To ask the Minister for Employment and Learning for an update on his Department's Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities.

Update on the Employment strategy for People with Disabilities

The consultation on the Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities closed on the 27 November 2015. 58 responses were received, 32 from individuals and 26 on behalf of organisations. In addition, information was gathered at four public consultation events, and two smaller events with specific disability groups, and these have been factored into the official response.

The consultation period has enabled all interested parties to provide feedback on each of the key themes and subsequent proposals. This has been broadly very positive, and in addition, a number of constructive suggestions have been made, which will inform the final strategy document.

The Committee for Employment and Learning has been briefed by officials and have been provided with a detailed summary and findings. The members were encouraged by the consultation feedback and remain very supportive of the strategy.

It remains the intention for the new Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities to launch before the end of February.

The Executive Disability Strategy

The Executive Strategy, launched in January 2013, entitled, ‘A Strategy to improve the lives of people with disabilities’, makes a clear commitment to deliver the commitments in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

This overarching strategy sets out a high level policy framework to give coherence and guidance to government departments, and is based around a number of key themes, with associated strategic priorities.

One of these key themes is, ‘Employment and Employability’, and Strategic Priority 15 is to ‘work towards increasing the number of people with disabilities entering all levels of employment and safeguard the rights of those disabled people already in work’.

The key objective of the Department’s new ‘Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities’, is, ‘To directly assist disable people to find, sustain and progress within paid employment, or to start up their own business’. Given also that the first two themes of this employment strategy are, ‘Empowering and supporting people to secure paid employment’, and, ‘Job retention and career development’, it clear to see the alignment and how the Department’s strategy will contribute to the achievement of the Executive’s disability strategy.

Rural areas

The Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities is aimed at people with significant disability related barriers to work, regardless of where they live or are employed.

The strategy has been developed in partnership with key representatives of the disability sector, many of whom provide services, programmes, and projects delivered through the Department’s European Social Fund (ESF), throughout and across Northern Ireland.

Four pubic consultation events were also arranged, in Armagh, Cookstown Belfast and Derry, and these were attended by various interested parties, including people with disabilities, as well as organisations who represent the interests of this customer group.

Transport and travel has been raised as a potential obstacle to employment for some, and it will be important for this issue to be considered, and addressed insofar as this is possible, through the implementation of the strategy.

The aforementioned Executive Strategy correctly highlights the fact that, ‘employment and employability are issues which require a number of government departments to work together to support people with disabilities to gain and retain employment’. Transport and access are undoubtedly issues which require a collaborative and cohesive approach, amongst statutory and non-statutory bodies alike, to provide solutions where they are required.

The Disability Employment Service, through its Access to Work programme, is providing direct transport support to approximately 350 disabled people who are in work, whilst many of the ESF programmes deliver dedicated travel training as part of their employability and pre-employment menu of provision.

Involvement of people with disabilities – developing and measuring the success of the strategy

In 2013, a Strategic Working group was established. This comprised officials from the Department for Employment and Learning’s Disability Employment Service (DES), along with a number of key representatives from the local disability sector, and other interested parties.

The group have worked closely on every aspect of the strategy, including the agreed aims and objectives, the drafting of the documentation, as well as the consultation and engagement process.

Specifically on the consultation and engagement issue, a number of major pre-consultation events took place throughout Northern Ireland during 2014. There were also a number of smaller, more local workshops at that time.

These events, organised and facilitated in partnership with the disability sector, were targeted primarily at people with disabilities, support workers, and organisations from the community and voluntary sector. Those attending, and the sector representatives involved in the organisation of these events, presented it as an example of how pre-consultation should look like.

More importantly, it was the discussions and proposals arising from these events, which helped inform the draft strategy that was issued for public consultation in September 2015, and the feedback received through this latest consultation process, will be reflected in the final strategy document.

As part of the strategy, the Department has committed to develop a framework that will ensure continuous and meaningful engagement between all of the key stakeholders, including people with disabilities. Specifically, and as part of the first year Action Plan, a new Disability Employment Stakeholder Forum will be established.

It is proposed that this Forum will have a monitoring role with regard to the implementation and achievements of the new strategy, a direct input into the annual action planning process, and will also be asked to provide assurance on the alignment of the various NI Executive disability strategies.

In addition to senior officials from a number of key government departments, along with select employers or employer groups; people with disabilities, and key representatives from the local disability sector, will be adequately represented on the new Disability Employment Stakeholder Forum.

Engagement with the sector since the consultation

The Department has continued to engage with the Strategic Working group, who represent a large number of people with a full range of disabilities throughout Northern Ireland.

The group have received the summary feedback shared with the Departmental Committee. This was discussed at a meeting of the Group on the 9th February, along with plans for the launch of the strategy.