Welfare reform has long been a political football that has been passed between parties. As the proportion of unemployed claimants who move into work each year falls, it is clear that the current welfare system is not meeting one of its main requirements. Years of tinkering around the edges have left the system in need of an overhaul but not one where support is cut.
Getting people working has been framed as a moral mission, yet the proposed reforms could risk overlooking the people behind the numbers and the barriers they experience. Cuts, restrictions and sanctions are examples of punitive welfare conditionality which have not been proven to have the desired effect of inspiring people into work and instead, demoralise further.
Assessing the impact
Objectively, most would agree that at its core, the welfare system provides a vital and under-appreciated role in creating a level playing field for people. The recent media focus on welfare has showcased the range of negative and conflicting language around benefits, highlighting that it is not just the system that needs reform but the framing around it. A move away from adverse language or pitting ‘working people’ against those ‘out of work’ is much needed.
The Government’s own impact assessment on the proposed welfare changes estimates that 3.2 million families will be financially impacted by the cuts, on average losing £1,720 per year, and pushing an additional 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty by 2029/30. In contrast, research from Pro Bono Economics suggests that disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP) drive life-long wellbeing benefit for people and annual economic benefits for the state.
The proposed changes to PIP are of real concern to those with learning disabilities who rely on that money to help with the unavoidable cost of being disabled, particularly at a time when many household bills are increasing. The rising number of claims for this support should not be directly equated to a problem with disabled people but reflect, during these unsteady financial times, that there is a huge disparity in society.
Shifting focus
Instead of sounding tough on benefits, we would like to see the focus shift to making work accessible and unlocking the barriers that people with learning disabilities face, ultimately improving wellbeing and independence. With just 4.8% of people with a learning disability in work, the Government’s reform measures could focus on improving inaccessible application processes, encouraging more inclusive workplaces and supporting employers to think differently about who they hire.
Therefore, it is a welcome sight to see the ‘Right to try guarantee’ proposal from the Government that will prevent people receiving health-related benefits from having their entitlements automatically re-assessed if they enter employment. This change will have a positive impact on people who could work in the right job if they have the right support. But it is also essential that employers look at how accessible their recruitment and onboarding processes really are if this proposal is to achieve its potential.
Opportunities to strengthen
The Disability Confident scheme, whilst a positive step forward, does not go far enough in ensuring that workplaces are truly accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. The draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill is an opportunity for the Government to not only strengthen workplace protections for disabled people and enable them to thrive in work but also places an onus on large employers to reduce their disability employment gap. The Disability Confident scheme and employers’ status could be dependent on this important metric.
We see through our supported employment services how simple reasonable adjustments, such as an opportunity for face-to-face interviews, questions before the interview and access to accessible information during training, can all set people up to succeed. Measures to ensure employers make basic reasonable adjustments would help disabled people to have more confidence to apply for roles and in turn, succeed once they are in post.
Job coaches and personal assistants funded by Access to Work have ensured that people with learning disabilities and autistic people can thrive in work, but lengthy wait times can cause unnecessary worry for those waiting for this vital support. As an employer, United Response has funded these roles whilst we wait on the backlog, but this is not something all employers will do. Reducing wait times and reforming the cumbersome application process must be prioritised to unlock barriers to work.
Helping people in to work
The rise in young people not in employment has been highlighted by the Government with the implication that those not in employment, education and training need to step up. Contrary to reducing benefits, supported employment has shown a real impact in helping people into work. United Response works with DFN Project SEARCH to support a one-year transition-to-work programme for young adults with learning disabilities and autism. The programme takes place in a real business setting so that individuals can really get comfortable in the workplace environment but with on-the-job support from experienced job coaches.
Aodhan’s supported internship
Aodhan is 21 and currently on a supported internship with United Response, as part of the programme, Aodhan receives CV training, interview training, travel training, sessions on interpersonal skills and timekeeping and placement opportunities. Before the internship, Aodhan had been searching for a job for over a year. He applied for over a hundred entry level customer service roles without success.
Aodhan’s internship provides him with real-life experience in jobs across different sectors alongside practical help and support. Aodhan is autistic and has dyspraxia, and he was struggling with the lack of feedback from interviews or applications that he would submit. After only a few months in to his supported internship, Aodhan already feels that he is more confident that he will be able to find work at the end of his internship but thinks employers should do more to support people with disabilities.
Lack of support
The ‘Youth guarantee’ from the Government announced as part of the proposed welfare reforms, promises a guarantee of job support, apprenticeship or training. While this sounds like a positive prospect, it needs to be tailored to include those with learning disabilities and autism. We have heard from employers that they are concerned about the lack of available support for taking on supported employment placements, despite the proven long-term return on investment.
Breaking the bottleneck created by searching for employers that are willing to take on supported employment placements will require meaningful investment to embed initiatives with a wider range of employers. In addition, and of utmost importance, this investment must take place before decisions on delaying access to the ‘Health top up’ element of Universal Credit for those aged under 22 take place, as proposed in Government’s welfare reforms. This would help to avoid young people being stuck in the precarious position of being without sufficient financial support and having a limited number of accessible supported employment placements to apply for.
Share your views
It is essential that disabled people respond to the consultation for The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. It was sadly launched without accessible documents, triggering our call to the Department of Work and Pensions. Our letter, signed by over 30 chief executive officers from the disability sector called for this to be immediately rectified with accessible formats including Easy Read which is essential for people with learning disabilities. These are now available, and we will be working with our social care partners to ensure that people share their views.
The proposed changes to PIP and wider benefits will directly impact many people with learning disabilities, and we would call on all providers to help support people who draw on their services to ensure their voices are heard. Moreover, policies and interventions do not exist in isolation and with the upcoming Casey Review and The Pathways to Work consultation, the link between social care and welfare must be acknowledged; where both systems deliver improved independence and wellbeing, and importantly a long-term social return on investment.
Employment support, skills and wellbeing services, social prescribing and other early action or ‘intervention’ social care services are all part of the puzzle to help get people working. However, with requests for social care support from working-age adults on the rise but receipt of social care not increasing at the same level and social care budgets diverted to high needs over prevention, it is essential that any cuts to welfare do not further impact people who are already at risk of falling through the cracks.
How else could Government facilitate working-age adults drawing on care and support into long-term employment? Leave a comment on this feature or join the conversation to share your thoughts.
Ali Gunn is Director of Communications at United Response. Email: [email protected] X: @ali__gun