Some 45,000 disabled people will miss out on specialist employment support each year because of cuts to funding, according to new research.
A report commissioned by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), the body representing employment support providers, argues that the move from the Work Programme to the new Work and Health Programme will see the number of disabled people accessing contracted support drop by almost half.
It predicts that the number of disabled people accessing contracted support through the new programme between 2017-2020 will be 160,000 - down from the 300,000 who reeived support in 2012-15.
Support available to close the employment gap for those with disabilities will be worth less than £130 million in the first year of the new programme, compared to £750 million in 2013-14, according to the report. And the funding drop could be exacerbated if more than £500 million of European Social Funding for employment and skills provision is not fully replaced from 2020, it adds.
“In each year of the remainder of this Parliament, 45,000 fewer disabled people will have access to specialist contracted employment support,” the report concludes, adding this equates to only one in eight unemployed disabled people wishing to work receiving specialist help.
Halving the disability employment gap by 2020 was a Conservative Party general election manifesto pledge in 2015. In July, research by the Learning and Work Institute concluded that fulfilling the election pledge would take more than 200 years at the current rate of progress.
Kirsty McHugh, chief executive of ERSA, said: “We know that good quality frontline provision can provide help to more disabled jobseekers, but only if it is given the funding to do so. Turning the government’s plans into more than words would be good for businesses, communities, disabled people and the economy - let’s make sure it happens.”
Matthew Oakley, director of WPI Economics and author of the report, said: “If the government is serious about its ambitions on disability employment, it needs to take bold action now. A vital first step should be to reverse decisions made by the previous chancellor and double the number of disabled people with access to specialist employment support in this Parliament. Although this will not alone halve the disability employment gap, it will send a clear signal of the government’s intent and could lead to 30,000 more disabled people in work and net benefits to the exchequer of £280 million.”
FE SPECIAL OFFER: click here to try out a TES Further Education subscription for just £1 for 4 weeks.
Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow TES FE News on Twitter, like us on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn
