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 ensure that Jobcentre Plus services meet the needs of disabled refugees.

DWP works with partners and services to meet the needs of disabled refugees. This includes working with Migrant Help, the Refugee Employment Network; Home Office refugee liaison officers; referring to alternative provisions including English language provision; and sign posting to the Home Office Refugee Employability Programme.

The Department is committed to promoting a just, equal, and inclusive society, ensuring independence and control for all customers, including disabled individuals and those with complex needs.

DWP provides a range of support to help refugees and those on Afghan and Ukraine Schemes to settle in the community and find work, including access to mainstream Jobcentre services which provide individually tailored benefit and work support.

Jobcentres also work locally with partners and employers to support this group into work. Connect to Work, part of the Government’s Get Britain Working strategy, will provide support to disabled people, people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment, including refugees and those on resettlement schemes, to get into work.

The Government is dedicated to championing the rights of disabled people and involving them in designing our reforms. All new Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisors receive training to support all claimants, with specialist support available from Disability Employment Advisers to tailor assistance for disabled customers. These advisers also offer direct support to those with long-term health conditions needing bespoke assistance

In addition, the Department will launch a new coaching academy to enhance the skills of Work Coaches and provide further support to customers, including those with disabilities. This initiative will be evaluated and reviewed regularly to ensure training remains relevant and effective.

Additional Work Coach Support provides disabled people and people with health conditions, with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into work. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales. This personalised support from Work Coaches aims to enable disabled people to access employment, wider support including our employment programmes earlier.