Think Work First: The Transition from Education to Work for Young Disabled People (Public Services Committee Report)

Lord Laming Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Grand Committee

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, at the outset, I once again emphasise how greatly the committee was helped by hearing from children with a disability and their parents. They very generously helped us to have an insight and to understand something of their experiences. That was so valuable.

It is worth while constantly reminding ourselves that childhood is a time of very great change and individual growth. It is the foundation of personal development. That being so, I am sure we all agree that, as a society, our aim should be for each and every child to have every opportunity to reach their full potential. Of course, change brings with it uncertainty, so it is not possible to predict what the outcome for each child may be. That said, sadly, there is often the temptation in some areas to make an assumption about the future prospects of each child. This especially applies to a child with a disability. Indeed, for children with a disability, sad to say, it is not unusual for a catalogue to be created from a very early age of things that they will never be able to do or skills that they will never possess. That is tragic.

This is why we should put in place, at a very early stage in a child’s life, both a personal development plan and a programme of support, for the child and their parents. The parents of a child with a disability often face very real challenges, so they deserve our support and encouragement. Alas, the evidence from the committee shows that, at best, the services provided for children with a disability and their parents are, to put it mildly, very patchy. Indeed, it is right to record that in some places, the services offered to children with a disability and their parents were seriously inadequate.

The movement from education to employment is a milestone in the life of every child. In the case of a child with a disability, it is a key stage in their development. In too many places, however, the arrangements are unpredictable, unreliable and negative. The good news, though, is that the committee heard of some heartwarming and outstanding work with children with a disability at this important stage in their lives. In each case, the good work was based on a vision and the determination to ensure that each child matters. In some areas, there was a well-developed plan of preparation for the transition from school to work in place for each child. In other areas, there was nothing.

Sadly, in other places, parents described the transition when their child left school as being like facing a frightening cliff edge. Too often, no preparation had been made, no plan had been created and no discussions with the adult services had taken place, as if they occupied a different place in the world. Due to this, parents described it as being like starting from scratch all over again. Although children’s services and adult services are provided by the same local authority, incredibly, that did not mean that these services were interested in communicating with each other or able to do so.

Children with a disability and their parents deserve better, especially at this critical time of transition. It seemed that in some places it was assumed that a child with a disability would simply be regarded as unemployable for the rest of their life on leaving school. This approach must be unacceptable, and I hope the Minister will take this point very seriously. The reality is that across the country, the number of children with a disability who are helped into employment is remarkably small. That being so, we should all set ourselves a challenge to demonstrate that there is an increase in the number of these children with a disability moving into employment each year. I am afraid this is a rather neglected field.

We need to be altogether much more ambitious. However, we can take encouragement because, despite all I have said, there is good news. The committee heard some evidence that was both inspiring and instructive of what can be done. I will refer to just one example, which is simple but telling. We heard that in one local authority area, the children’s services and the adult services worked together to organise a hub meeting, in which local employers and young people soon to leave school could meet in semi-social circumstances. The employers described their work and the employment possibilities, and then the children set out their skills and hopes for the future.

In one such meeting, an employer described the work of his recently created business. In doing so, he acknowledged that, because he was mainly concentrating on securing more customers and making the organisation grow, he sometimes failed to carefully manage the details of things such as ordering stock, cost control, staff hours worked et cetera. A pupil responded by saying that, despite his limitations because of his disability, he loved working on spreadsheets. The employer indicated that he had no experience in designing or working with spreadsheets and did not know how to engage in that area of work. The employer invited the young man to visit the workplace and explore together what might be possible. It was good to hear that the young man was offered a job but even better to hear that it completely transformed the lives of both the employer and the young man. The lesson from this and from a great deal of what we heard is that it can be done because it is being done in some places. The challenge, and the challenge for the Minister, is that each of us should do all we can to make sure that this is working everywhere in our society. As a nation we must rise to the challenge for the good of everyone.

I commend the important messages in this report—sadly, some are negative and things need to be rectified, but some are very hopeful. We can do it because it is being done. Let us just get on and do it. I hope that the Minister and others will take from this meeting that there is, with great ambition, great hope ahead.

As I will shortly be stepping down from the Public Services Committee, so ably chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Morris, I pay special tribute to the work of the administrative staff who are so competent and conscientious and such a pleasure to work with. I offer them my warmest thanks.