Disabled People: Access to Work Fund

Lord Bishop of St Albans Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Altmann]

I agree with my noble friend, and that is why the Government’s campaign to make Britain disability-confident is so important. For individuals with mental health conditions, we provide a wide range of support across our programmes—and there are many such programmes—targeted at supporting work for both employers and individuals. We are very conscious that all disabled people who wish to work have a right to support from the Government to help them to do so.

[The Lord Bishop of St Albans]

My Lords, perhaps I may press the Minister a little about the very real concerns of many people in the deaf community about the use of British Sign Language, not least because currently four-fifths of the highest-value awards are paying for BSL services. Indeed, the DWP’s own figures show that almost 90% of the users who will be affected by the cap that is to be brought in are deaf. How do the Government plan to continue to support and encourage deaf professionals on a par with the hearing community in the light of this cap?