The government announced an independent review (to be conducted by Liz Sayce) of employment support for disabled people, and issued a call for evidence.
Source: Specialist Disability Employment Support: A Call for Evidence, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Call for evidence | Hansard | DWP press release
Date: 2010-Dec
Researchers examined the operation of the work capability assessment from a customer and staff perspective, and highlighted a number of implications for policy. Many claimants would benefit from the provision of additional support in completing the application form for employment and support allowance.
Source: Helen Barnes, Jane Aston and Ceri Williams, Employment and Support Allowance: Customer and Staff Experiences of the Face-to-Face Work Capability Assessment and Work-Focused Health-Related Assessment, Research Report 719, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Notes: The work capability assessment is used to assess entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA). ESA was introduced in October 2008, replacing incapacity benefit.
Date: 2010-Dec
A report examined measures used across the European Union to promote the mobility and integration of people with disabilities within the labour market. People with disabilities faced low employment rates, high dependence on benefits, and an increased poverty risk.
Source: Werner Eichhorst et al., The Mobility and Integration of People with Disabilities into the Labour Market, Research Report 29, Institute for the Study of Labor
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Dec
A report evaluated the Workable (NI) Programme – a Northern Ireland programme designed to provide appropriate support for people with disabilities to integrate into the workplace and to assist employers meet their statutory obligations. It was recommended that a set of targets and key performance indicators be developed for the programme.
Source: KPMG, Evaluation of the Workable (NI) Programme, Northern Ireland Executive
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Nov
The report was published of an independent review of the work capability assessment (design to assess claimants' fitness for work). The recommendations included: dealing with the complexities of cases involving mental health and similar issues by creating a network of 'mental health, intellectual and cognitive champions'; strengthening the checks and balances in the system by placing the Jobcentre Plus decision-maker at the heart of the process; improving communications and the level of support provided to those who underwent a WCA; and ensuring that the assessment was transparent by, subject to an initial pilot, recording all assessments. The government said that it would accept all the recommendations from the review.
Source: Malcolm Harrington, An Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Government response | Hansard | DWP press release | Labour Party press release | CMH press release | Citizens Advice press release | Disability Alliance press release | Mencap press release | Mind press release | RCPsych press release | Sane press release | Scope press release | SNP press release | TUC press release | Turning Point press release | Community Care report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Nov
An article examined attempts by disabled employees to negotiate workplace adjustments, and associated issues of workplace representation. Despite the role played by disability-related organizations in supporting employees, trade unions were the only workplace actors that were capable of reconfiguring the 'personal as political' and integrating disability concerns into wider organizational agendas.
Source: Deborah Foster and Patricia Fosh, 'Negotiating "difference": representing disabled employees in the British workplace', British Journal of Industrial Relations, Volume 48 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Oct
A report said that social enterprises working with disabled learners provided high-quality work-based learning and supportive working terms and conditions, meeting any extra costs by reinvesting surplus income earned through their commercial activities.
Source: Rob Gray and Caroline Law, A Job Well Done: Social enterprises and the learning and skills sector – A partnership for the education, training and employment of disabled people, Young People's Learning Agency
Links: Report | NIACE press release
Date: 2010-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Pathways to Work programme (designed to help reduce the number of incapacity benefit claimants through targeted support and an earlier medical assessment) had not been well implemented, and had had limited impact. Early medical assessments appeared to have had some success in moving people off incapacity benefits – although the Department did not monitor whether all these people moved into work or on to other benefits. In other areas money had not been spent effectively. Private providers had seriously underperformed against their contracts and their success rates were worse than those of Jobcentre Plus – even though private contractors worked in easier areas with fewer incapacity claimants and higher demand for labour.
Source: Support to Incapacity Benefits Claimants Through Pathways to Work, First Report (Session 2010-11), HC 404, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2010-Sep
Researchers examined how organizations were responding to the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Acts of 1995 and 2005. Awareness of the provisions designed to protect against discrimination in employment and recruitment had fallen in 2009 to 76 per cent of employers, compared with 80 per cent in 2006.
Source: Sara Dewson et al., Organisations' Responses to the Disability Discrimination Act: 2009 Study, Research Report 685, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2010-Sep
An independent review (chaired by Malcolm Harrington) called for evidence on the methods used to assess the work fitness of those claiming incapacity-related benefits.
Source: The Work Capability Assessment: A Call for Evidence, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Call for evidence | Mind press release | Telegraph report | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Jul
Three linked research reports examined the implementation of 'Provider-led Pathways' – the final, national roll-out of the 'Pathways to Work' initiative for incapacity benefit recipients that was first introduced in 2003 in seven pilot areas.
Source: Rosalind Tennant, Mehul Kotecha and Nilufer Rahim, Provider-led Pathways: Experiences and Views of Implementation in Phase 2 Districts, Research Report 643, Department for Work and Pensions | Katharine Nice and Jacqueline Davidson, Provider-led Pathways: Experiences and Views of Condition Management Programmes, Research Report 644, Department for Work and Pensions | Elizabeth Becker, Oliver Hayllar and Martin Wood, Pathways to Work: Programme Engagement and Work Patterns – Findings from follow-up surveys of new and repeat and existing incapacity benefits customers in the Jobcentre Plus pilot and expansion areas, Research Report 653, Department for Work and Pensions Links: Report (1) | Summary (1) | Report (2) | Summary (2) | Report (3) | Summary (3)
Date: 2010-Jul
A report for the equal rights watchdog examined recent statistics and literature on policy and initiatives in the field of disability, skills, and employment.
Source: Sheila Riddell, Sheila Edward, Elisabet Weedon and Linda Ahlgren, Disability, Skills and Employment: A review of recent statistics and literature on policy and initiatives, Research Report 59, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jul
The new coalition government announced a new work support programme for severely disabled people. The new programme, called 'Work Choice', would be introduced from 25 October 2010. It would seek to help disabled people who faced the most complex and long-term barriers to employment and who might require high-intensity support in the workplace.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 27 July 2010, column 91WS, House of Commons Hansard/TSO
Links: Hansard
Date: 2010-Jul
A paper examined wage gaps for disabled men after the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act. For physically disabled workers, most of the wage gap could be attributed to differences in productivity: for mentally disabled people, no evidence was found of wage discrimination.
Source: Simonetta Longhi, Cheti Nicoletti and Lucinda Platt, Interpreting Wage Gaps of Disabled Men: The roles of productivity and discrimination, Working Paper 2010-19, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex
Links: Working paper | Abstract
Date: 2010-Jun
An audit report said that the Pathways to Work programme (designed to reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefits and help them into work) had had a 'limited impact' and provided poor value for money.
Source: Support to Incapacity Benefits Claimants Through Pathways to Work, HC 21 (Session 2010-11), National Audit Office/TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-May
An article described a cost analysis of an employment programme for people claiming incapacity benefits that was delivered locally by contracted providers called 'job brokers'. The cost analysis found great variation among job brokers' costs and profitability, much of which seemed attributable to differences in job broker size.
Source: David Greenberg and Abigail Davis, 'Learning from cost analyses: an illustration from the UK's New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP)', Public Money and Management, Volume 30 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-May
An article estimated the effect of increases in age on a variety of health problems that affected paid work. There was considerable diversity in the relationships between age and the reported prevalence of health problems.
Source: Imanol Nunez, 'The effects of age on health problems that affect the capacity to work: an analysis of United Kingdom labour-force data', Ageing and Society, Volume 30 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Apr
A special issue of a journal examined the issues of health and employability, and in particular the associated challenges for the incapacity benefits system.
Source: Policy Studies, Volume 31 Issue 2
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2010-Mar
An article examined the replacement of incapacity benefit by the employment and support allowance, from a public health perspective. It said that this change represented a broader international transformation from welfare to workfare states, the re-emergence of labour discipline, and a political shift in how people suffering from ill-health were categorized as disabled or not and perceived as 'deserving' or 'undeserving' of state support.
Source: Clare Bambra and Katherine Smith, 'No longer deserving? Sickness benefit reform and the politics of (ill) health', Critical Public Health, Volume 20 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Mar
The Scottish Government published a framework designed to support disabled people into paid work.
Source: A Working Life for All Disabled People: The Supported Employment Framework for Scotland – Main report, Scottish Government
Links: Report | Summary | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2010-Feb
A report presented findings from a survey of new and repeat incapacity benefits claimants in Pathways to Work 'expansion areas'. 53 per cent of expansion areas claimants lived in the most deprived fifth of areas, compared with 36 per cent of pilot areas customers: they were also generally in worse health, and less likely to be in work.
Source: Oliver Hayllar, Tanja Sejersen and Martin Wood, Pathways to Work: The Experiences of New and Repeat Customers in Jobcentre Plus Expansion Areas, Research Report 627, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2010-Feb
The inspectorate for education and children's services highlighted the variety of approaches that a range of organizations had developed to help disabled people gain employment. The most effective 'Workstep' providers actively promoted the valuable skills disabled people could bring to the workplace, helping to break down myths about the roles disabled people could perform.
Source: Improving Progression to Unsupported Employment: A review of strategies developed by Workstep providers, HMI 080258, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | New Start report
Date: 2010-Feb
A report examined the influence of outcome-based contracting on the delivery of provider-led Pathways to Work projects. Although in principle prime providers had the scope to be innovative in service delivery, they felt that they lacked the resources to do much beyond making efficiency savings. This reinforced concern that the contracts did not reflect an expectation that providers would work with harder-to-help claimants.
Source: Maria Hudson, Joan Phillips, Kathryn Ray, Sandra Vegeris and Rosemary Davidson, The Influence of Outcome-Based Contracting on Provider-Led Pathways to Work, Research Report 638, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release | PSI press release
Date: 2010-Feb
A study of women claiming incapacity benefits said that women were being pushed out of the labour market and on to benefits as a result of job losses among men.
Source: Christina Beatty, Steve Fothergill, Donald Houston, Ryan Powell and Paul Sissons, Women on Incapacity Benefits, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research/Sheffield Hallam University
Links: Report | CRESR press release | New Start report | People Management report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2010-Jan
A study examined the customer experience of WORKSTEP (a programme designed to help disabled people find and retain work). The majority of survey participants reported being satisfied with the WORKSTEP support and their work situation.
Source: Ann Purvis, Rebecca Law and James Lowrey, WORKSTEP Customer Survey, Research Report 622, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Summary | DWP press release
Date: 2010-Jan
The government began an evidence-gathering exercise on the future of the Pathways to Work programme (providing back-to-work support for claimants of employment support allowance and incapacity benefit).
Source: Review of Support for Disabled Customers and Customers with a Health Condition, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2010-Jan