statement

1. Background information and Sarah’s case study

2.   ICET Facts and Figures

1. Includes unit costs for various training programmes at The Usual Place

3.   Employment Beyond the Usual Place

1. Case studies from young people in employment (video and written)

4.   Employer-ability Journey

1. Case studies following transitions from The Usual Place into employment
2. Formalising the links with employers in new Employer-Ability Officer role

5.   Parents’ Perspective

1. Video interviews and written submissions by parents of disabled young people
1. The Usual Place Customer Survey 2023
2. Glasgow University Research with ICET
1. Model Transfer Research Published Journal Social Enterprise
2. Resilience Model Published Journal of Intellectual Disabilities
3. Links to: Youth Matters Reports and ITV Border Life Programme about The Usual Place March 2024
4. ASN Learning Network Final Report (convening agencies across region in common purpose of employment for young people with additional support needs

10.                   Document: Halving the Dumfries & Galloway Employment Gap

11.                Employability Tender Document
12.                  Major Concerns about Self Directed Support by Joe Gough, Wigtownshire Stuff