Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People:
Areas for more detailed analysis
The Strategy Unit identified a number of areas on which it focused the
majority of its analysis in Phase Two of the project. These areas were:
(1) key transition points that may be faced by disabled people at
different points in the life cycle ; and
(2) common themes that apply across these transition points and more
generally.
The barriers faced by disabled people at each transition point can be
especially pervasive, and their impact especially significant in terms of
their effect on subsequent life chances; while the common themes help to
provide a focus for more cross-cutting issues, and mean that an
artificially linear approach is avoided.
The transition points identified by the Strategy Unit are:
Early intervention for disabled children
800,000 children under the age of 16 report having a limiting long-standing
illness - and this age group has seen the fastest growth in reported rates
of limiting long-standing illness over the last 30 years. These children
can become disabled by any of a number of barriers. And we also need to
consider non-disabled children who are particularly at risk of becoming
disabled later in life.
Disability among children is closely associated with child poverty, with
low educational attainment and hence with reduced life chances. This makes
early and effective intervention very important. There is good evidence of
the merits of early intervention in education, health / social care and
health screening / treatment. But there appear to be a number of systemic
barriers and specific problems that are hampering early intervention, and
that need to be overcome.
Disabled people's transition from childhood to adulthood
This period is critical to the life chances of any individual. Disabled
people may face a particularly important set of issues at this age -
leaving full-time education, perhaps for Further Education, Higher
Education or employment; leaving residential care or the parental home and
seeking to live independently; moving from children's social care to
adult social care; developing new hopes and interests.
A number of measures are in place to facilitate this transition. These
include laws to require transition planning in education, 'reasonable
adjustments' in FE and HE institutions, the Disabled Students'
Allowance and 'Connexions Partnerships'. But there is evidence to
suggest that - collectively - these are not working as effectively as they
should be, and disabled people are still facing difficulties.
Preparation for and prevention of disability in adults
Most disabled people become disabled during their adult life. We know quite
a lot about the onset of disability, and in particular about those
population groups that are most at risk of becoming disabled - the risk
varies by age, income, educational attainment, occupation and ethnic
grouping. We also have similar information about those most at risk of
being severely disadvantaged by disability.
In principle this information could be used to target early intervention
which may in some cases prevent a person from becoming disabled, by
removing those barriers that would otherwise have been disabling - there is
no reason why physical or mental impairment should inevitably lead to a
person becoming disabled. In other cases, even if barriers cannot be
removed, the degree of disadvantage could be significantly reduced through
effective preparation and through early identification of an effective
rehabilitation programme.
Routes into work for disabled people
Some disabled adults have never worked; others have been in work but have
then lost their jobs, often as a result of disability. Employment rates for
disabled people are much lower than for non-disabled people - and are
especially low for certain groups, such as those with mental health
conditions or learning difficulties. Many economically inactive disabled
people want to work - but the reality is that many spend long periods away
from employment.
Many disabled people are supported into work by mainstream employment
programmes, and Government also has several specific programmes in place to
help disabled people get back into work. These range from training
programmes to focused assistance with job-search, and from benefit / tax
credit incentives to the 'Access to Work' grant scheme. Key issues
to address include:
-
the extent to which these programmes are providing disabled people -
and prospective employers - with the right support at
the right time, as needs and circumstances change;
-
the extent to which they are working together in a coherent way; and
-
the extent to which the right balance of programmes is in place.
The role of employers - their rights and responsibilities alongside those
of individuals, the voluntary sector and government
The role of employers - the 'demand side' of the labour market -
has not been fully addressed in analysis of disabled people and employment.
A number of schemes are in place to help employers employ disabled people.
But further thought needs to be given to the responsibilities of employers
- what should they be required to do to remove barriers to the employment
of disabled people? And further thought needs to be given to the rights of
employers - what can and should employers expect from employment programmes
and from disabled employees? Small businesses will need to be addressed
alongside large businesses, and there may be different issues for employers
in different sectors of the economy - both public and private.
Wider roles of disabled people
Education and employment are key drivers of life chances - but they are by
no means the only important determinants of quality of life. Disabled
people have similar hopes and interests to non-disabled people - they are
parents and members of the community; they want to live independently,
travel and use leisure services; they are concerned about crime; and so on.
These hopes and interests - as well as the nature of disability - will
change dynamically through the life cycle, and the support provided to
disabled people needs to reflect that. However, there is some evidence to
suggest that at present, the policy framework is too static, and that there
are some gaps that need to be addressed.
Issues faced by disabled adults as they near the end of working-age
Disability among the elderly population is an important issue. Around 40%
of people aged 65+ - and half of those aged 75+ - report a limiting
long-standing illness or disability. The specific issues facing those
people who experience the onset of disability largely as a component of the
ageing process are beyond the scope of this project. But many of the areas
of work identified by the Strategy Unit for further work will address
issues that face elderly disabled people more generally. And the Strategy
Unit is also intending to look specifically at the transition towards
old-age for those aged 50+.
The evidence shows that economic inactivity among the over-50s is on the
increase, and that this is largely due to long-term sickness and
disability. Many people aged 50+ never return to work after they move on to
incapacity benefit or income support, affecting their health and financial
well-being as they approach old age. Demographic changes are likely to make
this an even more important issue over the next 20 years.
In addition to these priority areas, the Strategy Unit identified some
common themes that cut across the life cycle. These include:
-
The importance of early intervention;
-
The need for clear definition of relative rights, roles and
responsibilities;
-
The importance of cost effectiveness in provision of support;
-
The need for personalised services to provide the right support for each
individual;
-
The need to learn lessons from the reform of public services more
generally;
-
The importance of joined-up, inter-agency working.
These common themes were addressed alongside the transition points, and
help to provide a coherent framework of analysis.
