Written evidence from Simon Howard Simon Howard (DEG0168)

My name is Simon Howard. I am responding to your call for evidence through Scope, the disability equality charity. I want to share my experiences of the barriers I've faced getting into work and what can be improved to help disabled people in the future.

I've answered two questions below as part of your call for evidence.

What extra support would you benefit from to get into work?

Some of my disabilities are not obvious but I have to walk with a stick and use a mobility scooter for any distance. At interview I often find that this then becomes the elephant in the room. I can see that they are thinking about what other problems I have, are they in danger of making a rod for their own back and what will it cost to make reasonable changes. However, they are often reluctant to breach the subject for fear of appearing to be prejudice so will make sure that it appears to be a fair interview without needing to mention my personal handicaps. I use the term "handicaps" because this is nearly always how it is perceived by employers. How much will it cost to employ this disabled person and have we reached our quota of disabled employees. Not what can this person do for us and what qualities will they bring to benefit the company.

Looking to the future, what does the Government need to improve on to help disabled people get into, stay and progress in work?

The biggest help and change that would assist disabled people to get jobs and progress is a change in the vast majority of people's attitudes. Instead of the response of what would we have to do if we employ this disabled person to a view of how can we help to ensure that this person can work and progress in our company. Not sure how or what is the best way to go forward but it has to a very large extent been achieved in other areas of prejudice. Because that's what we have to battle against, prejudices.

The disability employment gap has been stuck close to 30 percent for over a decade, and the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has seen disabled people falling out of work faster than non-disabled people. 

Scope wants the Government to deliver on its pledge to tackle the disability employment gap. The Government must use the opportunity of the forthcoming National Strategy for Disabled People to set out plans to close the gap.

I hope that the evidence I have provided, alongside research from Scope will prove useful to the committee.

December 2020