Welsh Governments Framework for Action on Independent Living

[Sian Morgan]

The Welsh Government took a very positive move last year by launching the Framework for Action on Independent Living and that was a first step on a long journey towards making social inclusion and equality a reality for people with disabilities in Wales.  But how will it happen?  I believe it’s going to take organisations working together in a collective way to play on each other’s strengths. 

Remploy employment services delivers welfare to work programmes with a focus around work choice, which is a voluntary programme for people with specific disabilities and in Wales last year we got 4,000 people back into employment.  Remploy is also heavily involved in project work with partners across Wales; the Joseph Rowntree Foundation produced statistics two years ago, which showed there was 235,000 adults of working age in Wales with a disability and a third of those want to be in paid employment.  So in addition to the welfare to work programmes that are in existence what more as an organisation could we be doing to draw on our skills and expertise in order to make a difference, working in parntnership we believed was and is the answer and we have taken very positive steps in Wales by working with organisations in order to implement projects that on our own we would not have been able to do.  I thought I would share some examples of projects we are running across Wales that you may not be aware of as individuals or organisations. 

The first one is Individual Placement Support, which provides support to people who have severe mental health issues, so they are the furthest away from the employment market.  We are delivering this programme in partnership with the mental health unit in Cardiff and we are extremely proud of this programme as over the last five years we’ve actually supported 83 people back into employment. 

The next two programmes, the Special Educational Needs programme and the Wellbeing through Work, would not happen I don’t believe without the support of ESF, they are ESF funded projects.  The Special Educational Needs programme is a local government programme, nine local authorities across Wales came together with the lead council being Caerphilly, we bid for this programme in partnership with the National Autistic Society to deliver support to young people on the autistic spectrum providing them with the opportunity to experience work via work trials.  Over eighteen months we have supported 50 young people via work trails.  This programme has a knock on effect because it’s not just about the individual it’s about the family unit and the impact that has for the family as a whole, but also from an employer’s perspective they get to understand how they need to approach and work with young people who have got autistic requirements. 

Wellbeing through Work is a European funded project delivered in certain regions within convergence and again that is being delivered with the Abertawe Morgannwg Trust Health Board.  We are working with people who are on long-term sick and helping them get back into employment but also working with individuals who are on the verge of going off on long-term sick, so we can support them and help them remain in employment.  We can also, if the individual wishes, because it is a very confidential one to one support service, work with the employer so the employer will understand the terms and conditions that they need to have in place in order for that person to either return or remain in employment. 

Finally, work based learning.  When I came into post last year I was really keen to start talking to providers in Wales about the delivery of work based learning, jobs growth Wales, apprenticeships, traineeships, to see where Remploy could actually add some value to delivery and help support individuals they may be working with who have a disability or a health condition. People with disabilities stand a far better chance of employment if they have a qualification, so it makes sense for us to share our expertise with providers in Wales in order to help increase the opportunities across Wales for people with disabilities; we are already starting to make progress in this area but still have a long way to go......