A-million-futures-halving-the-disability-employment-gap.pdf?ext=

i. Continuity of support:Disabled people should not beforced to go without support forindefinite time periods if theychallenge their WCA decision.However disabled people shouldbe given every opportunity toensure their assessment reflectsthe barriers they experience ingetting into employment, andgiven enough time to make thenecessary plans in the case ofan adverse decision.3. Opening up the marketof employment supportBeyond DWP programmes,there is also a separate layerof employment support beingprovided at local level – yetthese services are under threat.These specialist organisations –notably those run by disabledpeople themselves – operateat local level and are oftenextremely well placed to addressthe barriers disabled peopleface. [71] They have strong linksinto the local economy,understand the specific barriersfacing disabled people, and areoften better able to innovatethan larger providers.Yet thereare challenges for theseorganisations to deliverwithin the current commissioningframework.Funding available throughcouncils is significantly underthreat. Recent research by theNational Development Team forInclusion (NDTi) found that athird of councils have reducedtheir funding for employment;a further quarter have notincreased their funding despitethe ongoing impact of welfarereforms. [72] Supporting DisabledPeople’s Organisations (DPOs)and other smaller organisationsto be able to provideemployment support will be acrucial part of redesigning thesystem.Small organisations also facechallenges trying to engage withmainstream programmes suchas the Work Programme. If DWPwish to engage with providerslike Disabled People’s User LedOrganisations (DPULOs), moresupport needs to be in place.This is likely to include at leastsome support prior to thetendering process, such as thepre-tendering informationworkshops held by theMinistry of Justice during thecommissioning of theirprobation services.As such, Scope believes thatDWP should explore thepossibility of creating a new fund,separate from mainstreamprogramme funding, which isexplicitly intended to encourageproviders to pilot newapproaches, scale up existingservices, and, crucially, allowproviders and others to collectgood quality data on ‘whatworks’.Recommendations:•The next Government shouldintroduce large-scale pilots ofthe use of personal budgets inemployment support, preferablyapplying Randomised ControlTrial(RCT) methodologies to theevaluation.•The next Government shouldset up a national board to driveforward the personalisationagenda in employment support,modelled on the Think Local,Act Personal partnership.•The next Government shoulddevelop a revised nationalcommissioning strategy thatcreates the framework for thetransition to personal budgets.•The next Government shouldintervene to open up the marketin employment support bysetting aside a dedicatedinnovation fund for DisabledPeople’s Organisations.•All political parties should setout in manifestos the principlesand approaches of how they willreform the Work CapabilityAssessment as a priority in thenext Parliament.•The Government should investin expanding the network ofspecialist employment advisorsfor disabled people.30 31