SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT FRAMEWORK - JOINT FOREWORD
National and local government are committed to creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish. In order to achieve this we need to ensure that people who can work, and want to, are given the opportunity to do so. We know, however, that for many disabled people there continue to be barriers which deny them this opportunity.
To remove these barriers we must be committed to working together and to share the joint vision of a healthier, fairer, smarter and more successful Scotland. Only through partnership working can we make the changes needed to deliver real benefits for those disabled people in our society.
This Framework sets out our shared determination for supporting disabled people, who want to work, into employment. At its heart is the desire to see a more consistent, person-centred approach to supporting those who want to work. It advocates a particular model of supported employment which involves a staged approach of progression for the individual. This will be tested in different areas across Scotland and we will use the lessons learned to inform and shape future practice. The Framework also sets out how we, and the organisations we represent, aim to improve the skills of the workforce, improve standards and quality of provision, and develop sustainable funding proposals.
The Scottish Government and COSLA have worked together with a wide variety of partners to develop this framework. We want to record our thanks to all those who participated in the Task Group that supported this process and who contributed their expertise, either through membership of the Group or the workstream groups, or by providing material to support and inform discussions.
The publication of this Framework is an important milestone in an ongoing partnership between the Scottish Government and COSLA. Not only does it mark the culmination of a lot of hard work carried out over the last year, more importantly it represents a starting point for us and our partners in moving towards a more consistent service model of supported employment. We are committed to achieving equality for all and this Framework sets out how we will work together to improve opportunities in the labour market for disabled people in Scotland.
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Keith Brown MSP
Minister for Skills and
Lifelong Learning | Shona Robison MSP
Minister for Public
Health and Sport | Alex Neil MSP
Minister for Housing
and Communities | Councillor Ronnie McColl
COSLA Spokesperson on
Health and Wellbeing |