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REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL | HC 455 Session 2005-2006 | 13 October 2005

department for work and pensions

Gaining and retaining a job: the Department orWork and Pensions support or disabled people


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LONDON: The Stationery Oce

11.25

Ordered by theHouse o Commons

to be printed on 10 October 2005

department for work and pensions

Gaining and retaining a job: the Department orWork and Pensions support or disabled people

REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL | HC 455 Session 2005-2006 | 13 October 2005


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This report has been prepared underSection 6 o the National Audit Act 1983or presentation to the House o Commonsin accordance with Section 9 o the Act.

John BournComptroller and Auditor GeneralNational Audit Ofce

18 September 2005

The National Audit Ocestudy team consisted o:

Simone-Davis, Chris Jamieson,Rebecca Sidell Dawson, Vicky Lewisand Shabana Ahmed, under thedirection o Jeremy Lonsdale

This report can be ound on the National

Audit Oce web site at www.nao.org.uk

For urther inormation about theNational Audit Ofce please contact:

National Audit OcePress Oce157-197 Buckingham Palace RoadVictoriaLondonSW1W 9SP

Tel: 020 7798 7400

Email: [email protected]

National Audit Oce 2005

contents

eXeCUtiVe sUmmarY 1

part 1

The Departments employment 14

programmes or disabled people

The Departments specialist employment 16

programmes address a wide range o needs

The Government has committed itsel to 22

increasing the employment rate o disabled

people and the Department is on course to meet

its Public Service Agreement target

Scope o this examination 25

part 2

Finding and retaining work 26

Building a persons sel condence is an essential 27

part o the process o moving into employment

Relevant training is important in bringing people 28

closer to the job market, but individual

development plans are not always in place

The programmes need to be careully matched 29

to the varied needs o clients

The New Deal or Disabled People provides an 30

eective service or those needing less intensive

support to return to work


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Providers could ocus more on obtaining high 31

quality employment that enables disabled people

to reach their potential

Most o the programmes ocus on nding a job; 31

job retention is oten a secondary activity

The Departments or Work and Pensions and 33

Health are developing schemes or job retention

and rehabilitation

part 3

The quality and accessibility o support 34

Disability Employment Advisers are vital to the 35

eective delivery o the Departments

employment programmes

Training or Disability Employment Advisers 36

is currently ad hoc, but is under review

Quality inspections o providers by Jobcentre Plus 36

are not carried out according to schedule

Inspections or Workstep show poor perormance 37

by some providers, which is now being tackled

Marketing o programmes can raise awareness 37

among individuals and employers

Provision is not consistent across the country 38

which can lead to inequalities or participants

Some disabled people can have problems 40

accessing services

Other organisations und employment related 40

services or disabled people

part 4

The cost eectiveness o programmes 42

and schemes

The Department has evaluated New Deal or 43

Disabled People but needs to improve its

evaluation o other programmes

The Department holds limited inormation about 44

Workstep clients and providers

Rates o progression into work vary substantially 45

between Workstep providers

Most Remploy businesses are not currently 46

sustainable in economic terms

Analysis o money fows shows a net benet to the 48

individual and indicate net benets to the economy

and to the Exchequer over the longer term

appendiCes

1 Methodology 52

2 Regional variations 55

Photographs courtesy o Department or Work and Pensions, Remploy Interwork Papworth Trust and Shaw Trust


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executive summary

eXeCUtiVe sUmmarY


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executive summary

GAINING AND RETAINING A jOB: THE DEPARTMENT fOR WORk AND PENSIONS SUPPORT fOR DISABLED PEOPLE 1

1 There are 9.8 million disabled people in Great Britain1

around one in six o the population. In 2004, o the

6.7 million disabled people o working age, 50 per cent

were in employment compared to 75 per cent o the

working age population as a whole. The Government has

committed itsel to increasing the employment rate o

disabled people and to reducing the dierence between

their employment rate and the overall rate by 2006 and

urther by 2008.

2 This report provides an overview o the specialist

employment programmes and schemes to help disabledpeople ind and retain work and shows how they have

evolved (Part 1). It also examines whether these are

eective at getting disabled people into work and helping

them sustain and retain employment (Part 2); whether

they are accessible and o suitable quality (Part 3); and,

considers whether the employment programmes and

schemes are cost eective (Part 4).

Disabled people ace a range obarriers to inding and retaining work3 Being in work can have many positive consequences

or disabled people such as developing conidence and

new skills, earning money, improving health, meeting

people and generally being more integrated into society.

Many disabled people ace barriers to inding and

retaining employment including negative employer

attitudes. Employers oten have concerns about the costs

associated with employing a disabled person which theyoten perceive to be higher than they actually are and

the need to make adaptations to premises, even though

there is support available with such costs. Addressing

employers' concerns will be essential i the Government

is to achieve its aims in this area.

4 Lack o awareness o the programmes and schemes

available to help ind work is a barrier or many disabled

people. A persons disability or health condition can also

present an obstacle to retaining work, especially i the

condition luctuates, as it is not always possible to ind

work that can adapt to this situation. In addition, disabledpeople experience the same barriers to work as others,

such as lack o qualiications and scarcity o jobs in their

local labour market, although these can be accentuated

i the disability or medical condition restricts access to

certain jobs.

1 The latest Department or Work and Pensions estimate, based on data rom the Family Resources Survey, using the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)deinition o disability to deine a disabled person.

(Being in work) made me backto the person I was beore my

disability its antastic ordisabled people to get back intothe real world.

Female, aged 33, with a physicaldisability, on Workstep (Remploy)


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executive summary

GAINING AND RETAINING A jOB: THE DEPARTMENT fOR WORk AND PENSIONS SUPPORT fOR DISABLED PEOPLE2

The Department oers a range osupport or disabled people

5 The Department or Work and Pensions (theDepartment) unds a broad portolio o programmes and

schemes to help disabled people ind and retain work

(Figure 1).2 These are managed by Jobcentre Plus an

executive agency o the Department and contracted out

to approximately 500 providers3 in the public, private

and voluntary sectors. Disability Employment Advisers

are crucial in guiding disabled people to the appropriate

support, which includes Work Preparation, Workstep

and the New Deal or Disabled People, or schemes such

as Access to Work and the Job Introduction Scheme.

Jobcentre Plus also manages the Disability Symbol.

6 Work Preparation and Workstep have evolved over

the past 60 years in response to changing expectations

about the place in society o disabled people. The New

Deal or Disabled People was introduced in 2001. All

now ocus on helping disabled people to enter and

progress within the labour market where possible.

This is a departure rom previous programmes such as

the Supported Employment Programme (replaced by

Workstep in 2001) which oered very ew development

opportunities. This new ethos is also relected in the

Departments Pathways to Work pilots, part o the

Governments wider reorms o incapacity beneits,currently looking at ways o helping recipients into work.

7 Jobcentre Plus manages the programmes at a

regional level to enable it to respond to varied needs

across the country. There are also many government

departments, agencies and voluntary sector organisations

involved in employment-related support to disabled

people, including the Department o Health,

Department or Education and Skills and the Adult

Learning Inspectorate.

8 The number o people receiving incapacity beneitshas risen steadily since the mid-1970s but has recently

stabilised. The number nearly quadrupled rom 700,000

in 1979 to 2.5 million in 1997, and related beneit

expenditure grew correspondingly. The growth in the

caseload slowed signiicantly rom around this time so

that there are currently more than 2.6 million working

age people4 receiving incapacity beneits5 at a cost o

12 billion. This is part o an overall sum o 20 billion

paid on all disability-related beneits, including those not

o working age, and those not associated with out o work

beneits. While some o this additional expenditure is

matched by a reduction in the number o people receiving

other working age beneits and allowances, there remain

strong inancial and social incentives to ensure there are

opportunities or disabled people to work i they can.

Assessing the value or money oprovision is diicult, but the long-term beneits appear to outweigh thecosts o provision or many people9 The programmes and schemes summarised in

Figure 1 deliver important opportunities to disabled

people but such support has a substantial cost. Estimating

the value or money o the programmes and schemesis hard because progress against some o the objectives

cannot be easily measured, or example, the ongoing

emphasis on reducing social exclusion, or the impact

on individual health.

10 Assessing the success o provision is made harder

because data or some programmes and schemes is either

incomplete or unreliable. Not all Jobcentre Plus regions

know how much they have spent on some schemes,

nor the exact number o participants, and departmental

internal audit reports suggest that value or money may

be compromised through marked variations in price orinexplicably high levels o use. For example, costs or

support workers provided through Access to Work range

rom 6 to 46 per hour, and payments can be or up to

90 hours o support per week (where support is provided

or working hours only).

11 An estimate o the average unit costs o providing the

various programmes and schemes is at Figure 1. A simple

comparison o these costs does not give an accurate

picture o comparative value or money, partially because

o the poor inormation held about some programmes but

also because o the dierent nature o the programmesand the clients they serve. This ranges rom those closest

to being ready to work, in the case o the New Deal or

Disabled People, to those urther away rom the labour

market, in the case o Work Preparation and Workstep.

The dierence in costs also relects the dierent nature,

scale or intensity o assistance provided. There is also

variation between programmes in the emphasis placed

on sustaining employment over the longer term.

2 Disabled people also participate in mainstream provision such as Work Based Learning and New Deal or Young People.

3 A range o organisations that oer disabled people services unded by the Department or Work and Pensions under one or more o the specialistprogrammes including assessment, preparing or work, inding work and in-work support.

4 Pathways to Work: Helping People into Employment. The Governments response and action plan. June 2003. CM 5830. (This report reers to 2.7 millionpeople o working age receiving an incapacity beneit. The Department conirms the actual igure is 2.63 million).

5 Incapacity beneits reer to Incapacity Beneit, Income Support on grounds o incapacity, and Severe Disablement Allowance.


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executive summary


12 There are considerable dierences in the actual unit

price paid to individual providers o Work Preparation and

New Deal or Disabled People. These vary widely because

they are negotiated during the tendering o contracts.

Workstep is more clearly deined and most providers have

a contract or a pre-determined number o clients. They

receive set payments or key stages rom registration o

new clients to progression into unsupported employment.

Remploy Ltd the largest provider o Workstep is unded

dierently and receives a block grant.

1 The Departments specialist employment programmes and schemes or disabled people

dc

Helps people with health conditions or adisability prepare to return to work by buildingtheir conidence, identiying suitable types owork or them, oering work experience andproviding support. Oten used as a steppingstone into Workstep.

Provides tailored support to ind and retainwork or disabled people with complex barriersto inding and keeping work. Oers ongoingsupport to enable permanent employment in theopen job market.

Oers access to a network o job brokers who

provide support and advice to help disabledpeople and people with health conditions indwork. Oten or disabled people who needminimal levels o support to ind work.

Provides inancial assistance towards the extracosts o employing someone with a disability,such as contributing towards the cost ospecialist IT equipment, work adaptations to theworkplace, some travel costs and the cost ohaving a support worker.

Supports disabled people looking or workor about to start a job and provides an initialweekly grant or employers to cover any

additional costs.

Used by employers who want to demonstratetheir commitment to good practice aroundemploying and retaining disabled people.The symbol is displayed on job advertisements.

pg

C2

()10.0

189.2

37.5

55.8

0.9

Source: National Audit Office analysis of information from the Department for Work and Pensions

avg U

C3

()1,400

8,200

1,100

1,600

500

NOTES

1 Figures are or 2003-04, rounded to the nearest 100. Number participating or Work Preparation and Job Introduction Scheme reers to those whohave been on the programme or scheme during 2003-04. Figures given or Workstep and New Deal or Disabled People reer to the number o currentparticipants as at 31 March 2004. Access to Work igure reers to the number o new and existing beneiciaries during 2003-04. Figure given or theDisability Symbol reer to number o employers.

2 Figures are or 2003-04 and exclude administration costs. It should be noted that the igure given or New Deal or Disabled People includesapproximately 9 million or in-house job broker costs. Overall igure or expenditure on Workstep (189.2 million) relects Modernisation unding paymentsmade o approximately 7 million. Programme costs or the Disability Symbol are not available.

3 Unit costs are based on participant numbers only, as provided in the table above, except or New Deal or Disabled People. The unit cost or New Dealor Disabled People is based on the number o new registrations (34,500) in 2003-04. Please note that the unit cost or an Access to Work beneiciary doesnot relect the wide variation in the level o support a beneiciary may receive, which ranges rom one o support or a piece o equipment to continuoussupport in employing a support worker.

n

wkp

wk (clugrly)

n dl dblpl

acc wk

Jbiucsch

dblysybl

nub

pcg1

7,400

23,000

57,800

34,800

2,000

5,000


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executive summary


13 The ull administrative costs o contracting with over

500 service providers are not known, but the Department

estimates that the New Deal or Disabled People alone

has administrative costs in the region o 6 million

per annum. In light o the Governments drive towards

increased eiciency, a careul appraisal o the way in

which tendering, contracting, ongoing administration and

quality inspection are carried out is essential. We have

highlighted a number o areas where the Department can

reduce costs, increase eiciency and deliver higher quality

services and better value or money (Figure 2).

14 Remploy Ltd is unded by a block grant rom the

Government. It is the largest provider o Workstep and has

an average unit cost in the actory businesses o 18,000.

Given the decline o manuacturing across the UK it is

unsurprising that older actories in particular ind it diicult

to compete eectively. Many Remploy businesses are not

really sustainable in purely economic terms, although they

oer a very supportive environment to their employees.

Remploy Interwork, which places people primarily in

outside employment with suitable support, appears to

oer a more cost eective service at around 3,400 per

person and accounts or three quarters o all progressions

to unsupported employment.6 Although we accept that this

model is not suitable or all Workstep participants, there

remains substantial advantage in expanding this area o

provision urther, both in terms o reduced costs and the

number o individuals who can be helped.

15 Calculations o the net beneit o the programmes are

very complex and limitations in data, and the diiculty o

estimating what would have happened to participants in

the absence o the programmes, can make it impossible

to quantiy all impacts o a programme. However, we

worked with the Department to develop an estimate o

the programmes net beneits. From this, we estimate that

a disabled person who moves rom beneits into work

will be somewhere between 18 per cent and 60 per cent

better o inancially. This depends upon their individual

circumstances such as whether they have dependants and

the number o hours they work. A disabled person moving

into work is usually eligible to receive a range o support

such as working tax credits and child tax credits making

them better o in work. A single disabled person with no

dependants who takes up a typical job7 as a result o one

o these programmes could see their annual income rise

rom approximately 7,000 on beneits to around

11,000 in work.

16 Each person who participates in a programme or

scheme costs the Exchequer money rom the cost o

delivering and administering the programme. When

moving into a job they save the Exchequer money through

reduced beneits and generate money through payment

o taxes and national insurance. Their work also makes

a contribution to the wealth o their employers and the

country as a whole. For example, or the New Deal or

Disabled People the estimated net beneit to the economy

is in the region o 400 per job entry in the irst year. The

longer a person remains in work the more the economy

beneits. We have not been able to estimate additional

costs and beneits such as improved social inclusion,

alterations in health and use o NHS resources and travel

costs but these are all additional actors in understanding

the total impact o the Departments programmes

and schemes.

What is working well with delivery o the

programmes and schemes17 The Department reports that it is on course to

meet its target or increasing the employment rate o

disabled people.8 In its 2004 Autumn Perormance Report,

the reported rate rose rom 48.9 per cent to 50.1 per cent,

and the gap between the rate or disabled people and

the overall rate ell rom 25.6 per cent to 24.6 per cent.

A urther one million employers were brought within the

scope o the Disability Discrimination Act during the year.

6 These costs reer to direct costs to the Department or Work and Pensions. There is unding available rom other sources.7 An individual working 38 hours per week, 5.44 per hour. Ashworth et al (2003) New Deal for Disabled People National Extension: First Wave of the

First Cohort of the Survey of Registrants. No.180 Department or Work and Pensions.8 People with a Disability Discrimination Act deined disability and/or a work-limiting disability as deined on the Labour Force Survey.

2 Actions aimed at driving down costs andincreasing eiciency

n Reduce the administrative burden associated withmanaging too many small value contracts with providerswho do not perorm well.

n Adopt a more modular approach to all o the disability andemployment-related provision by only providing the elementso support that are relevant to the individual client, althoughthe Department will need to manage the risk that such anapproach could incur increased administrative costs.

n Use the power o the bulk customer to develop supplierrameworks or goods and services and reduceunwarranted price variations.

n Review the nature o provision by Remploy to reduce theemphasis on the less cost eective actory based businessesand concentrate more on the commercially viablebusinesses and Remploy Interwork.


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executive summary


18 The Department is well inormed about the

barriers to employment experienced by disabled

people. The Department has commissioned extensive

research and literature reviews looking at the barriers

disabled people ace. In each Jobcentre Plus oice we

visited we met experienced Disability Employment

Advisers who had a detailed understanding o the barriers

clients aced. A sound understanding o the problems is

essential as there is no such thing as a typical client.

19 There is a wide range o support and options

available across the programmes and schemes. The

programmes oer support or a broad spectrum o needs

rom clients who need a high degree o assistance with

building sel conidence and learning key skills (available

rom Work Preparation) through to those who need

minimal support to ind work (via New Deal or Disabled

People). There is some overlap between the programmes,

as shown in Figure 3 overlea, which can cause some

conusion or clients and providers alike. However, under

its 2004 proposals in Building on the New Deal, the

Department wants to move towards oering a lexible

menu o provision across the programmes, oering a more

tailored approach to clients.

20 jobcentre Plus has committed and experienced

sta to advise disabled people about the programmes

that best suit their needs. Advisers in local Jobcentre

Plus oices play a crucial role in assessing the level o

assistance a disabled person needs and are responsible

or guiding them to the most suitable support. Depending

upon the signiicance o the barriers to work aced and

level o help needed to ind a job, either an Incapacity

Beneit Personal Adviser or Disability Employment Adviser

is available. Incapacity Beneit Personal Advisers work

with Incapacity Beneit clients to help them progress

into employment. They can also reer people who may

have signiicant barriers to work, and require more long-

term personalised support, to a Disability Employment

Adviser. We ound that Disability Employment Advisers

endeavoured to carve out suitable packages o support

or clients rom the programmes available. Many had

strong ties with local employers, as well as voluntary and

community sector organisations.

21 Many o the clients participating in the programmes

are positive about their impact. The clients interviewed

or this report on the whole were positive about their

experience o the programmes in which they were involved

either Work Preparation, Workstep or New Deal or

Disabled People. In 2003-04, these programmes helped

around 24,000 people into mainstream employment and

provided supported employment or 27,000 people.

I would deinitely recommendthe programme to others. Youregain conidence and eelyou are contributing somethingto society.

Male, aged 22,with mobility problems,

New Deal or Disabled People

Its the irst time in my lie thatI am ocussed and now havegoalsIts all down to the helpand enthusiasm o the sta.

Male, aged 34, with mobilityproblems, on Work Preparation

It (Workstep) was a light at the endo the tunnel, a way orward, a wayto get back to ull-time employmentin spite o my sight problems.

Male, aged 51,

visually impaired,on Workstep

(Work) has give me sel-conidence, pride in mysel(I) can hold my head upnot becalled a scrounger.

Male, aged 50, with asthma,on Workstep (Remploy)


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executive summary


22 Providers had many positive things to say about

current provision. We consulted widely with interested

parties rom the Department, provider groups and the

voluntary and community sector who inormed us o what,

in their experience, are the particularly eective elements

o current support and what areas need improvement

(Figure 4). Good points included the client ocused nature

o Workstep, the lexibility o programme delivery or the

New Deal or Disabled People and the opportunities orwork experience provided by Work Preparation.

Where more progress is needed

23 The programmes only support a small number o

people who could potentially beneit. In 2003-04, there

were more than 2.6 million people o working age on

incapacity beneits. In comparison, around 125,000 were

involved in one or more o the Departments programmes.

Whilst not everyone in receipt o incapacity beneits will

be able to work, many with the right support would like

and be able to. Reasons or low levels o participation

could include lack o awareness o the support available,

ear o approaching the Jobcentre Plus in case beneits

are reduced and lack o conidence to take up the help

available. There are also budgetary constraints that limit

the number o places and support available.

24 The number o progressions rom Worstep into

unsupported employment is low. Some 1,900 people

progress into unsupported employment each year - anaverage rate o eight per cent. We ound that in the three

years since April 2001, a third o Workstep providers with

clients in supported placements did not progress a single

person into employment, and that 25 Workstep providers

had registered no new clients since April 2001. There is

also insuicient attention paid to client development.

Our review o recent Adult Learning Inspectorate

inspection reports ound only 22 per cent o Workstep

providers had satisactory individual development plans in

place or their clients.

Disability Symbol

In mainstream employment

3 A guide to the overlap o the key programmes and schemes

Source: National Audit Office analysis

Not job ready Job ready

Work Preparation

Job Introduction Scheme

New Deal or Disabled People

Programme Scheme

NOTES

n jb y have signiicant, perhaps multiple, barriers to overcome beore being ready to move into work. Individual needs support to developconidence and general skills, which may include basic literacy and numeracy.

Jb y ready to move into employment, but may need help and assistance with interview techniques and skill development.

su ly provides the opportunities to develop skills in a work environment and to ind out about dierent types o jobs. Support is there to

ensure the employer and employee receive assistance and is ongoing as long as it is needed.su ly the terms and conditions o employment should be the same as or people without disabilities including pay at thegoing rate, equal employee beneits, sae working conditions and opportunities or career development and promotion.

Supported employment

Workstep

Access to Work


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executive summary

GAINING AND RETAINING A jOB: THE DEPARTMENT fOR WORk AND PENSIONS SUPPORT fOR DISABLED PEOPLE

25 The Department needs better management

inormation or Wor Preparation and Worstep in

order to evaluate their eectiveness. At present there

is very limited data about clients, making it diicult to

establish whether the programmes are meeting the needs

o dierent groups. The Department also holds little

inormation about the type o support providers oer

and thereore struggles to manage their perormance.

The management inormation available or New Deal or

Disabled People is much stronger and the programme has

been the subject o ongoing evaluation. The Department

has undertaken some analysis o New Deal or Disabled

People but the analysis or the other programmes is at a

very early stage.

26 Many Remploy actory businesses are currently

not providing value or money. In 2003-04, Remploy

received 115 million, o which 95 million was spent

on business activity. Many o its businesses are in the

traditional manuacturing industries which are generally

in decline. They struggle to be competitive, which means

unding per head in some businesses (average 18,000)

is disproportionate to the average salary (11,000). To

maintain productivity, some actories may be reluctant

to lose their most eicient employees, which contradicts

the objectives o Workstep, the programme under which

they are unded. In 1998, Remploy established its own

recruitment services - Remploy Interwork which has

proved to be much more successul at progressing disabled

people into unsupported employment. It accounts or

73 per cent o all progressions rom Workstep.

27 jobcentre Plus has quality monitoring

arrangements in place but limited resources mean

inspections o providers are not always undertaen

to plan. Small teams at Jobcentre Plus regional level

monitor the quality o Work Preparation and Workstep

provision. However, due to limited time and resources,

providers are not visited as regularly as they should

be. Teams also reported having little power to require

providers to meet their contractual obligations or improve

the quality o provision because contracts are rarely

withdrawn. Shortages o programme providers in some

areas can also limit this option. Since 2002, the Adult

Learning Inspectorate has inspected Workstep providers,

which has added more weight to the process o quality

assuring provision, but latest igures suggest 53 per cent o

providers are classiied unsatisactory.9

28 The programmes ocus mainly on inding wor due

to limited resources and diiculties targeting disabled

people already in wor. Not enough is currently done

to help disabled people stay in employment, although

there are pilots looing at retention activities. Few o

the programmes and schemes with the exception o

Access to Work are geared towards helping disabled

people retain work.10 The New Deal or Disabled People

is designed to provide active support to participants who

ind work and can help them retain work or at least the

irst six months. Workstep can also be used to help with

retention, but we ound little evidence o this happening.

Disability Employment Advisers and Incapacity Beneit

Advisers both stressed the importance o supporting

disabled people worried about being able to maintain

their jobs, but said they receive little recognition, i any,

in the Jobcentre Plus perormance regime or this work,

which can be time consuming. The Departments or Work

and Pensions and Health have launched pilots, such as

the Job Retention and Rehabilitation pilot in 2003, to look

at the eectiveness o dierent types o support at helping

sick and disabled people remain in work.

29 jobcentre Plus has a national employer

engagement strategy, but not all jobcentre Plus areas are

active in developing contact with employers. We ound

patchy evidence o its eective implementation at the

rontline. Relations between Jobcentre Plus, programme

providers and employers are vital to successully

supporting disabled people into employment. Approaches

varied considerably in the Jobcentre Plus oices we

visited, with some very actively involved in engaging with

employers by running special events to draw them in but

others having limited contact.

30 Disability Employment Advisers have a crucial role

to play, yet their training is ad hoc. There are between

500 and 700 Disability Employment Advisers, although

Jobcentre Plus does not know exactly how many or

how they are being used due to regional autonomy and

rationalisation. There is currently no integrated training

strategy or Disability Employment Advisers although

the Department inorms us that a new, more structured

learning and development routeway will be introduced

in autumn 2005. We ound some Advisers experienced

delays in accessing the training that it is available and had

to take on caseloads o clients with limited preparation or

the role. However, Jobcentre Plus only recruits internally

to the post and newly appointed Disability Employment

Advisers usually have an experienced Disability

Employment Adviser on hand as a mentor.

9 53 per cent reers to the period June 2002 to May 2005. The Adult Learning Inspectorate have carried out over 100 inspections. 98 inspection reports werepublished by the end o May 2005.

10 Retention reers to keeping someone in pre-existing work, whereas sustainment reers to keeping someone in a job ound during a programme.


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executive summary


4 Feedback rom stakeholders about what does and does not work with the programmes

wh wk wh d n wk

Cl fcu: Workstep is client centred and oersindividual, ongoing support.

pg dlvy: Workstep is lexible andallows or various modes o delivery.

sug ly: Workstep gives employersthe opportunity to take on candidates that theydo not eel 100 per cent sure about. It assistsemployers and employees i problems occur.

fg k: Workstep provides the sometimesessential irst introduction o the individual intothe working environment. It gives the person thechance to develop into the job without meeting100 per cent o the person speciication.

dvlg skll: Workstep provides skills or lie.

Lck a: There is a lack o awareness oWorkstep availability among the client group andalso Jobcentre Plus sta.

fug hlgy: The design o Workstep islawed as it will only progress so many people per

year which makes continuous unding diicult.

mg cl : Workstep is a last resortbut does not address the needs o those who areurther away rom the job market.

pv a: The Adult LearningInspectoratehas no understanding o the concepto Workstep.

exc v: The Jobcentre Plusrequirements or Workstep are not consistentand so the programme does not provide workas well as it should.

Lck lxbly: Workstep cannot accommodatepeople with luctuating health problems.

workste

Cl fcu: Access to Work is client led, providesspeciic, individual support and has the lexibilityto tailor itsel to an individuals needs.

rvg b: Access to Work recognises theneed or specialist input and assessments. It canprovide aids and adaptations where there are barriersto work and also help with the cost o travelling to work.

su: Access to Work can provide a range o

specialist support. The support is lexible and isavailable rom start to inish instead o only13 weeks. Training and support is available orboth the employer and the employee.

rcu r: Access to Work iseective in helping disabled workers enter into,and retain, employment.

J-u ch: Access to Work interactswell with other programmes.

Lck a: There is not enough awarenesso Access to Work among both employers andpotential clients. Marketing is restricted due to thelimited unding available.

dly: There are delays where the client does notget the equipment needed in time.

Lck ccy: The administration o Access

to Work is very dierent as areas have their ownbudgets. There is also a lack o consistency indecision making, determining eligibility andday-to-day administration.

dlvy: Employers may need to contribute20 per cent towards the cost o specialist equipment.It can also be diicult to get the support approvedor a long period o time. The move towards usingcall centres or Access to Work means the keyrelationship between the adviser and client is lost.

elgbly: Access to Work support is only availableor people in work. Other clients would need tocome o beneits irst beore receiving this support.

accesstowo

rk


14/64

executive summary


wh wk wh d n wk

pg dlvy: An innovative, lexibleprogramme which engages with employers andis not time constrained nor subject to JobcentrePlus demands.

fcu pg: New Deal or DisabledPeople ocuses on conidence building and jobsearching skills. Clients beneit rom being inmixed groups. Job Brokers can be good and ocuson people.

Cl Gu: New Deal or DisabledPeople is successul or people with physical, mildto moderate disabilities.

sh- ch: New Deal or DisabledPeople allows a quick ix.

sh- u: New Deal or DisabledPeople does not provide support beyond 6 months.It is not thereore appropriate or people withlearning disabilities and mental health issues whomay require longer term support.

Chy ckg: New Deal or DisabledPeople is output related and thereore encouragesproviders to ocus on the more job-ready andneglect the diicult clients. New Deal or DisabledPeople helps some people who would have got intowork anyway.

Lck cly: The New Deal or DisabledPeople programme lacks clarity.

fug: New Deal or Disabled People isnot economic. There are issues aroundcontracting arrangements and disparity inthe unding received.

nedelfordisblepeole

wk xc: Work Preparation provides ataste o work without the commitment. Placementshave led to some permanent jobs. They also

enable clients to orm job goals as well as beingaware o their uture workplace support needs.

J-u ch: Work Preparation eedswell into Workstep and other programmes. It issuccessul as a pre-entry programme.

Cl fcu: Work Preparation can be tailoredto meet the needs o the speciic disability andprovides support rom start to inish.

eggg h ly: Work Preparationenables both the employer and the employee torecognise a clients abilities.

Lck c h acc wk: Clients onWork Preparation cannot receive help rom Accessto Work.

i U: Work Preparation is used a loteven though it is not always the right programme.Dierent people require dierent modules.

Lck Ch: There is limitedunderstanding o the Work Preparation programme.

tg: Small providers ind it more diicult tomeet Jobcentre Plus targets o minimum hoursworked per person. Further, the client may needa more gradual introduction to work.

workprertio

notes

Colours have been used or each type o programme to denote the strength o eeling among the various workshop groups on WhatWorks or What Does Not Work.

A darker shade signiies an issue that was raised more oten while a lighter shade relates to a topic that was less importantto stakeholders.

This eedback relects the views o the workshop participants on the day. It may thereore contain contradictory statements and does not

necessarily relect the views o the National Audit Oice.

Source: National Audit Office analysis of workshops with key stakeholders


15/64GAINING AND RETAINING A jOB: THE DEPARTMENT fOR WORk AND PENSIONS SUPPORT fOR DISABLED PEOPLE10

31 The Departments broad portolio o specialist

employment programmes and schemes or disabled

people is designed to support a wide range o needs

within the resources which the Department is able to

devote to these activities. It supports only a small number

o people who could potentially beneit. Too little is

understood about the eectiveness o much o the

provision. Success in helping disabled people obtain

work can have enormous impact or individuals

and, given the costs o incapacity beneits some

12 billion in 2003-04 could save substantial amounts

o public money in the long term. On the basis o our

work, we consider the Department and programme

providers should work together to implement the

ollowing recommendations:

a The Department should rationalise the

programmes to provide a more lexible modular

approach. Some o the Departments current

programmes have evolved over the past 60 years

and could beneit rom rationalisation, which would

make them easier to explain to potential clients. For

example, it is not clear that there is a need or the

three dierent programmes each managed and

costed dierently. In its report Building on the New

Dealthe Department proposed to move towards a

lexible, modular approach based on client needs

and our work suggests there is strong support or this

approach or this client group.

b The Department should improve substantially

its data collection and veriication systems to

allow it to monitor services and assess whether

they are meeting the broad range o needs o

disabled people. The Departments knowledge and

understanding o what providers deliver is poor,

largely because management inormation, especially

or Work Preparation and Workstep, is o insuicient

quality and some is held only at the regional level.

Improving the inormation held would help the

Department better track the needs o this disparate

client group as well as identiy i the support needed

is reaching them and whether there are any gaps

in provision. The Department should ensure that

existing channels such as provider orums are

ully used or sharing and disseminating good

practice across Jobcentre Plus oices and between

programme providers.

c The Department should achieve enhanced

eiciency through better contracting. The

Department can improve the quality and price o the

services it purchases through proper benchmarking,open competition and appropriate use o its power

as a bulk purchaser. The Department should,

wherever possible, reduce unwarranted variations

in price and minimise its own contracting and

administration burden while securing higher quality

products or reasonable prices.

reCommendations


16/64

executive summary


d The Department should consider placing greater

emphasis on longer term sustainability o

employment or Worstep and the New Deal or

Disabled People. This might include revising the

payment and outcome measures and oering better

incentives or providers who deliver quality provision

and progress clients eectively. Some clients need

higher levels o support and this could be actored

into payment mechanisms or Workstep - possibly

creating an expectation that levels o support and

the payment or them will tail o over time. We also

recommend that the Department should review the

duration o contracting arrangements to allow or

more certainty or higher perorming providers and

termination o those perorming poorly.

e jobcentre Plus should loo at how to better

resource its quality management arrangements

or all o the programmes in order to drive up

the standards o provision. Jobcentre Plus quality

and perormance management teams now adopt

a risk-based approach to monitoring providers o

both Work Preparation and Workstep, but limitedresources mean some are not visited as regularly

as expected. Other than inspections o Workstep

providers by the Adult Learning Inspectorate, little

is currently done to encourage healthy competition

and raise standards amongst providers because

Jobcentre Plus set their standard as contract

compliance, which ails to promote and drive up

provider perormance. A more open discussion

o quality indicators, including publication o

progression igures expressed as a percentage o the

contract value, may help to drive up perormance.

Such an approach may also encourage the spread ogood practice.

jobcentre Plus should provide greater support and

training or Disability Employment Advisers. The

role o the Disability Employment Adviser is crucial

to the success o the programmes. They play a key

role in assessing the clients needs and subsequently

routing them to the programme that best meets

their requirements. However, training or Disability

Employment Advisers is currently undertaken on an

ad hoc basis and is not always available at the right

time. Jobcentre Plus recognises the current approach

to training creates a problem or consistency and

will be introducing a new learning programme or

Disability Employment Advisers in autumn 2005.

g The Department should ocus more resources on

helping people stay in wor and build upon the

indings rom current pilots. There is insuicient

support available except Access to Work to

help to retain in work those disabled people who

are concerned about losing their jobs due to

their disability. Workstep is designed to help with

retention, but we ound little evidence o this

happening. The job description or DisabilityEmployment Advisers has recently been revised to

include responsibility or helping clients remain in

employment by working together with the client and

employer. I it decided to apply its resource in this

way, by providing more support to help disabled

people remain in work, the Department could

reduce uture demand on the existing programmes

and keep down the expenditure on disability

beneits. More support or disabled people already

in work could also oset the perceived extra costs

under the Disability Discrimination Act o employing

a person with disabilities and make employers morelikely to employ more disabled people.


17/64GAINING AND RETAINING A jOB: THE DEPARTMENT fOR WORk AND PENSIONS SUPPORT fOR DISABLED PEOPLE12

h The Department should develop a better

understanding o the needs o disabled people and

analyse urther how the programmes and schemes

address these needs. Whilst the Department has

commissioned extensive evaluation o the New

Deal or Disabled People, it should continue to

evaluate the eectiveness o the other programmes

and schemes at meeting the needs o disabled

people and preparing them or long term sustained

employment. This should cover the costs and

beneits o the programmes to help quantiy

their impacts.

i The Department should review the costs o

support under the Access to Wor scheme and also

examine whether such high levels o public sector

use is appropriate. It should consider developing a

ramework arrangement or approved list o suppliers

so as to make use o its large user buying power and

reduce the huge variation in costs or similar services

and resources. We also support the Prime Ministers

Strategy Unit recommendation that the Department

evaluate the impact o restricting or removing accessto the Access to Work scheme by central government

departments given its widespread use by the

public sector.

j The Department should re-engineer the proile o

Remploy businesses to improve overall value or

money and should ensure support is in place rom

Remploy Interwor or jobcentre Plus to help those

individuals aected ind alternative employment

i necessary. Many o the Remploy businesses are

not currently sustainable and are unlikely to be

so in the uture. The average cost per person in a

Remploy business is disproportionate to the average

salary and there is little scope or improvement in

the traditional manuacturing businesses. There have

been ew progressions rom Remploy businesses

into unsupported employment, which is not in

keeping with the current aims and objectives o

the Departments programmes to progress all those

people or whom it is appropriate.

k The Department, in consultation with programme

providers, needs to develop a clearer strategy

or engaging with employers at a local level.

Engaging eectively with employers is important

to the success o the programmes and schemes

and more generally to ensuring disabled peopleare well integrated into the workplace. Although

we ound dierent approaches, such as active

marketing o individual clients to speciic employers

and broader awareness-raising o employers legal

responsibilities, constraints on time and resources

mean not all Jobcentre Plus oices are able to work

with employers as much as they would like.

reCommendations ContinUed


18/64

executive summary


l The Departments programmes are not the

only source o support or disabled people

wanting to ind wor. The Department should

wor with local authorities and voluntary and

community organisations to gather inormation

about the range o support available. Due to

lack o co-ordination there are risks that services

are duplicated and gaps occur in provision. We

support the Strategy Units recommendation that a

comprehensive on-line directory o services should

be developed covering provision rom all sectors,

not just Jobcentre Plus.


19/64GAINING AND RETAINING A jOB: THE DEPARTMENT fOR WORk AND PENSIONS SUPPORT fOR DISABLED PEOPLE

part one

14

part one

The Departments employment programmes ordisabled people



part one

15

1.1 There are 9.8 million disabled people in Great

Britain11 equivalent to one in six o the population. The

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 deines disability as a

mental or physical condition which has a substantial and

long-term adverse aect on the employees ability to carry

out normal day-to-day activities. There are ive broad

categories o impairment: visual, hearing, mobility, mental

health and learning, but not all disabilities it neatly

into these categories and some people have multiple

disabilities. In 2004, o the 6.7 million disabled people o

working age 50 per cent were in jobs. This compares to

75 per cent o the overall working age population.

1.2 The barriers that prevent disabled people rom

either entering the labour market or staying in work are

well documented and wide ranging (Figure 5). The range

relects the act that disabled people are a particularly

disparate group, a act that needs careul consideration

when designing programmes to tackle these barriers.

5 Disabled people experience a range o barriers to employment

Source: National Audit Office analysis of published research and views from key stakeholders

ely u cc some employers worry,or example, about the amount o time a disabled person mayneed to take o work, their ability to undertake the work and theexpense o providing adjustments to the working environment.

Lck g u there are lowlevels o awareness amongst disabled people and employersabout the range o support available to help disabled people bothin obtaining and retaining work.

Lck ly bly lcy an employers lacko awareness o their responsibilities under the DisabilityDiscrimination Act 1995 can be a signiicant barrier at all stagesrom recruitment through to promotion and retention.

th b y some disabled people all into a beneitstrap whereby they are better o on beneits than in work or wouldonly be better o by a relatively small amount i in work. Theymay also be worried about losing the security o income rombeneits by taking a step into employment.

nu h hlh c some disabled people may indit diicult to ind work that is suiciently lexible to it around thenature o their disability, especially i they have good days andbad days. Others may ind that working causes more discomort.

Lcl lbu k c disabled people are subjectto the same barriers as other people and there may not be jobsavailable in the area in which they live.

Lck qulc xc disabled people tend notto beneit as much as the general population rom government-unded training and education, although lack o qualiications orexperience is a barrier to employment whether disabled or not.

Lck ju k clients and employers lackawareness o the support available to make adjustments.

p lk especially in rural areas.

11 The latest Department or Work and Pensions estimate, based on data rom the Family Resources Survey, using the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)deinition o disability to deine a disabled person.



part one

16

1.3 Employers misconceptions about the diiculties

o employing disabled people can be a major barrier.

Departmental research has ound that 33 per cent

o employers elt taking on a disabled person was a

major risk.12 Research also shows very low awareness

amongst employers o schemes to help towards the costs

o workplace adaptations and purchase o specialist

equipment.13 However, other reasons or clients not

joining the programmes include the nature o their

disability, as well as the distance and cost involved.

1.4 Government provision to help overcome these

barriers has developed over time and takes a number o

orms. This report ocuses upon the Departments well

established employment programmes (Work Preparation

and Workstep) and schemes (Job Introduction Scheme,

Access to Work and the Disability Symbol) or disabled

people, as well as the New Deal or Disabled People,

set up in 2001. It also covers supported employment

and work placements oered by Remploy Ltd a

non-departmental public body set up as a company

in 1945. It reers briely to more recent developments

with the Pathways to Work pilots, notably the Condition

Management Programmes. These pilots, introduced in

2003 as part o consideration o the reorm o incapacity

beneits, are not a central ocus o the report since they

are still being trialled by the Department. We also do not

cover residential training courses or disabled people as

they are not solely employment-ocussed.

The Departments specialistemployment programmes address awide range o needs1.5 In 2003-04, beneit payments or people with

disabilities or health related problems exceeded 12 billion.

There are three times as many people claiming incapacity

beneits as there are unemployed people on Jobseekers

Allowance. Over 2.6 million people claim IncapacityBeneit, Income Support on the grounds o incapacity,

or Severe Disablement Allowance, and some 700,000

people move onto these beneits each year.14 People on

incapacity beneits tend to stay on them longer than other

client groups even though 80 to 90 per cent expect to go

back to work in due course.15 Once a person has been

on incapacity beneits or 12 months, the Department has

ound the average claim lasts eight years.

1.6 Being in work can have many positive eects or

people with disabilities just as it does or those without.

There is limited research on this, but recent work16

suggests beneits include: providing a main source o

income as well as status; giving structure to the day

and opportunities to develop new skills; and giving a

chance to meet new people and develop social skills and

riendships. Our in-depth interviews with a small number

o people conirmed these indings.

1.7 The Department unds a portolio o voluntary

programmes and schemes or disabled people. They are

managed by Jobcentre Plus an agency o the Department

which contracts with providers to deliver one or more

o them. Two o these programmes Workstep and

Work Preparation and provision by Remploy Ltd have

developed since the 1940s when supported employment

and assistance was set up or injured servicemen

and women. The New Deal or Disabled People wasintroduced in 2001. Figure 6 summarises developments

and Figure 7 overleaprovides an overview o each

programme and scheme.

12 Roberts et al (2004) Disability in the Workplace. Research or Department or Work and Pensions.13 Disability Employment Coalition (2004)Access to Work for disabled people. RNIB, London.14 Pathways to Work: Helping People into Employment. The Governments response and action plan. June 2003. Cm 5830. Page 4.15 Department or Work and Pensions Research Report 156: Short term effects of Compulsory Participation in ONE; and Woodward, Kazimirski, Shaw & Pires

(2003) New Deal for Disabled People Evaluation Eligible Population Survey Wave 1 Interim Report. Department or Work and Pensions report W170.16 Jenkins (2002) Value of Employment to People with learning disabilities; in British Journal of Nursing, Vol 11. No 1. pages 38-45.

(I) eel more conident, evenmeeting a lot o people at atime is easier, made new riendsand think more positive Theprogramme has got me out o thehouse. I am not as depressed andworried any more and I eel thatwith this I may get a job at theend o it that suits my needs.

Female, aged 23,

with thyroid problems, on Workstep



part one

1

Figure 6 overlea


23/64

6 Development o programmes and support or disabled people


1945 rly Lactories set up ater waror disabled servicemen

oh kyvl

rly

wk p

wk

n dl dbl pl

acc wk

Jb iuc

sch

dbly sybl

1944 dbl p(ely) acprimarypiece o legislation untilDisability DiscriminationAct in 1995. A network osheltered workshops and

actories were introducedand a quota system toensure two per cent othe workorce o all non-governmental organisationswith 20 or more employees.

1944 iulrhbl U (IRUs)oered intensive trainingbeore return to work

1942 su elypg introduced

1977 -Jb iucsch introduced

1982 rv ac dblpl (radp) establishedthe principle o givingpriority to disabled peoplethroughout the Manpower

Services Commissionsemployment programmes.

1973 IRUs renamedely rhblC under Employmentand Training Act

1945 1955 1980 1985

1984 scl a ely chintroduced to provide equipment on apermanent loan basis and ree o charge


24/64

1998 RemployInterworkintroduced

2000 Remploybusinessrestructured

2001 learningcentres set upin actories

1997 New LabourGovernmentlaunchedits NewDeal strategy

1990 dblysybl launched

1991 plc aCullg t(paCts) introducedand givenresponsibility

or procuringand managingprogrammesand managedthe DisabilityResettlementOicers (DRO).

1995 dblydc

ac

1999 dblysvc treplacedPACTS andDROs becameDisabilityEmployment

Advisers (DEA).

1999 tx C

acintroducesDisabledPersons TaxCredit, but

merged intoWorking TaxCreditin 2002.

2002Jbcplu launchedto replaceEmploymentService

and BeneitAgencyunctionsrelating toemployment-relatedbeneits. DEAsdevolved todistrict level.

2002 Pathwaysto WorkG ppublished

and pilotslaunchedin 2003.

1998 Disability Symbolreviewed in light oDisability Discrimination Act

1994 acc wkreplaced Special Aids toEmployment scheme and otherschemes such as travel to work

2002 regionalbusiness centresestablishedor Access To Work

1998 series opilots orNew Dealor DisabledPeople

2001 jobbroker servicesintroduced

2001 SEPmodernised andrenamedwk

2001 VocationalRehabilitationbecamewkp

2005

2004 1 October- new provisionscame into orce underDDA on increasedprotection or disabledpeople in employment

and in access togoods and services.Small businesses andpreviously excludedoccupations such aspolice oicers, werebrought within thescope o DDA. Thisextended coverageto an additional onemillion employers,and seven millionmore jobs, including600,000 in which

disabled peoplealready work.

1990 1995 2000

1991 Vclrhblpg introducedollowing major reviewo services in 1990

1993 DisabilitySymbol revised


part one



part one

1

7 Details o the specialist employment programmes and schemes or disabled people

pg

ch

wkp

wk

(clugrly)

n dl dblpl

wh h h

cu cc ?

Helps to identiy the mostsuitable type o work byproviding experience in a workenvironment and by developingnew or existing skills.

Join the programme via referralfrom a Disability EmploymentAdviser at Jobcentre Plus.

Provides tailored support to

ind, secure and retain jobs ordisabled people who have morecomplex barriers to inding andkeeping work. Also providessupport and opportunity orpeople to progress to openemployment where appropriate.

Join the programme via referralfrom a Disability EmploymentAdviser at Jobcentre Plus orself refer.

Delivered by job brokers whotry to match skills and abilities tothe needs o employers, identiytraining needs, work with localtraining providers to deliverthe programme, help with jobapplications and support duringthe irst six months in work.

Job brokers also try to adviseon the barriers that might makeit diicult to work, such asmobility or lack o conidence,and try to help with these.

Join the programme primarilyvia a job broker. May alsobe referred via an IncapacityBenefit Personal Adviser or aDisability Employment Adviserat Jobcentre Plus.

wh ?

People with health conditions ora disability who want to returnto work and people already inwork but at risk o losing theirjob due to disability.To be eligible a person mustbe in receipt o a key disabilitybeneit such as IncapacityBeneit or DisabilityLiving Allowance.

To be eligible a person must

be in receipt o IncapacityBeneit, or recently moved romIncapacity Beneit to JobseekersAllowance; be in receipt o

Jobseekers Allowance, IncomeSupport or National Insurancecredits; be a ormer supportedemployee who has progressedbut needs to return to theprogramme; or be currently inwork but at risk o losing it dueto disability. A person must alsobe able to work or 16 hoursper week or more.

To be eligible a person mustbe in receipt o a key disabilitybeneit, such as: IncapacityBeneit, Severe DisablementAllowance, Income Supportincluding a disability premium,National Insurance creditsbecause o incapacity, orDisability Living Allowance(but only i not in receipt o

Jobseekers Allowance and notin paid work or 16 or morehours a week).

H y

c2

?

7,400

23,000(8,800)

57,800

Source: National Audit Office analysis of information from Department for Work and Pensions

H y jb

uc3?

1,300

1,900(1,400)

20,400

H uch

c1

?

10m

189.2m(115m)

37.5m

NOTES

1 Figures are or 2003-04 programme costs and exclude administration costs. Figure given or New Deal or Disabled People includes approximately 9 million orin house job broker costs. Overall igure or expenditure on Workstep (189.2 million) relects Modernisation unding payments made o approximately 7 million.



part one

1

pg

ch

Jbiucsch(Jis)

acc wk

totaL

wh h h

cu cc ?

Helps disabled people whoare looking or work, or areabout to start a job and havea disability that may aect thekind o work they can do. The

Job Introduction Scheme is a jobtrial acility, which oers boththe employer and the disabledjobseeker an opportunity toind out i the job and theperson match.A weekly grant o 75 is

paid to the employer or theirst 6 weeks o employment.In exceptional circumstances,and ater agreement with theDisability Employment Adviser,this may be extended to13 weeks. The user will bepaid the normal rate or the job.Access to the scheme is via theDisability Employment Adviser.

Provides practical adviceand support to help disabledpeople enter or stay in paid

employment. It is aimed atovercoming work-relatedobstacles resulting romdisability through a systemo grants towards the cost oproviding support. It can helpwith varying types o support,such as: altering existingwork equipment, adaptationto employers premises,payment or travel to work,payments or a support workeror providing a communicatorat a job interview. Access toWork is open to those who areemployed (as a job retentionmeasure), as well as peoplemoving out o unemployment.Access to the scheme is viatelephone to an Access toWork Business Centre whichadministers the scheme.

wh ?

To be eligible a person must beabout to start a job and havegenuine concerns about theirability to manage in it because otheir disability. The job can be ullor part time, although expectedto last or at least 6 monthsand must not be speciicallycreated to take advantage o JobIntroduction Scheme.

JIS cannot be used or jobswith government agencies or

departments, in Workstep, oror a New Deal job or which aNew Deal grant is being paid.

Available to unemployed,employed and sel-employedpeople and can apply to any

job, ull-time or part-time,permanent or temporary. It isavailable or voluntary work.The applicant must either:

n be disabled (and thedisability likely to last or12 months or longer);

n be in need o supportat a job interview withan employer;

n have a job to start; orbe in a job, whether as

an employed or sel-employed person; or

n be in need o supportto progress in, or takeup work, on a moreequal basis with non-disabled colleagues.

H y

c2

?

2,000

34,800

125,000

H y jb

uc3

?

n/a

n/a

23,600

H uch

c1

?

0.9m

55.8m

293.4

2 Figures are or 2003-04, rounded to the nearest 100. Number participating or Work Preparation and Job Introduction Scheme reers to the number o partici-pants who have been on the programme or scheme during 2003-04. Figure given or Workstep reers to the number o current participants as at the31 March 2004. Figure given or New Deal or Disabled People includes people joining the programme since 2001 and reers to the number o participants as atthe 31 March 2004. Access to Work igure reers to the number o new and existing beneiciaries during 2003-04.

3 Figures reer to the number o job entries or in the case o Workstep, progressions to open employment, during 2003-04. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.There are no job outcome fgures or the Job Introduction Scheme.



part one

20

1.8 The eligibility criteria and services oered or Work

Preparation, Workstep and New Deal or Disabled People

have some similarities and rely to some extent on the

subjective judgement o need by Disability Employment

Advisers and providers (Figure 8). This can cause

conusion amongst potential clients as well as providers.

Work Preparation by building conidence and giving

opportunities to try dierent types o work is oten used

as a stepping stone into Workstep. However, not all clients

automatically make this step and some, especially those

with longer and more recent work histories, may be ready

or Workstep immediately.

1.9 The relationship between New Deal or Disabled

People, Work Preparation and Workstep is not so

clear and is not easily explained as there is no single

straightorward route. Disability Employment Advisers and

Incapacity Beneit Personal Advisers we spoke to consider

New Deal or Disabled People to be or disabled people

ready to ind work who require less intensive support.

However, in some areas we ound job brokers, who

deliver the New Deal, also oered support to people with

complex needs which relects the initial intention o the

programme that job brokers take on anyone who wishes

to register.

1.10 Remploy Ltd is the countrys largest provider

o Workstep and receives block grant unding o

115 million17 rom the Department. It also contracts with

the Department to provide New Deal or Disabled People

and Work Preparation. Remploy was set up in 1945 to

provide actory-based employment or disabled servicemen

and now has 83 actories in various industries, as well

as non-actory businesses. In 1998, it established its own

recruitment arm Remploy Interwork also unded by the

block grant, providing tailored services or disabled people.

17 2003-04 igure.

8 Key support and activities oered by Work Preparation, Workstep and New Deal or Disabled People


wk p wk n dl dbl pl

Conidence-building 4 4 4

Key job skills including job search 4 4 4

Writing CV 4 4 4

Interview techniques 4 4 4

Help with job applications 4 4

Work experience/placement 4 4

Training and development 4 4

In-work sustainment support 4 4

Retention support or those in work 4

I think it (Work Preparation) is verygood but maybe not speciically or

someone like me. I think its moretailored to someone who has neverworked or a school leaver who has notbeen prepared or applying or a job.

Male, aged 53, with spina biida,on Work Preparation



part one

21

1.11 Some participants in our workshops and other

stakeholders we interviewed argued that having a number

o distinct programmes can be conusing and means that

people can be unairly categorised. It can also lead to lack

o continuity, with clients stopping and starting dierent

programmes, with the risk o losing momentum i there

are gaps. The Departments 2004 report Building on the

New Deal18, which sets out the Governments strategy or

developing the welare to work programmes, responded

to such criticism with proposals or a lexible menu o

provision. The report stressed that clients should not be

slotted into existing provision i this was not appropriate

and advocated an approach tailored to the client.

1.12 In addition to the programmes, the Department

unds three schemes. These are:

n Access to Wor which helps to cover the cost o

special equipment or adaptations needed to the

workplace in order or a person with a disability to

carry out their job. It is available or those about to

start a job, as well as those in work and can cover

the costs o a support worker as well as some travel

to work costs.

n The job Introduction Scheme provides a grant

or employers who decide to employ a disabled

person but are concerned about their ability to do

the job. The grant is paid or the irst six weeks o

employment and the job is expected to last at least

six months.

n The Disability Symbol is used by employers

who want to demonstrate their commitment to

good practice around employing and retaining

disabled people.

1.13 Although not the subject o this report, the

Departments Pathways to Work pilots, launched in three

Jobcentre Plus districts in 2003 and a urther our in

2004, are trialling new ways o helping Incapacity Beneit

recipients overcome barriers to returning to work. TheCondition Management Programme is part o Pathways to

Work and is designed to help participants understand and

better manage their medical condition or disability. It also

plays an important role in helping them to build up their

sel conidence in order to move into work.

1.14 There are a number o ways into the programmes

and schemes, and clients are assisted by sta in Jobcentre

Plus (Figure 9). Personal Advisers are the key contact

points in local Jobcentre Plus oices or disabled people

wanting help to return to work or keep their jobs. There

are two types speciically or disabled people the

Incapacity Beneit Personal Adviser and the Disability

Employment Adviser.

1.15 Incapacity Beneit Personal Advisers work with

Incapacity Beneit recipients to help them progress into

employment. They can also reer clients who require more

long term personalised support to a Disability Employment

Adviser. Disability Employment Advisers support people

with a disability or health condition regardless o whether

they claim a Jobcentre Plus beneit. They can reer clients

to a wider range o programmes than the Incapacity

Beneit Personal Adviser. Both can make use o the

Adviser Discretion Fund to make payments or clothes,

transportation or anything else that will help their client

move into work. The value o this is now 100, although

additional unds o up to 300 can be applied or.

1.16 Disability Employment Advisers can reer clients

to a Jobcentre Plus Work Psychologist i they are unsure

o the clients abilities due to their disability or health

condition. The Work Psychologist can carry out a range

o tests to better diagnose and understand a persons skills

and abilities and also identiy the type o work they may be

capable o doing. Together the Work Psychologist and client

then develop an action plan, including access to a relevant

programme, and the Work Psychologist in most cases reers

the client back to the Disability Employment Adviser.

1.17 The complex array o programmes and schemes

the Department oers to disabled people who want to

work has evolved over sixty years in response to changing

societal expectations. While each individual element

addresses a recognised need, the suite o services taken

as a whole is neither coherent or resource eicient. Many

o the organisations we spoke to elt there was a need

or rationalisation in order to make provision easier or

potential clients to understand.

18 Department or Work and Pensions (2004) Building on New Deal: Local solutions meeting individual needs.



part one

22

The Government has committeditsel to increasing the employmentrate o disabled people and theDepartment is on course to meetits Public Service Agreement target1.18 The Government is committed to helping disabled

people into work. The Department or Work and Pensions

has Public Service Agreement targets which aim to:

In the three years to 2006, increase the employment

rate o people with disabilities, taing account o theeconomic cycle, and signiicantly reduce the dierence

between their employment rate and the overall rate.

Wor to improve the rights o disabled people and to

remove barriers to their participation in society.

1.19 In its 2004 Autumn Perormance Report, theDepartment reported that it was on course to meet

this target. In the year to spring 2004, the employment

rate or disabled people o working age rose rom

48.9 per cent to 50.1 per cent; and, the employment gap

ell rom 25.6 per cent to 24.6 per cent over the same

period. The Department also considers it is on course to

improve the rights o disabled people and remove barriers

they ace to employment. Changes introduced rom

October 2004 under the Disability and Discrimination

Act 1995 (see Figure 10) bring a urther 1 million small

employers (7 million more jobs) within the scope o the

Act. However, research and eedback rom stakeholderssuggests that recognition o responsibilities under this Act

is low.19

9 How clients are reerred to the programmes


IncapacityBeneit recipients

Person not in receipto Incapacity

Beneit, but with amedical conditionor disability that

creates asigniicant barrier

to employment

iccy Bpl av

dblyely av

New Deal orDisabled People

Work Psychologist

Work Preparation

Workstep

Mainstream provision, such asWork Based Learning or Business Links

sl l

I signiicantbarrierto work

I no signiicantbarrier to work

NOTE

This is the integrated Jobcentre Plus, non-Pathways model. In non-integrated ofces there will be no Incapacity Beneft Personal Adviser intervention at thestart o the claim.

19 Roberts et al (2004) Disability in the Workplace. Research or Department or Work and Pensions.



part one

23

1.20 The Government aims to help those who are able to

work to ind and gain a job. It attempts to achieve this in

part by reocusing the tax and beneit system to encourage

and promote movement towards and into employment.

However, take-up o the current programmes is low

and only supports a small number o those who could

potentially beneit. O over 2.6 million people o working

age on incapacity beneits in 2003-04, only 125,000 were

involved with one or more o the employment-ocussed

specialist programmes unded by Jobcentre Plus, although

a signiicant additional number may previously have

participated but been unsuccessul. Some are not able to

work and probably never will. For example, Incapacity

Beneit recipients who, because o the severity or nature

o their disability, do not undergo the Personal Capability

Assessment to demonstrate their continued incapacity20,

may still be eligible or Workstep. In addition, Jobcentre

Plus is not the only source o support or disabled people

who want to ind work. There is also support available rom

the voluntary and community sector which may also help

to explain low take-up o the Departments programmes.

1.21 There are a number o possible reasons or the

low participation rate. From the individuals perspective

these include low awareness o what is available, ear o

approaching Jobcentre Plus in case beneits are reduced,

and lack o conidence. In addition, the Department

has resource constraints that limit the number o places

and support available. The Departments programme

expenditure has seen some increase in recent years

(Figure 11), but except or New Deal or Disabled People,

levels o participation have in general remained airly

steady (Figure 12).

20 Approximately 24 per cent o people on an incapacity beneit or less than two years are either exempt rom the Personal Capability Assessment and/orare in receipt o higher rate Disability Living Allowance care or higher rate Disability Living Allowance mobility (Pathways to Work: Helping People intoEmployment. November 2002. Cm 5690).

10 The implications o the Disability DiscriminationAct 1995

This Act deines disability as a mental or physical conditionwhich has a substantial and long-term adverse aect on theemployees ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Long-term means that the condition must last, or be likely to last,or more than 12 months.

The persons ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities canbe adversely aected in one or more o the ollowing ways:

n mobility

n manual dexterity

n physical co-ordination

n ability to lit or otherwise move everyday objects

n speech, hearing or eyesight

n memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand

n understanding the risk o physical danger

Under this Act it is unlawul to discriminate against a disabledperson in employment and or an employer to ail to provideany necessary reasonable adjustments or disabled employeesand applicants.

The latest regulations, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995(Amendment) Regulations came into orce on 1 October 2004.They aim to make the law more inclusive and introducedcertain key amendments to the Act, including the removal o

the small business exemption or employers with ewer than15 employees and the extension o protection to certaincategories o employment.

Source: adapted from Chartered Institute of Personnel andDevelopment website



part one

24

m

Source: National Audit Office analysis of Jobcentre Plus and former Employment Service annual reports

NOTE

Expenditure is at 2003-04 prices, adjusted using the GDP deflator.Job Introduction Scheme expenditure is not separately analysed in the annual report. It is approximately 1 million per annum.

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

02000-01 2003-042001-02 2002-03

Remploy

Workstep (non Remploy)

Access to Work

New Deal for Disabled People

Work Preparation

Programme and scheme expenditure, 2000-01 to 2003-0411

000s

Source: National Audit Office analysis of Department for Work and Pensions data

NOTE

Figures for New Deal for Disabled People reflect current participation at 31 March, except for 2001-02 where this reflects the number of registrations in year.2002-03 Workstep (non Remploy) figure is an estimate based on 2001-02 and 2003-04 participant numbers.

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

02003-042001-02 2002-03

RemployWorkstep (non Remploy)

Access to Work

New Deal for Disabled People

Work Preparation

Job Introduction Scheme

Programme and scheme participant numbers, 2001-02 to 2003-0412



part one

25

1.22 Other Government departments and agencies

are directly or indirectly involved in the delivery o the

Departments programmes and schemes or disabled people

(Figure 13) as well as oering their own services which

are o particular beneit to the disabled population. For

example, the Department or Education and Skills Skills for

Life Strategy, provides ree literacy and numeracy courses

or which we ound a high demand in Remploy actories,

and the Department or Trade and Industry provides

business support via Business Linkor anyone, including

disabled people, interested in becoming sel-employed.

Scope o this examination1.23 Against this background, we examined whether

the Department or Work and Pensions employmentprogrammes and schemes or disabled people are eective

at getting disabled people into work and helping them

sustain and retain employment; as well as whether the

programmes and schemes are cost eective.

1.24 Our methodology is set out in Appendix 1. In

summary our work included:

n workshops with key stakeholders and practitioners;

n analysis o statistics and existing evaluations ogovernment programmes;

n visits to eight Jobcentre Plus oices and programme

providers in England;

n visits to three Remploy actories and two Managed

Services sites or CCTV;

n analysis o costs and outcomes data or Workstep

undertaken on our behal by Reckon a consultancy

irm specialising in regulation and com

nao repport, atw, 2005

Documents