Think Work First: The Transition from Education to Work for Young Disabled People (Public Services Committee Report)

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Grand Committee

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have made such valuable contributions to this discussion. At a time when provisions for disabled students are further stretched and needed more than ever, this debate is incredibly important.

His Majesty’s loyal Opposition welcome that the Government appear to be following the committee’s advice and that they have prioritised vocational qualifications in their recent reforms. The previous Government understood the importance of a vocational pathway that aimed to provide opportunities to every schoolchild in this country and, as such, were committed to achieving parity between vocational and academic qualifications. The devil is always in the detail, so we await further clarification on the Government’s newly announced V-levels but, if they prove to be a continuation of the previous Government’s commitment, they would be a welcome step in the right direction.

However, simply offering a more streamlined qualifications system is not enough: particularly with young disabled people, it is incredibly important that sufficient guidance is offered. The committee’s recommendation of vocational profiling would provide this and we hope that, when the Government lay out their V-level plans in detail, they will follow the advice and wise counsel of the committee that was so ably chaired by the former Secretary of State for Education, the noble Baroness, Lady Morris.

His Majesty’s loyal Opposition are also grateful for the Government’s honouring of our commitment to double the number of supported internships. Allow me to repeat the words of the noble Baroness, Lady Morris: “supported internships work”—and work and work. My noble friend Lord Mott highlighted his personal experience as chief executive of the Conservative Party. It remains our firm belief that supported internships are one of the best pathways into work for the people furthest away from the job market. It follows that continuing to scale them up should be a priority for any Government, regardless of their political persuasion, whose aim is to get young disabled people into work, give them the opportunities that they both need and deserve and watch them flourish in an inclusive and team-orientated environment. I hope that the Minister will assure noble Lords that the Government will continue to proactively update your Lordships’ House on this issue.

A key element of providing these very opportunities, however, is the successful co-ordination between the Government and local authorities. We understand that the Minister for School Standards in the other place confirmed that the Connect to Work programme has begun in a quarter of areas, but please let us not have a postcode lottery. If initiatives are not rolled out countrywide, we risk perpetuating inequalities based purely on peoples’ addresses. Capacity for delivery varies dramatically across local authorities and it must be the Government’s responsibility to ensure that different needs are equally met. We trust that the Connect to Work programme will continue to be rolled out, but it must be done regularly and equitably. We would welcome a watertight guarantee from the Minister that this Government are committed to ensuring that that will be the case.

The more worrying issue is the co-ordination of education, health and care plans. The noble Lord, Lord Laming, highlighted a cliff edge or the need to start again after leaving school, as did the noble Lord, Lord Addington. The completion rate of EHCPs ranges from below 10% in some authorities to over 90% in others. The changes introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014, coupled with a surge in applications post Covid, mean that there are now over 600,000 children on plans. That is one in 20 pupils, with a further 150,000 awaiting assessment. With such a disparity in delivery already evident, a potential 25% increase in that number could mark a tipping point that is, indeed, a serious cliff edge.

Reflecting on this critical issue, the committee was clear that reforms are urgently needed to reduce application and delivery times and improve the provision of EHCPs. We understand that these are within the scope of the wider reforms to be announced in the department’s upcoming White Paper and, therefore, it may not be possible to comment on any changes right now. But, despite this, perhaps a reflection on another recommendation of clear timelines would provide much-needed clarity to both students and teachers.

We have been told that the White Paper is to be delayed, but, in the meantime, local authorities and schools are left guessing about what the future of EHCP provision will look like. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is entirely correct when he says that prevention is better than cure. We know that early intervention is among the most effective ways of assisting disabled children into the workforce, but drastic changes will need to be made to ensure that this is available to all schoolchildren, regardless of where they live, and we look forward to hearing the Government’s proposed solutions.

This should be a non-partisan subject—a common goal, echoed by many noble Lords, to do everything possible for those who have found, and may still find, themselves in challenging circumstances. The Government appear to be taking many of the committee’s recommendations on board, but regular updates on reasonable adjustments, vocational schemes and equal provisions are most welcome. An evidence-based approach is being taken and the successes of the previous Government are being built upon. We very much hope that the pathway from education to work for young disabled people will remain on an upward trajectory into the future. As the noble Baroness, Lady Morris, so eloquently put it, if we do not get this right, we all lose out.