19.08.15
Local authorities well positioned to lead the way on disability employment
Source: PSE - Aug/Sep 15
Q&A with Justin Tomlinson MP, minister for disabled people at the Department for Work & Pensions, who talks to PSE about the work of the government’s Disability Confident campaign.
Q) The Disability Confident campaign has just celebrated its second anniversary. How do the scheme’s aims fit in with the government’s overall policy to promote employment equality and change attitudes to help disabled people in the workplace?
A) Disability Confident is about working with organisations to highlight the business benefits of recruiting a diverse workforce. This is not charity we’re talking about as there are clear, tangible benefits of employing disabled people which can give a company an advantage over their competitors.
Introducing an inclusive recruitment policy not only increases the number of high-quality applicants for a post, it creates a workforce that accurately reflects the diversity of its customer base. This can bring additional skills, experience as well as a different perspective to a business. This is recognised by the more than 360 employers (including 14 local authorities and 99 organisations in the public sector) who support Disability Confident.
Attitudes are already changing but we need to do more to get other businesses on board.
In a 2013 survey, 42% of disabled people looking for work said one of the biggest barriers they faced was the attitude of employers. Imagine being a suitable candidate for a role but believing you’ll be judged on what you can’t do, rather than what you can.
Disability Confident continues to work with employers to raise the profile of disability employment and tackle misconceptions. We want to give businesses the confidence that employing and retaining disabled staff is easier than they think, and will bring huge benefits to their business. I’m so passionate about this because it genuinely is a win for everyone involved.
Q) How can councils and the wider public sector get involved or help bolster employment equality for disabled people?
A) Local authorities are perfectly positioned to lead the way on disability employment. Firstly, they are some of the biggest recruiters in local areas and have a role to play in hiring people from a range of backgrounds. Secondly, they can engage directly with disabled jobseekers and utilise contacts with local employers to encourage disability employment.
A great example of a council already making huge strides on this front is Gloucestershire County Council. The council’s ‘Forwards employment team’ has engaged with DWP and Prospect Training Services to develop an app which provides support on-the-move for disabled people. Its functions range from sharing the locations of work clubs to offering tips on applying for jobs. This innovative new approach is brilliant and is precisely the type of forward-thinking I want other councils to replicate.
Equally I’ve just seen that Islington Council is planning to base employment coaches in some GP surgeries. Islington has the highest rate of sickness and disability claims of any London borough and has committed to get more people into work to improve their health and wellbeing. Their approach demonstrates strong leadership and a real determination to help people who want a job to get one, and in the process get them off welfare payments. I look forward to hearing about their progress.
Q) Swansea has been named the UK’s first Disability Confident city, in part because of the overwhelmingly positive response of local employers, including Swansea Council and the DVLA. What did they do to achieve this recognition?
A) Swansea demonstrated a huge ambition in aiming to get every employer in the area signed up to Disability Confident. Having set this initiative themselves, I wanted to recognise and endorse what they were doing. Their ambition will give confidence to local disabled people that businesses will recognise their talents and consider them for roles.
Swansea is the first city to approach us about how they can support disability employment. They’ve laid down a challenge to other cities to follow their lead, and I’m fascinated to see how other cities respond. Swansea is a perfect example of how organisations can work together to achieve more.
Q) The government aims to halve the gap between the disabled employment rate and the overall employment rate by 2020. How much closer to this target are we with campaigns like Disability Confident?
A) Disability Confident is the government’s lead campaign to halve the disability employment gap and get around one million more disabled people into work.
We’ve recently seen huge success in the number of disabled people entering work, with 238,000 more in employment compared to last year alone. This is an increase of around 650 people a day and makes up a total workforce of 3.2 million disabled people.
Disability Confident is supported by our Access to Work programme, which provides practical and financial support with the additional costs faced by individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. Last year alone we spent £97m through the programme, helping thousands to find and stay in work.
Both Disability Confident and Access to Work are crucial to achieve our goals over the coming years.
Q) Finally, how can local authority or public sector organisations get involved with the campaign?
A) For more information visit www.gov.uk and search “Disability Confident”. If you’re already doing something to promote disability employment, tell us about it! The support of local authorities is essential and I want to work with you to help improve the employment opportunities of your local disabled people.
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