Employment: Autism

(asked on 2nd February 2024) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made on helping support adults with autism into work.


Answered by
Mims Davies Portrait
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 8th February 2024

We know that most autistic people want to have a job, and evidence shows that they bring many positive benefits to their employers. We are therefore taking positive steps to promote initiatives which help and support autistic adults to move closer to the labour market and into employment.

The Buckland Review into Autism Employment focused on increasing the number of autistic people in high-quality and sustainable employment. Specifically, it focused on identifying barriers preventing autistic people from securing employment, retaining employment, and growing their careers; and on recommending actions to overcome those barriers.

The evidence gathering stage of the review is now complete, and the review team has drawn the evidence together into a report and recommendations, ready for publication shortly.

We are also supporting employers via Disability Confident to increase their understanding of how to recruit, retain and support disabled employees and those with long term health conditions. The scheme provides employers with the skills and knowledge to remove barriers that might be preventing disabled people, neurodivergent people and those with long term health conditions from accessing employment and allows them opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.

The Spring Budget confirmed funding for a new employment programme called Universal Support.  Universal Support will use the proven supported employment model to support inactive disabled people, people with health conditions and people with additional barriers to employment into sustained work.

In the Autumn Statement we announced that we are expanding the Universal Support scheme so it will provide support for 100k people a year once fully rolled out – increasing from 50k a year announced in Spring Budget 2023.

Eligible autistic and learning-disabled people will be able to opt in to receive up to 12 months of “place and train” support - helping them move quickly into suitable work, followed with wraparound support to help them to sustain that employment for the longer-term.

We are also continuing to run a series of programmes which include employment support for autistic people, such as the Work and Health Programme, Intensive Personalised Employment Support and Local Supported Employment.

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