What steps the Government are taking to ensure that people with learning difficulties are supported into work?
“Governments of all persuasions have tried and failed to shift the employability rate of those with learning disabilities from 6%. That rate is an absolute waste of the huge amounts of talent and enthusiasm that are out there.”
“When we talk about people with learning disabilities, we are talking about a huge range of individuals. We have not done enough for those who are at the highest-need end of that spectrum, and I hope we will be able to do more shortly.”
They are actually considering matters other than Brexit (!), and on Monday 20th February MPs considered the thorny issue of employment rates amongst the learning disabled, and the support given to people with learning disabilities. Typically, there was some cross-over in terminology, even when current and former ministers were speaking and there were references to learning disabilities and learning difficulties.
A transcript of the debate can be found here
It is hard to escape the conclusion that Justin Tomlinson was ‘teeing things up’ for Disabilities Minister Penny Mordaunt, who concluded the brief debate with the following: “I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the apprenticeship scheme. We wish to open up the opportunities such schemes bring to those with learning disabilities, and we are making good progress on that with the Department for Education, but we need to do other things as well. When we talk about people with learning disabilities, we are talking about a huge range of individuals. We have not done enough for those who are at the highest-need end of that spectrum, and I hope we will be able to do more shortly”.
Mordaunt stated: “The Green Paper consultation, which concluded on 17 February, asked a range of questions about how we can better support people into employment and has highlighted learning disabilities as an area for further work. We will bring forward shortly schemes to support this group in their ambitions.” Rescare will try to keep you updated…