Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Access to Work Hidden Impairment Specialist Team in (a) advising employers on supporting employees diagnosed with autism, (b) offering autistic people an assessment of their needs at work and (c) helping to develop support plans for those people.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Last year, the Access to Work Hidden Impairment Specialist team helped 2,150 people, which includes people with Autism. This number has been continually increasing since the team was introduced in 2014/2015, when 1,160 people were helped.
People with hidden impairments are offered an Access to Work holistic workplace assessment to identify the type of help they require in the workplace. Following this assessment, the Access to Work adviser will work with both the employer and customer to develop support plans where appropriate
In November, we published Access to Work: Qualitative research with applicants, employers and delivery staff, which found that workplace assessment experiences tended to be very positive. Although we don’t have separate findings for autistic people, employers and applicants felt that assessments were comprehensive and appropriate, and conducted sensitively. Many applicants talked about how the recommendations and advice given during the assessment alone had enlightened them about the support available for their condition and small changes they could make in the workplace which went a long way in improving their workplace experience. Applicants that were previously too nervous to ask their employer for (even ‘light touch’) adjustments felt the expert ‘stamp of approval’ via the assessment helped them to approach their employer and empowered them to ask for changes.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the steps that her Department has taken to provide employers with the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to employ people with autism.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government is strongly committed to working with employers to improve their approach to employing disabled people, including those with autism. For example:
We have not made any assessment of the effect of these policies and initiatives on employers’ skills and knowledge in respect of employing people with autism in particular.
Overall, the number of working age disabled people in employment in the UK reached around 3.9 million in Q3 2018. This was an increase of 123,000 since Q3 2017, and an overall increase of 973,000 since Q3 2013, the earliest comparable figure.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Disability Confident scheme on the gap between the number of people in employment (a) with autism and (b) in the general population.
Answered by Sarah Newton
We have not made any assessment of Disability Confident on the autism employment gap.
Disability Confident promotes to employers the many benefits of employing disabled people, including individuals with Autism and Neuro-diverse conditions. The scheme provides free information, advice and guidance to help them to do this. Over 10,000 businesses have signed up to the disability Confident scheme since it was launched in November 2016.
The Disability Confident Autism and Neurodiversity Toolkit was developed with support from disabled people with neuro-diverse conditions, medical professionals and disability organisations such as Autism Alliance UK and Autism Plus. It is designed to help to raise awareness and understanding, within DWP and across the wider Civil Service, about Autism Spectrum Disorders and neuro-diverse conditions.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help young people diagnosed with autism into work in (a) Bristol and (b) the UK.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Jobcentre Plus partnership managers work with a range of organisations across Bristol to ensure we can hear the voice of the customer and to work collaboratively to address and remove barriers to employment.
Throughout the country, Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches offer people with disabilities and health conditions, including autism, tailored support to reduce barriers to work and help them into work. Work Coaches are trained in dealing with customers with a range of conditions, including autism, and have access to a range of resources, including an autism learning toolkit, free online courses, training for managers, guidance on reasonable adjustments, and employer guides. Work Coaches are supported by Disability Employment Advisers and DWP Work Psychologists, who can also directly support customers, and advised by Community Partners, who have a lived experience or expert knowledge of disability.
Nationally, there is a range of support available for young people with autism, including:
We are also improving access to apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities and difficulties. For example, the government has introduced legislation which adjusts the minimum English and Maths requirements for apprenticeships for people with a learning difficulty or disability to entry Level 3. This change allows more people to benefit from the opportunities available through apprenticeships and work.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the rate of retention in employment of people with autism.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government is strongly committed to increasing employment opportunities for disabled people, including those with autism, and improving employment retention rates. We are working across Government and with local authorities, voluntary organisations and employers in the public and private sectors to achieve this. Help and support for people with autism includes:
The Civil Service has committed to support the Autism Exchange Programme, and my Department is working with Ambitious about Autism to provide work placement opportunities for young people.
The number of working age disabled people in employment in the UK reached around 3.9 million in Q3 2018. This was an increase of 123,000 since Q3 2017, and an overall increase of 973,000 since Q3 2013, the earliest comparable figure.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Work Choice support programme in helping autistic people to (a) find, (b) keep and (c) make progress in a job.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Work Choice was designed to help individuals whose needs cannot be met through other DWP employment programmes and who need more specialised support to find employment or to keep a job once they have started work. Work Choice referrals have now ended in all parts of England and Wales, and service delivery will end by 31 March 2019. The Work & Health Programme, which rolled out in England and Wales between November 2017 and March 2018, builds on lessons learnt from both Work Choice and the Work Programme.
Work Choice performance data allows us to monitor both short job outcomes (employment lasting at least 13 weeks) and sustained job outcomes (employment lasting at least 26 weeks) where the tailored support assists participants in achieving these. Work Choice official statistics are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/work-choice-referrals-starts-and-job-outcomes-to-june-2018.
Since 25th October 2015, Work Choice participants could voluntarily declare to their Work Coach that they had an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to allow providers to recognise their support requirements. A declaration of autism was recorded separately from individuals’ primary health condition. As these declarations are voluntary, we cannot be sure that they account for all Work Choice participants with ASD.
For participants who have declared this information, the below data table shows the number of starts per year and the proportion of these starts that have since achieved a short job outcome (employment lasting at least 13 weeks) and a sustained job outcome (employment lasting at least 26 weeks). These data are a subset of the official Work Choice statistics.
| Individuals who declared autism | ||||
| Number of starts | Of which have achieved a short job outcome | Of which have achieved a sustained job outcome | ||
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Latest year available: |
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Jul-17 to Jun-18 (for starts) | 670 |
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Jul-16 to Jun-17 (for short job outcomes) | 1,120 | 430 | 38% |
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Jul-15 to Jun-16 (for sustained) | 530 |
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| 140 | 26% |
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Financial years: |
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2015/16 (Nov to Mar) | 290 | 120 | 44% | 80 | 27% |
2016/17 | 1,090 | 420 | 38% |
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2017/18 | 940 |
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Source: Provider Referrals and Payments system (PRaP)
Notes:
- Work Choice performance data for a particular cohort of starts are only comparable once we have given sufficient time from the end of that period for all of the starts to have received the tailored support from the programme and to have achieved the job outcomes. This means that the latest available data for numbers of starts is July 2017 to June 2018, for short job outcome rates is July 2016 to June 2017, and for sustained job outcome rates is July 2015 to June 2016.
- The definition of short job outcomes changed slightly in November 2015. Therefore, short job outcome rates are not available for the July 2015 to June 2016 cohort and for the 2015/16 financial year they are only available from November 2015 to March 2016.
- Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Specialist Employability Support programme on the employment outcomes of autistic people.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Specialist Employability Support (SES) is a pan-disability employment programme providing specialist personalised employment support for around 1,700 participants with complex barriers to employment, including Autism Spectrum Disorders, each year. Individuals with autism may request that specific referral opportunities are used for their referral to SES, to allow providers to recognise their support requirements.
The Government confirmed in ‘Improving Lives, The Future of Work, Health and Disability’, published in December 2017, that it is currently exploring the best policy options for continuing to support those with greatest needs and most complex situations, once the SES contracts come to an end.
We have not made any formal assessment of SES programme including on the employment outcomes of autistic people but we continue to gather information and evidence including lessons learnt for developing our future support.
DWP has recently completed negotiations with SES providers to extend referrals to the programme to end 2019 to ensure continuous provision for this customer group whilst future support is put in place.
The number of working age disabled people in employment in the UK reached around 3.9 million in Q3 2018. This was an increase of 123,000 since Q3 2017, and an overall increase of 973,000 since Q3 2013, the earliest comparable figure.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of the effect on the autism employment gap of the Disability Confident Autism and Neurodiversity Toolkit.
Answered by Sarah Newton
We have not made any assessment of the effect the Disability Confident Autism and Neurodiversity Toolkit has had on the autism employment gap.
The toolkit was developed with support from disabled people with neuro-diverse conditions, medical professionals and disability organisations such as Autism Alliance UK and Autism Plus. It is designed to help to raise awareness and understanding, within DWP and across the wider Civil Service, about Autism Spectrum Disorders and neuro-diverse conditions.
Disability Confident promotes the many benefits of employing disabled people including individuals with autism and neuro-diverse conditions. The scheme provides free information, advice and guidance for employers.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on the autism employment gap of the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Sarah Newton
We have made no assessment of the effect of Access to Work on the employment rate of people with autism.
Data on people with Autism Spectrum Disorders is not routinely disaggregated within Access to Work statistics. The primary medical condition categories used in Access to Work are consistent with the categories used in the Labour Force Survey. This is so we can compare our data to the disability employment rate.
When a person with autism applies to Access to Work for support, it will be for particular conditions, such as difficulty in speaking, learning difficulties, etc., rather than ‘autism’.
This will be recorded as the individual’s primary medical condition in the Access to Work database, even if it’s linked to their autism
Access to Work has a specialist Hidden Impairments team who receive upskilling and awareness from organisations who have expertise of autism to ensure that advisors have a broad understanding of the barriers individuals with autism face.
The official statistics published on 30th October 2018 provide the latest information on the Access to Work scheme, including breakdowns by customer characteristics such as primary medical condition. They may be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2018
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the level of successful collections of child maintenance for (a) employed payees and (b) self employed payees.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Child Maintenance Service includes two service types: ‘Direct Pay’ where payments are arranged and agreed between parents, and ‘Collect & Pay’ where payments are collected and paid to the receiving parent by Child Maintenance Service.
The Department does not record data for direct pay compliance. If the paying parent does not pay they can be moved onto the Collect and Pay at the discretion of the child maintenance service. The department does hold data on the compliance of Collect and Pay arrangements. Please refer to Table 7 of the Child Maintenance Service Statistics.
Data on compliance is recorded separately to data on employment status and cannot be easily linked. The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
The Child Maintenance Service Statistics can be found here: