Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to widen access to (a) educational and (b) career opportunities for people with disabilities in Derbyshire.

Too many people across our country do not get the chance to succeed. We want to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds can undertake activities which provide them with the skills and learning which will support them into work and offer excellent career development and progression opportunities.

Our Disability Employment Adviser’s (DEA) across Derbyshire provide a range of specialist support for individuals to help them move closer to, secure and stay in work, ensuring customers are confident with their Health Adjustment Passports, are accessing Access to Work support, as well as ensuring those working with Work and Health Programme are fully engaged and gaining the most from the programme.

The Jobcentre network works closely with a range of external providers offering a wealth of individual outreach support which includes monthly meetings at P3 individual living (local housing charity), Collective Community Hub and Sharps pottery. The DEA’s are also able to attend to provide more personalised support by offering group or one to one sessions in a safe space for our customers.

Our teams also collaborate with the local NHS teams to refer to and deliver NHS Talking Therapies and link with Individual Placement and Support Organisations in Primary and Secondary Care as well as the Social Prescribers Network.

The DEAs have a close working relationship with our Employer Advisers which continues to build a strong Disability Confident employer network to offer advice, resource and guidance onto employers to enhance their support for disabled customers in their workplace.

Jobcentres across Derbyshire hold monthly group sessions on site. These are site specific sessions depending on the needs of the customer base at the time. Sessions include Mental Health awareness, access to work support and volunteering opportunities.

All education and training providers, and other related service providers, have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students. This includes people with a learning difficulty. This duty is set out under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010. We also want providers to play a stronger role in expanding access and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students, making sure they are delivering strong and ambitious Access and Participation Plans.

It is critical that all students should be supported with good advice, quality options and fair and transparent processes which ensure there are no barriers to them accessing high-quality courses suited to their ability, interests and aspirations.

Through grant arrangements with Disability Rights UK, the Department for Education (DfE) provides advice and guidance activities which increase awareness, access to and participation in DfE programmes and services for disabled young people. These activities help DfE identify and overcome barriers faced by disabled people in accessing and progressing through their post-16 pathway on their route towards employment