Executive Summary
Following the publication of the Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee report in December 2006, Removing Barriers and Creating Opportunities, the Scottish Government in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA) and the Scottish Union of Supported Employment ( SUSE) set up a strategic Task Group on Supported Employment. The Task Group worked with a broad range of stakeholders on the development of a Supported Employment Framework for Disabled People in Scotland.
This Framework focuses on how Scottish Government policies can help support disabled people into sustainable work in mainstream employment. It recognises that successful implementation must be underpinned by effective partnership working both at a national and local level. Consistency of delivery model, service standards, workforce training and sustainable funding are also crucial to its success. The Framework acknowledges the wider employability context and recognises the UK programmes that are already funded by the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP).
There is also a need to ensure that those who are already engaged in the delivery of supported employment services are adhering to the 3 Principles of Supported Employment.
These are:
- The job should be in an integrated work place
- The jobholder is paid the rate for the job
- All individuals have the right to end their reliance on welfare benefits i.e. reduce poverty.
The Task Group recognised the importance of ensuring that lessons from its work for disabled people 1 are applied to policy and practice which is supporting other vulnerable and disadvantaged people into work. For example, people with multiple complex needs that span health and social care and can lead to limited participation in society. However the primary focus of its work was to provide a framework that supports disabled people through effective interventions into sustainable work in the open labour market. This should help them to realise their potential and to end their dependency of benefits.
With the aggregate employment rate of less than 50% 2 for disabled people compared to an overall employment rate of just fewer than 76% 3 for the general population, it is clear that not all disabled people are getting access to job opportunities. With an economic downturn and an increasingly tight labour market, it is likely that disabled people will be affected adversely in the labour market. The temptation would be to do nothing and wait for the upturn before disabled people can move up the jobs queue. However, such an approach is not consistent with an inclusive approach and it makes no economic sense to write-off people due to their disability.
Disabled people need the support of agencies more than ever before and given that there is a commitment to joint working this is an opportunity that must not and can not be wasted. Only when we are able to view people for their ability can we begin to fully realise the overall purpose of sustainable economic growth, where all of Scotland's people are able to flourish and realise their potential.
The Framework advocates the use of a staged approach that can integrate with mainstream provision and support individuals who face complex barriers. The challenge is to ensure ownership from Community Planning Partnerships ( CPPs) 4; recognising the contributions of various organisations along the different stages. Many organisations may be equipped to undertake all aspects of the Supported Employment approach but it is possible for it to be successful in a multi partnership approach. However, using the supported employment model may lead to changes in service provision.
Commissioners of services need to determine how they can make the best use of existing funding that can support their clients into activity which can help them move along the employability pathway and closer to work. All of which must, of course, be underpinned by clear informed choices from the individual. This is why the Framework supports the principle of improved quality standards and accredited training for staff that can help them fully develop the necessary skills in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society.
A scoping exercise on Supported Employment provision undertaken by the Scottish Government's Joint Improvement Team identified the wide variations in service delivery. Services must be aligned to ensure there is a geographic consistency for people to be supported effectively. The changes to current delivery will take time. The Framework recognises this and is keen to adopt and develop a step change.
We must look to raise the standards of service and the Framework intends to introduce a self evaluation process. Initially every organisation delivering supported employment services will be encouraged to undertake self-evaluation to establish how it is meeting the principles of Supported Employment.
Services must also be in alignment with the needs of employers as they ultimately provide the employment opportunity, and the inclusion of employer engagement is seen as vital within the self assessment and job role specifications.
In the longer term the aim would be that the self-evaluations should be subject to peer evaluations but before that can be done the standards need to be embedded and widely used. In the short to medium term the self-evaluations need to be externally evaluated and funders and commissioners of supported employment services should give careful consideration to how they can support organisations to undertake informed self-evaluations.
Much of the current interventions to assist people into employment is driven by DWP and takes the form of specific programmes. The Task Group acknowledged that while there has been substantial investment by both the UK Government and the Scottish Government in employment initiatives, there continues to be challenges in providing support for those furthest from the labour market who have severe disabilities or long-term health conditions. This large and very diverse group of people tend to get caught in the training cycle, rarely making the transition from training into employment. The challenge for them moving into work becomes greater with each unsuccessful intervention, and the Task Group is keen to ensure interventions are consistent and person-centred.
Given pressures on central and local government budgets and reductions and diversifications of European and Lottery funding there is a greater challenge for supported employment services in the future. It is likely that no new money will be available for Supported Employment services. The challenge is to use the money already invested in local employability services, existing Supported Employment services and health and social care services in more effective and creative ways that will target those who have employment as a real aspiration and to enable benefit from the flow back to allow additional released resource into more supported employment provision. It would seem appropriate that Scotland's Framework for Supported Employment should aim to replicate the international level of employment outcomes being achieved, of 50%.
It is therefore crucial that Community Planning Partners take a strategic look at how disabled unemployed people are supported into work and should not rule out investments in supported employment which, at face value, can look expensive, but which will have significant long-term gains. Existing provision can be more effectively developed to achieve better outcomes for both the individuals and the services. It will need an examination of social care service arrangements to ensure a focus on employment outcomes for disabled people and those with long term conditions.
The responsibility for supporting disabled people into employment cannot be held by a single agency, it must be a collective responsibility of all Community Planning Partners including the Third and Private Sectors. The partnership approach to delivery, coupled with the dynamics of various funding sources is best placed to ensure positive employment outcomes. There are significant business benefits in approaching supported employment in this way as it avoids duplication, reduces bureaucracy and provides a single approach to the individual's employment journey.
This Framework is aimed at Supported Employment provision delivered by Community Planning Partnerships ( CPPs), Local Authorities and the Third Sector. The Framework recognises the role of DWP in helping disabled people back into work and aims to complement and add value to DWP programmes. A Framework and set of quality standards already exists for all DWP provision through its contracts with providers so this Framework does not apply to DWP provision.
This Framework seeks to ensure harmonisation within a single local arrangement to ensure most effective use of resources and improved outcomes for both the funders and the individuals seeking employment. A Programme Board will be set up to oversee and support the implementation of the Framework.