Written evidence from the Department for Work and Pensions (DEG0171)

This Government is absolutely committed to improving the lives of disabled people and is delivering the most ambitious disability reform agenda in a generation. We are proud to have a proven track record of increasing disability employment and acting on disability discrimination, providing vital protections.

In 2017, we set a goal to see one million more disabled people in work by 2027. The number of disabled people in employment increased by 800,000 in just the first three years of setting that target, between quarter one 2017 and quarter one 2020.

Longer-term trends on disability employment have been positive considering several indicators available to track progress using official statistics (Box 1).
 

Progress so far and impact

What progress has been made, especially since 2015, on closing the disability employment gap? How has this progress been made? What has been the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on disabled peoples’ employment rates?

With one in five people in this country now identifying as disabled, we will ensure we continue to do everything we can to help disabled people who can work, to find jobs; to facilitate more independent living for disabled people; and to ensure that the disability benefits system is fit for the future. We spend over £55 billion a year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions – up nearly £10 billion since 2010.

By the end of 2019, the number of disabled people in employment and the employment rate of disabled people were at a six-year high. The disability employment rate gap was at its lowest point since 2013 when the current way of measuring disability employment began.

Over the period from quarter three 2013 (the earliest comparable reference point to enable full examination of the trends) up until last year (July to September 2019) there had been:

• Growth in the number of disabled people aged 16-64 in employment – up by 1.3m from 2.9m in quarter three 2013 to 4.2m in quarter three 2019
• An increase in the employment rate of disabled people aged 16-64 – up 9.8 percentage points from 43.4 per cent in quarter three 2013 to 53.2 per cent in 2019
• A narrowing of the gap in employment rates between disabled and non-disabled people in employment by 5.6 percentage points – falling from 34.2 percentage points to 28.6 percentage points.

While the number of disabled people in work has continued to increase, there are now indications that these trends are changing with the COVID-19 pandemic.1 For example, considering progress since 2015, the gap between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people narrowed by 5.9 percentage points between 2015 and 2019 (comparing July to September of each year) but has widened by 0.6 percentage points in the year to September 2020[1] - although this is based on a single data point and long-term impacts cannot currently be known.

Growth in the number of disabled people in employment prior to the pandemic was driven by a number of factors including:[2]

• General labour market improvements indicated by a rise in the employment rate for non-disabled people – this accounts for around a quarter of the increase.
• An improvement in relative employment rates among disabled, as indicated by a narrowing of the gap between the employment rates of disabled and non-– estimated to account for around a quarter of the total increase.
• Growth in the disability prevalence rate – estimated to account for approximately a third of the total increase in the number of disabled people in employment.
• An increase in the size of the working age population – less than a tenth.

A rising prevalence of health conditions and disabilities has also been observed in other surveys which do not rely on people self-reporting disability. For example, according to the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, the proportion of adults in England with a common mental disorder rose from 15.5 per cent in 1993 to 18.9 per cent in 2014.[3]

Measurement issues

ONS conducts the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is the largest household study in the UK and provides used across central and local government, businesses and community organisations, amongst others, to help make decisions that affect the lives of everyone living and working in the UK.

Estimates on disability employment are also available from other large-scale surveys such as the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and Understanding Society (USoc).[4] The LFS uses a different survey methodology to the FRS and USoc but comparisons between the three surveys show similar patterns and trends in disability employment across a number of years. Changes to data definitions in the LFS mean that comparable data starts from 2013.[5]

In March 2020, as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the way people were contacted for initial interviews in the LFS was changed from face-to-face interviews to telephone-based interviews. This change in mode of initial contact has had an impact on both number of people responding the survey and the characteristics of non-respondents (known as non-response bias), which affects the precision of estimates from the survey.

ONS observed unexpected differences in the populations with certain characteristics. For example, for April to June 2020 using weighting[6] applied when undertaking face-to-face interviews resulted in a significant drop in the number of people meeting the harmonised definition of disability. To address these unexpected changes in the population observed in the survey, ONS has introduced a new approach to weighting the data, which brings the number of disabled people, much nearer to the longer-term trend.[7]

What is the economic impact of low employment and high economic inactivity rates for disabled people? Are some disabled people (for example, young disabled people or people with different health conditions) more at risk of unemployment or economic activity than others?

Available analysis shows that labour market outcomes for disabled people vary across a number of factors.

The disability employment rate gap is[8]:

• Wider for men than women (33.4 percentage points for men, compared with 25.4 percentage points for women)
• Wider for older people compared with younger (34.4 percentage points for people aged 50 to 64, versus 22.3 percentage points for 18 to 24 year-olds)
• Larger for people with no qualifications (41.0 percentage points compared with 15.2 percentage points for people with a degree or equivalent)
• Larger in some regions of the of the UK, including Wales (32.5 percentage points), the North East (32.7 percentage points) and Scotland (35.8 percentage points), compared with the South East (23.8 percentage points) and South West (25.8 percentage points).

In addition, disabled people with mental health conditions, and those with multiple health conditions have lower employment rates than other disabled people. For example, the employment rate of people with a mental health condition (as primary or secondary condition) is 39.0 per cent, compared with an equivalent rate of 49.6 per cent for those with musculoskeletal condition.[9] The employment rate of disabled people with five or more health conditions (26.1 per cent) is less than half that of people with one health condition (62.3 per cent).

Among those in employment, disabled people are less likely to be working full-time or in higher-skilled occupations. Disabled workers move out of work at around twice the rate (9 per cent) of non-disabled workers (5 per cent) in the course of a year. Workless disabled people move into work at around one-third of the rate (10 per cent) of workless non-disabled people (27 per cent).[10]

Providing support

What international evidence is there on “what works” in supporting disabled people into, and in work, and how applicable is this to the UK.

A range of international evidence points to practices, policies and employment support programmes which may help disabled people to stay in work or move into sustained employment. Key policies to improve employment outcomes of disabled people across nations include antidiscrimination legislation and employer obligations, stronger employer incentives, spreading supported employment, promotion of workplace accommodations and return to work planning, and changes to institutional arrangements to help get the right services to the right people at the right time.[11] ,[12], [13] In addition, cross-government working is necessary to address a range of barriers faced by disabled people which may affect employment outcomes. Through the Disability Unit, which sits in the Cabinet Office, we are bringing disabled people’s experiences to the centre of policy making and helping departments to develop and monitor policies that remove barriers faced by disabled people. We seek to learn from different countries’ approaches to supporting disabled people in work and into work, however specific policies may not be directly transferable to the UK due to fundamental differences in social security systems and wider institutional contexts.

Anti-discrimination legislation and employer obligations

The UK has some of the strongest equalities legislation in the world, marked by the introduction of the landmark Disability Discrimination Act 25 years ago, and we will we continue our work to make sure that these rights are protected. Legislation, including anti-discrimination legislation, is an important foundation for a system to improve employment outcomes for disable people, but wider action is required. Different countries vary in the extent to which they use legislation to outlaw discrimination and require employers to make adjustments for people with disabilities.[14]

Some countries have increased the responsibilities of employers to monitor sickness absence and to implement return-to-work plans shortly after individuals go off sick (e.g. the Netherlands - the ‘Dutch model’). The OECD concludes that this has led to a reduction of individuals flowing onto disability benefits. The Dutch model has several inter-related features which have evolved over time. It is not clear that any single approach to anti-discrimination legislation or increased employer obligations is more or less effective – they must be viewed in the wider institutional context of a social security system.

Financial incentives and employer obligations

A 2013 review of the evidence on what works to improve employment outcomes for disabled people found some evidence of positive effects of financial incentives, including wage subsidies, to address employers’ concerns about the extra costs of employing disabled people. The potential benefits of financial incentives can be offset by the risk that they do not improve practice where it is needed, as they are taken up by employers who would have hired disabled people without any incentive. However, the review cites the example of Finland, where strict targeting of subsidies had mitigated the risk.[15]

Workplace accommodations and adjustments

Most OECD countries have implemented policies to support employers to carry out workplace adjustments, which cover changes to work organization such as reduced working hours, flexible working times or modified work, as well as adaptations to buildings, and the provision of specialist equipment or support workers, such as a sign language interpreter for meetings. Workplace accommodation is an important means of ensuring equal opportunity for employment among persons with disabilities.[16] In the UK, Access to Work is supporting record numbers of disabled people - assistance was provided to over 43,000, people with disabilities and health conditions in 2019/20 - the highest number since the scheme began, and expenditure increased to £141.7 million, a new record amount. Equally, the number of people with a Mental Health Condition (6,260) who received a payment for Access to Work provision in 2019/20 is the highest it has ever been – with an increase of 64% on 2018/19.

Supported employment and Individual Placement and Support

This Government has provided supported employment schemes to help disabled people that are further away from the Labour Market to get and keep paid jobs. These are available in the open labour market. This is described as a ‘place then train’ approach compared with older models such as sheltered employment. A key example, with evidence of effectiveness for specific groups is the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model. IPS was designed for people with severe mental illness and has been shown to be effective for this group in randomised control trials in several countries including the United States, the UK and Finland. IPS operates to a fidelity model based on eight key principles and is a NICE-recommended intervention for people with severe mental illness.

The NHS Long Term Plan committed to increasing access to IPS to support more people with severe mental illnesses in their personal goal to find and retain employment. NHS England and the Government’s Work and Health Unit, have been supporting the expansion of IPS services in England by funding an initiative called IPS Grow: https://ipsgrow.org.uk/what-is-ips/about-ips-grow/

Supported employment and Individual Placement and Support

A 2014 review[17] identified that IPS could be an important intervention to improve outcomes for a wider cohort of people with common mental health conditions. Likewise, Dame Carol Black’s 2016 ‘Independent review into the impact on employment outcomes of drug or alcohol addiction, and obesity’ recommended that Government should conduct a trial of the IPS approach in treatment services. The government has therefore been investing in:

• Health-led trials for people people with physical or common mental health conditions and disabilities in Sheffield City Region and West Midlands Combined Authority – these are major trials involving large samples of almost 10,000 participants
• IPS for for people dependent on either drugs, alcohol or both in community treatment services

What is the right balance between in and out of work support, and is DWP getting the balance right? What more should the Department look to provide?

Improving employment outcomes for disabled people is a key objective for this Government. In November 2017, the Government published the command paper, Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability, setting out its agenda for reform over the next ten years, including a goal to see a million more disabled people in work by 2027. The command paper laid out how Government would focus on efforts across three key settings – the welfare system, the workplace and the healthcare system.

Alongside support to help disabled people move into work, reducing the disability employment gap requires action to keep disabled people in work and help them sustain positions in new jobs. In any one year, disabled workers move out of work at around twice the rate (9 per cent) of non-disabled workers (5 per cent).[18]

Employers therefore need to be supported and encouraged to be better at managing health issues. Our 2019 consultation, Health is everyone’s business, contains 13 proposals to do this, and is discussed in more detail in the next section.

DWP support is currently balanced between the Jobcentre Plus offer, delivered by Work Coaches and specialist Disability Employment Advisers; claimant-focused employment programmes like The Work and Health Programme (WHP) and Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme (IPES); individualised in-work support through Access to Work; and employer-focused guidance and advice through the Disability Confident scheme. In addition, a number of trials and other policy development initiatives have been undertaken. Along with health system partners key initiatives have included:

• Employment Advice in Improving Access to Psychological Therapy sites - spending a total of around £50 million since 2017 to more than double the number of employment advisers working alongside therapists in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. IAPT services in 40per cent of NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups across England now have employment advisers funded by this initiative. A process evaluation of the services has been published[19] and a final evaluation is due in the summer of 2021.
• Trials of Individual Placement and Support. Health-Led Trials in Sheffield City Region and the West Midlands combined authority, testing the internationally-recognised Individual Placement and Support approach to employment support in a health setting for people with common mental health and/ or physical health conditions (as described in the last section). In total, we received 9,799 referrals into the trial before the window closed in October 2019 and services were provided until the end of October 2020.

Employment support will be a key theme of the upcoming Health and Disability Support Green paper. The quality of our employment support offer, and effective engagement with that support, is key to supporting those that are able back into work. Building on the progress we have made, we want to go further and consult on ways to provide more effective employment support and explore how to help and encourage people to take it up.

How can DWP better support employers to take on and retain disabled employees, and to help them progress in work? How effective is the Disability Confident scheme?

Access to Work and Disability Confident

Two key schemes which support employers in recruitment and retention of disabled people are Access to Work and Disability Confident. Access to Work is a demand-led discretionary grant to contribute to the disability-related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition that are beyond reasonable adjustments, but it does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments. The grant provides personalised support and can provide workplace assessments, travel to/in work, support workers, specialist aids and equipment for individuals to enable disabled people and those with a health condition to move into or retain employment. It can fund up to £60,700 worth of flexible, personalised support per person per year. In 2019/20, Access to Work, provided assistance to over 43,000, people with disabilities and health conditions - the highest number since the scheme began, and expenditure increased to £141.7 million, a new record amount.

Access to Work regularly works with employers and provides advice and support on reasonable adjustments and workplace adaptations to enable them to have the confidence to employ and retain disabled employees.  To support disabled employees and employers to have the flexibility to change job roles, Access to Work is working with stakeholders to develop a work adjustments passport. The passport will provide a record of adjustments and support a disabled employee may require and support discussions with potential employers by providing an overview of the support that is available if they employee the individual.

With the Disability Confident scheme, we continue to support employers to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace. The scheme was designed as a journey with three levels. All participating employers start at Level 1, progressing through the scheme at their own pace.  As of 30 November 2020, there were over 19,000 employers actively engaged in the Disability Confident scheme. The list is updated at the end of each month and published on gov.uk 

A survey of employers participating in Disability Confident was undertaken in the summer of 2018 (800 of the then 6,000 employers). This showed overall satisfaction with the scheme was positive, and positive actions reported since becoming a member of the scheme. A key finding was that signing up to Disability Confident resulted in half (49 per cent) of employers interviewed taking on at least one disabled member of staff, rising to 66 per cent amongst larger firms.[20]

Building on the success of the schemes, we will use the upcoming Health and Disability Support Green Paper to explore ways to build on Access to Work and Disability Confident even further.

Supporting employers to retain people with health conditions in work

Evidence shows that early and sustained support by employers is important in reducing ill health-related job loss. The majority (91 per cent) of employers agree that there is a link between work and the health and wellbeing of their employees and that they have a responsibility to encourage employees to be healthy (90 per cent).[21]

Half (50 per cent) of all employed disabled people work for small employers (those with fewer than 50 employees), compared to just under half of non-disabled people (47 per cent).[22] Disabled people are 10 times more likely to have a spell of long-term sick absence and leave work following it, than non-disabled people; three in five employers report barriers in supporting employees to return to work following a period of long-term sickness absence. [23] ,[24] Of those employers who face barriers, small employers cite a lack of time or staff resources and capital to invest in support as the key issues; large employers cite lack of flexibility in how work is organised and difficulty in engaging employees in the process.[25] In addition, only 51 per cent of employees have access to expert advice such as occupational health (OH) through their employers.[26] SMEs and the self-employed people face a range of challenges (including cost and lack of OH awareness), with 21 per cent of small employers providing OH services compared with 92 per cent of large employers.[27]

In 2019, in Health is Everyone's Business: proposals to reduce ill-health related job loss, the Government consulted on ways to support and encourage employers to minimise the risk of ill-health related job loss among their employees. Proposals included:

• changes to the legal framework to set clear expectations of employers’ responsibilities towards their employees, reform of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) so that it is better enforced and more flexible in supporting employees
• reform of the occupational health market aiming to increase access to occupational health support (especially for SMEs and self-employed people) and to strengthen market capacity to respond to future demand for services
• proposals to provide employers with the advice and support they need to understand, and act on, their responsibilities in relation to health and disability in the workplace. 

What improvements should DWP make to the support it offers to unemployed disabled people via Jobcentre Plus?

Alongside jobcentre-based support for disabled people through work coaches and other staff, specialist employment programmes to help disabled people into work include the Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support which is designed to support disabled people with complex and multiple barriers into work. Equally disabled people will benefit from our Plan for Jobs, which provides up to £30 billion in funding to ensure more people will get tailored support to help them to find work - including the new Kickstart Scheme. Kickstart is a £2 billion fund which will create paid, quality six-month work placements for over 250,000 young people on Universal Credit, deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment. We are encouraging organisations that work with disabled young people to take part in the Kickstart scheme, this can include acting as gateway organisations for employers in their networks to take part in the Kickstart scheme. This will help ensure that young people with disabilities, as well as young people experiencing other disadvantages, are able to access the Kickstart Scheme. Likewise, the new Job Entry: Targeted Support scheme (JETS) expansion of the Work and Health Programme in England and Wales will provide up to six months essential support for people who have been unable to find work within the first three months of unemployment. Equivalent provision will also be put in place in Scotland

Current employment support provision for people with health conditions or disabilities has been developed on the basis of the existing evidence base. The key elements of programmes associated with positive impacts have been incorporated into the current national programmes – for example flexible and personalised support for participants, that can extend through the transition into employment ​and support that assesses employment and health needs holistically. This complements employer-focused guidance and advice through Disability Confident and individualised in-work support for disabled people through Access to Work, discussed in earlier paragraphs.  This section provides more information about the variety of employment support offered to individuals.

Universal Credit and work coach support

Helping claimants move into work, move closer to work or increase their earnings can change lives for the better. Universal Credit (UC) is a benefit that assists people who are on a low income or out of work. By promoting personal responsibility and to tackle welfare dependency, under Universal Credit people are supported back to self-sufficiency UC removes the distinction between in-work and out-of-work benefits. Temporary, short term and part time work can be seen as a ‘stepping stone’ into more sustainable work.

UC is specifically designed so that we can engage with and support people early in their claim, and that we remain in useful contact with them for as long as is need.  For disabled people and those with health conditions, we have put in place a comprehensive system of support. That includes providing personalised support for people with health conditions, built on the understanding that every person’s circumstances are different and therefore the help provided must be tailored to their specific needs.

Every Universal Credit claimant is assigned a work coach who remains with them throughout their claim. This encourages development of a strong supportive relationship with the claimant to better understand their specific needs and how those might be best met.

In most circumstances, claimants stay in touch with their work coach at agreed and regular intervals to discuss the impact of their current health condition, provide on-going medical evidence, discuss the steps they should be taking to look for or prepare for work, and what support the work coach can provide.

Disability Employment Enabling Roles

We have around 800 staff dedicated to providing targeted employment support to disabled claimants and those with a health condition across out Jobcentre Plus network in England, Scotland and Wales. In summer 2018 we reviewed the three job roles that were in place, including Community Partners (CPs), Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs); and Small Employer Advisers (SEAs). As a result, from 1 April 2019 we introduced an enhanced Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) role, with a new job description. We also introduced a new Disability Employment Adviser Leader (DEAL) role (Higher Executive Officer) to manage DEAs and undertake necessary functions from the Community Partner role.

Contracted employment support programmes

The Work and Health Programme

The Work and Health Programme (WHP) targets support on disabled people, people with health conditions, those with complex barriers to work (for example, ex-offenders) and the very long-term unemployed. Launched in 2017 throughout England and Wales, it will provide innovative support for around 275,000 people over five years. The majority of people of starting on the programme (around 220,000) will be disabled people who can volunteer for the programme at any time. There is a public sector comparator that is delivering intensive and tailored support through Jobcentre plus. The programme is focussed on getting people who are out of work, (primarily benefit recipients), back into employment, offering up to 15 months of pre-work support tailored to individual needs and further light-touch in-work support for up to six months after. It aims to provide coordinated and holistic support, with providers using the expertise of local service suppliers and employers.

The total number of starts on the WHP to the end of August 2020 is 117,406:  73 per cent of starts were people with a health condition or disability, 9 per cent were people in an early access priority group (including Offenders, Ex- Offenders, Carers, Ex Armed Forces and Reservists) and 18 per cent were long-term unemployed. Overall 76 per cent of individuals referred go on to start the WHP.  Job outcomes were achieved by 18,582 participants as of August 2020.  This reflects the length of time participants have been on the programme. Those starting the WHP more recently have had a shorter time to achieve a job outcome, therefore it is not meaningful to divide the job outcomes by the number of starts.

Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES)

IPES is a voluntary contracted employment provision aimed at helping disabled people with complex needs or barriers, who want to work but also require specialist support to achieve their goal of sustained employment.

IPES provides personalised, intensive support for people who are disabled, have complex barriers to work and who the work coach considers to be more than 12 months from the labour market. For example, it might help those with Autistic Spectrum conditions, mental health issues, substance abuse, history of sensory impairments, learning difficulties or recurring and fluctuating health conditions (this list is not exhaustive).

All participants receive up to 15 months of pre-employment support to find work. For participants who go into work, there is a further 6 months intensive in-work-support to help them sustain employment. Before starting provision, a warm handover conversation between participant, provider and work coach will take place to address any concerns the participant may have and allow providers to explain what they should expect when supported on IPES. The key features of the IPES service include a consistent key worker, from the outset, providing in-depth help to overcome complex barriers to work, including building a positive and sustainable support network.

IPES went live with the first referrals on 2 December 2019. The new provision is available in England and Wales with contracted support devolved to Scotland. The programme is expected to provide support for around 2,500 starts a year for four years, totalling 10,000 on the programme.

We are robustly evaluating both the WHP and IPES. This includes the use of a control, group to understand the impacts of the programmes, although this has been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Initiatives in partnership with the health system and local partners

Since 2015, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions has invested £93m in a programme of trials, initiatives and policy development to further our understanding of outcomes achieved when employment support is offered through the health service, as noted in paragraph 28.

Local Supported Employment (LSE) Proof of Concept

Between November 2017 and May 2019 we also delivered Local Supported Employment, a pilot initiative in partnership with nine local authorities. This initiative built on international evidence which highlighted the effectiveness of supported employment and was available for people with a learning disability or autism who are known to adult social care, or those in contact with secondary mental health services.

Access to Work

As noted, Access to Work is a key scheme that supports disabled people to work by contributing to the disability-related extra costs of working that are beyond reasonable adjustments. The latest Access to Work statistics for 2019/20 show expenditure increased to £141.7m, a new record amount, equating to an 8per cent increase in real terms expenditure on 2018/19.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to make it difficult to offer in-person support. What evidence is there of “best practice” in supporting disabled people remotely—either in or out of work?

How can DWP put this into practice in services such as Access to Work and the Work and Health Programme?

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres have remained open to help anyone who needs face-to-face support, and whom we cannot help in any other way. When required due to restrictions, we have suspended some face to face delivery however Work Coaches are trusted and empowered to engage with customers by the best and most appropriate channels, using their knowledge of the customer and the local situation to determine whether or not this should be in person, by phone or through digital channels. To ensure people who need extra support could still access it we:

• Developed new referral routes to allow people to self-refer to programmes
• Supported our providers by moving to a more sustainable payment model in line with Cabinet Office guidance
• Introduced new support, as part of the Plan for Jobs package for those newly unemployed and who require light touch intervention to help them back into employment or enter a different sector using transferable skills

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Access to Work has continued to provide funding for disabled people whether they were working in the workplace or working from home. Recognising the changing working environment, Access to Work has taken a flexible approach and adapted support arrangements, for example switching from British Sign Language Interpreting to Video Remote Interpreting services as well as making greater use of assistive technology and software. And to support those who need equipment, Access to Work has worked with employers to transport assistive technology from the workplace to the home. Where support cannot be removed from the workplace, Access to Work has worked with the disabled person to consider new adjustments or support adaptations to standard equipment.

To enable disabled people to continue to access support during COVID-19 Access to Work introduced a variety of time-limited measures. The measures were developed in consultation with stakeholders to ensure they address the issues disabled people were facing. The measures are still in place and have been welcomed by stakeholders, the measures were as follows:

• Accepting email claim forms from customers who request this as a reasonable adjustment
• Accepting employer and support worker signatures via email;
• Extending Support Worker awards that are coming to an end by 6 months;
• Extending the timeframe customers have to submit payment claim forms to 9 months;
• Adapting the way our assessments are undertaken to support customers who don’t know what support they need and/or where coping strategies are required as part of the Mental Health Support Service;
• Flexing support and supporting the moving of special aids and equipment from the workplace to home, and providing new equipment for employees working from home where necessary;
• Prioritising new applications from key workers and those with jobs starting within the next 4 weeks.

To further support disabled people to adjust to new working arrangements and COVID-19 safe workplaces, Access to Work has introduced a new flexible offer. The new offer complements adjustments provided by employers and contains three strands of support:

• Home working support including:
• Assistive technology - special aids & appliances
• Office furniture as part of a reasonable adjustment
• Virtual support - job coach/Communication
• Support to transfer equipment from the workplace
• Wellbeing support plans and coping strategies to support home working which can be accessed remotely
• Adaptations to standard equipment
• Advice and signposting for employers on the support available for home working employees
• Support for dual site working – enabling disabled people to work from home, in the workplace or a combination of both; and
• A package of COVID-19 related support including
• mental health wellbeing to support disabled people to return to work after a period of furlough or shielding or access new employment opportunities,
• travel-to-work support for disabled people who may not be able to safely travel by public transport due to the nature of their disability,
• COVID tech support – removing the requirement for an employer contribution.

In addition, to support disabled people in the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable Group, Access to Work is prioritising applications from this group to enable support to be put in place quickly. 

Enforcement and next steps

We will publish three key command papers which further build our approach to helping disabled people to get work and stay in work: a National Strategy for Disabled People; a Health and Disability Green Paper, and our response to the consultation, Health is Everyone’s Business.   

The National Strategy for Disabled People

What would you hope to see in the Government’s National Strategy for Disabled People?

How should DWP look to engage disabled people and the organisations that represent them in formulating the Strategy?

The Government is committed to ensuring that disabled people can play a full role in society and aims to deliver its manifesto commitment to publish a National Strategy for Disabled People in Spring 2021.

The strategy will take into account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people and will focus on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects and phases of life, including employment. The strategy’s significance is even greater, as we rebuild the UK's economy and society in response to the pandemic.

The Cabinet Office Disability Unit is engaging widely with stakeholders including via virtual Ministerial and official-led roundtables, a Disabled People’s Organisations forum, a Regional Stakeholder Network, the Cabinet Office Disability Ambassadors and other meetings. We will also, through online engagement and other routes, enable disabled people to directly share views and insights on key challenges, as a central voice as the strategy is developed.

The Disability Unit is responsible for the National Strategy for Disabled People; reporting to the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work; bringing the views, insights and lived experience of disabled people to the centre of policy making; and helping departments to develop and monitor policies that remove barriers faced by disabled people.

Health and Disability Support Green Paper

The Health and Disability Support Green Paper, led by DWP, will also be published in 2021. This will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that enables people to live independently and move into work where possible.

The Green Paper will be strongly influenced by the views of disabled people and representatives from disability organisations, drawing on the significant engagement we have conducted so far and from future events. It will look at how we can continue to improve our employment support and what more we can do to help people feel confident in accessing the support that is available, so that more disabled people can move into and succeed in work. It will also look at how to improve the support for and expectations of employers to help prevent people with a health condition or disability from falling out of work.

Government’s response to Health is Everyone’s Business

We will also be progressing measures to prevent ill-health related job loss, with our response to Health is Everyone’s Business consultation which will be published soon.

The Government consulted on a package of measures to reduce ill health-related job loss in ‘Health is everyone’s business’ (HiEB). The consultation was focused supporting and encouraging employer action, to help achieve higher levels of disability employment and fewer people falling out of work and onto health-related benefits.

Covid-19 has brought renewed focus on elements of the package – the importance of Statutory Sick Pay; the need for clear information and advice for employers, including about their legal responsibilities; the important role of Occupational Health advice; the importance of workplace adjustments (including for those working at home). The measures are also a mitigation to potential longer-term impacts of covid-19 on individuals whose underlying health conditions might make them more vulnerable.

Despite the challenge of recent months, the measures in the Green Paper, along with the National Strategy represent a real opportunity to deliver a more inclusive society, and our ongoing work to prevent ill-health-related job loss will all help to deliver on our commitment to see 1 million more disabled people in work by 2027.

December 2020