Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to close the autism employment gap.

The Government is strongly committed to increasing employment opportunities for disabled people, including those with autism. Taking a life course approach, we are working across Government and with local authorities, voluntary organisations and employers in the public and private sectors to achieve this. Help and support for people with autism includes:

• Access to Work, a discretionary grant scheme which offers advice and practical and financial support above the level of reasonable adjustments to disabled people who are in work or about to start work. Access to Work has also put in place a Hidden Impairment Specialist Team that gives advice and guidance to help employers support employees with conditions such as Autism, Learning Disability and/or Mental Health conditions. It also offers eligible people an assessment to find out their needs at work and help to develop a support plan.
• In 2017/18, the highest ever number of people received AtW payments - 33,860, up 13% on 2016/17.
• Through working with Autism Alliance, we have developed the Disability Confident Autism and Neurodiversity Toolkit, to help staff from all Government Departments understand how to support people with autism and associated neuro-diverse conditions. We also developed the Disability Passport ‘About Me’ which aims to encourage disabled claimants, including individuals with autism, to disclose their disability/ health conditions at the earliest stage to their Adviser, to improve communication and ensure reasonable adjustments are put in place. Both the toolkit and passport are hosted on Autism Alliance’s website.
• Also through working with Autism Alliance, we delivered Autism and Hidden Impairment training to over 1000 nominated staff across the Jobcentre Plus network. Feedback from delegates confirms that the training helped staff to understand how to support people with autism or hidden impairments into employment.
• The Civil Service has committed to support the Autism Exchange Programme, and my Department is working with Ambitious about Autism to provide work placement opportunities for young people.
• Through the Disability Confident scheme, DWP is engaging with employers and helping to promote the skills, talents and abilities of people with autism and associated hidden impairment conditions. Through the scheme, DWP is providing advice and support to help employers feel more confident about employing disabled people, by signposting them to appropriate advice guidance and support.

Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability, published last year, sets out the Government’s strategy for helping people with disabilities or health conditions, including learning difficulties and autism, enter and remain in employment. Whilst the initiatives are not all aimed exclusively at autistic people, we expect that many will benefit from these initiatives.