Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help improve workplace support for young people with SEND that do not meet the criteria for specialist provision.

As a government, we want to support young SEND adults in the workplace by encouraging employers to adopt inclusive working practices so that everyone can thrive at work. A range of measures are currently available.

The Disability Confident scheme was developed in collaboration with disabled people, employers and organisations representing disabled people. The scheme aims to challenge perceptions of what it means to employ disabled people and provides employers with the knowledge skills and free resources they need to attract, recruit, retain and progress disabled people of all ages in the workplace.

To support young people with the transition from education into work, Access to Work has developed a series of Adjustment Passports and Planners. They were developed with stakeholders and disability groups to ensure the format adhered to the social model of disability and met disability needs. They are completely voluntary, and can support the transitions into employment by providing:

• A transferable record of adjustments, reducing the need for the young person to repeat personal information about their disability
• A tool to support structured conversations with an employer about disability and adjustments and can highlight the in-work support Access to Work can provide.
• If an Access to Work application is made, the adjustment planner can support the application process by removing the need for an assessment.

In November the Government launched its plan to Get Britain Working. We are working closely with employers, and through insights from the Keep Britain Working Review, to understand the barriers they face to employing disabled people.

In addition to this, on 29 January this year, the Government launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. Recommendations are expected to include employer actions that can support the inclusion of neurodivergent people, including in recruitment and day to day workplace practices.

The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to get Britain Working’ Green Paper, published on 18 March, set out a £1 billion investment a year by the end of the decade in new employment, health and skills support.