House of Lords Committee Recommends Supported Internships as a blueprint to work

On Tuesday 15th October the UK House of Lords Public Service Committee released its report titled Think Work First: The transition from education to work for young disabled people.

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This report is the outcome of the Committee’s inquiry into the transition from education to employment for young disabled people.

As a charity our mission is to support young adults with learning disabilities and autism spectrum conditions into meaningful careers and we currently have the target to get 10,000 young adults into paid employment by 2030.

We therefore submitted written evidence to the committee and hosted a site visit for committee members at Whipps Cross hospital so they could see a supported internship programme first hand.

During this time, we made the following recommendations to the committee:

• The UK Government should prioritise investment into supported internships
• The UK Government should provide funded follow-along support for young adults with learning disabilities who have completed a supported internship or transition to employment scheme
• The UK Government should remove the EHCP criteria to allow young adults across the UK, particularly women and girls, to better access supported internships and disability schemes
• The UK Civil Service should have a equality, diversity and inclusion scheme (such as a supported internship) in every major government department that specifically targets disability to help broaden access to the public sector
• The Government should introduce Disability Pay Gap reporting to help tailor its support to disabled people across the UK

This week’s report made several recommendations, but we are particularly pleased to see the following feature in the top 10 committee conclusions labelled as part of the “blueprint” for work:

• Supported internships are an effective way to support people furthest from the job market to gain experience of the workplace and enter the workforce. They also provide effective support for employers to address cultural and practical barriers to employing disabled people.
• ?The Government should honour the commitment of the previous Government to double the number of supported internships and should take steps to ensure that as many young disabled people as possible are eligible for them.
• ?The Government should take steps to increase the number of supported internships, and should introduce ambitious, time-bound rolling targets for this. Building on the success of supported internships in NHS Trusts, the campaign should include targeted work to increase public sector uptake of supported internships.

Kirsty Matthews (MBA, PgD, BSc) , CEO of DFN Project SEARCH Said:

“I welcome the report from the House of Lords Public Services Committee and its implications for our sector. I was delighted to see the emphasis placed on supported internships, which was highlighted prominently throughout the report as well as in its recommendations. This recognition underscores the critical role that supported internships play in enhancing employment opportunities for young adults with learning disabilities and autism.

It is evident that the committee members genuinely understand the transformative impact of the work we do at DFN Project SEARCH. Their acknowledgment of our efforts not only validates our mission but also reinforces the importance of what we do in partnership with our stakeholders.

We support the report’s recommendations, particularly surrounding calls on the new Government to take steps to increase the number of supported internships. I hope the new government takes the committee’s recommendations seriously as we are excited to continue our commitment to empowering young adults through meaningful work and are eager to engage with them on implementing these vital recommendations.”

Mark Hudson , Chairman of DFN Project SEARCH said:

“Following the report, the CEO of DFN Project SEARCH and I have written to Government Official’s to support the House of Lords inquiry recommendations and urged them to engage with the supported internship sector to witness the impact high-quality transition to work programmes have.

The report strongly highlights the need for high quality supported internship programmes – which is what DFN Project SEARCH works with its partners to deliver.

The publication of this report is a historic moment for the entire supported internship sector and is unique in being the first time a parliamentary committee has recommended supported internships as part of the solution to a successful transition into work. Our work at DFN Project SEARCH has always understood the valuable role Supported Internships play and I am delighted the Committee have taken the vital step to include them as part of the blueprint for future strategy."

The government is due to respond to the Committee’s findings by December 15th 2024.

You can read the Public Services Committee report in full here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5901/ldselect/pubserv/12/1215.htm#_idTextAnchor140