UK Dec 2018 - £40 million personalised support package for long-term unemployed disabled people launched

[Sly Saint]

"Disabled people will be able to work with a dedicated key worker to get and stay in employment, the new Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd has announced today."

The support comes from a new £40 million fund and is expected to benefit 10,000 people.

The Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme will provide highly personalised packages of employment support for people who are at least a year away from moving into work.

People will get coaching to help build their independence, confidence and motivation, as well as work experience to help boost their career prospects.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd said:

Everyone, no matter what their background is, should have the opportunity to thrive in the workplace, and having the right support in place for disabled people is one of my greatest priorities.

To truly help people transform their lives, there can be no one-size-fits-all approach.

That’s why this new programme is designed to offer people, who may think they will never move into work, tailored support to help them overcome any personal barriers they may have in the first instance, and then to focus on boosting their skills.

There are also huge economic benefits to improving disability employment rates. More than half of disabled people are in work, but in order to realise the full potential of disabled people in Britain we want to go further and see one million more disabled people in work by 2027.

People on the scheme will get a dedicated key worker who will work with them to overcome complex barriers which may be preventing them from entering work, ensuring they have a personal support network in place.

The voluntary scheme will be rolled out across England and Wales in 2019, and applicants will receive support for up to 21 months, including 6 months of in-work support for those who get a job.

Neil Heslop, Chief Executive of Leonard Cheshire, said:

Many disabled people with complex needs face significant barriers in accessing the workplace. It’s crucial that specialised employment support is available and the government responds to the challenges people often encounter.

A more tailored approach can help reach those who are not currently receiving any employment support or skills development. The experiences of disabled people must be central for this support to meaningfully build confidence in an ongoing way, reflecting their individual circumstances and aspirations.

The Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme will support people living with a disability who are unlikely to move into work within the next year or longer and may need additional support.

Other government support to help disabled people get into and thrive in work includes the Disability Confident scheme, the Work and Health programme, the Access to Work grant and Jobcentre Plus services.

The Secretary of State also announced measures to reduce the most severely disabled benefit claimants having their awards unnecessarily reviewed.

Personal Independence Payment covers some of the extra costs caused by long term disability or ill-health.

New guidance will ensure that people who are awarded the highest level of support under Personal Independence Payment, and whose needs are expected to stay the same or increase, will receive an ongoing award, with a ‘light touch’ review every 10 years so they no longer have to have their needs re-examined.

Previously this was going to only be applicable for new claims, but the Secretary of State has now taken steps to ensure this also applies to existing claims.

This is to ensure that for disabled people who need extra support, the system is designed to be as seamless as possible while minimising any unnecessary stress or bureaucracy.

Re the 'light touch' reviews, I'll believe it when I see it.

(this may explain why the DWP were so interested to know about AfMEs DWP 'training' (?))
https://www.s4me.info/threads/action-for-m-e-hosts-dwp-spotlight-training.7539/

 

[MeSci]

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd said:

Everyone, no matter what their background is, should have the opportunity to thrive in the workplace.

I see. So retired people? People with almost-zero brain activity? Children?

 

[Trish]

In that magical world sick people who can't work don't exist.
I think some politicians have the idea that a disabled person is a person with a bit of a limb missing or someone who is a bit unhappy and just needs a bit of encouragement. They seem to have no idea that some people are simply too sick or disabled or both to work.

 

[DokaGirl]

What employer wants disabled people who cannot reliably and consistently come to work? Who will employ pwME who faint on the job, get confused and lightheaded due to OI, can't recall what they're supposed to be doing, lose things all the time, can't understand instructions, have to pace, can't go with the flow, can't work overtime, can't take breaks when scheduled, can't problem solve, make decisions quickly, act quickly, fit in and socialize, work as an equal team member, drive long distances, stand for several minutes, sit for several minutes, and still function normally, rarely get colds or flu, and the list goes on.

 

[Cheesus]

400 quid per person for 21 months of support? Doesn't sound particularly realistic.

Edit: Actually 4000. My brain skipped a 0.

 

[DokaGirl]

Years ago I met someone involved in administering a government "everyone can work" program. This person was very determined to ignore any reasoning that pointed out some people are too ill to work.

 

[Mithriel]

It is the difference between people with disabilities and people with a chronic illness. (Though, of course there is an overlap.)

If they are sincere and not just cost cutting (we wish!) many people with disabilities could work with the proper support. Some places, like our local council offices and local hospital are very good at helping people to stay in employment with things like wheelchairs which go high, stuff like that. Businesses are not so good. In the days when everyone just mucked in I knew a wheelchair bound maths teacher in a school with no lifts. She just waited at the bottom of the stairs until 4 pupils came along to carry her upstairs

Sadly I am cynical that this is more about paying a training business than helping anyone.

 

[Wonko]

Sadly I am cynical that this is more about paying a training business than helping anyone.

This

I've seen it all before, it's just a government scheme to make someone rich while appearing to 'care'.

 

[Simbindi]

In that magical world sick people who can't work don't exist.
I think some politicians have the idea that a disabled person is a person with a bit of a limb missing or someone who is a bit unhappy and just needs a bit of encouragement. They seem to have no idea that some people are simply too sick or disabled or both to work.

This ongoing insanity from the government has been thoroughly dissected by the Spartacus report:

https://spartacusnetwork.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/richardsonbenstead-smokescreen-2017.pdf

It is a consciously chosen strategy to promote an ideological agenda, not about true compassion and helping 'disabled' people to lead fulfilling lives.

 

[JaneL]

This ongoing insanity from the government has been thoroughly dissected by the Spartacus report

I’ve made a start on reading this. The introduction of the report concludes with this line:

The overwhelming strategy in the Green Paper is the commodification of sickness, and making treatment an intrinsic part of eligibility for financial support by embedding it into a work program.

!!!!