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<p>The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to ensuring that all disabled people, including those with autism, have the opportunities, chances and support that they need to get a job and remain in employment and there is a range of provision to help them. Employers are key to the Department's aim to increase the numbers of disabled people who enter and remain and progress in employment. Many of the Department's existing programmes include support for employers to enable employment of disabled people, with a number of specific initiatives which are specifically beneficial for people with autism.</p><p>Under the Autism Strategy, led by the Department of Health, the Department for Work and Pensions had several commitments in relation to autism and employment. The Department's Ministers are very committed to the autism strategy. Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform, is passionately committed and set up a Round Table group with employers to look at this. Working with the National Autistic Society and others, this work included the publication of ‘Untapped Talent’, a guide to spread the benefits of employing someone with autism.</p><p>Progress has been made on delivering the commitments from the strategy, through both mainstream services and through a suite of additional specialist employment services. We will continue to explore the best ways for the Department to support the aims of the autism strategy and contribute to ongoing initiatives.</p><p>We made a commitment to engage with employers and help them in overcoming the barriers they face in employing people with autism. In partnership with employers, the Department held a ground breaking conference on 18 July 2013 at which the Prime Minister launched the two-year Disability Confident Campaign. The campaign aims to remove barriers, increase understanding and make sure that disabled people and those with health conditions have the opportunities to realise their potential. We are holding a number of further events across the country, where employers can learn from each other about employing disabled people. The first event is in Birmingham on 21 November. We are doing this in partnership with business and will provide campaign materials for employers and organisations to use. Some employers are already aware of the particular strengths of employing people with autism for certain tasks, the challenge is to expand this knowledge and to a wider range of employers.</p><p>The Department also committed to ensure that our employment programmes work for young disabled people with autism and that the support they are offered meets their specific needs. One of the key programmes is Access to Work. Access to Work gives additional support</p><p>for individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. It provides individuals and their employers with advice and support with extra costs which may arise because of an individual's needs. Access to Work is now available to support young disabled people undertaking voluntary work experience under the Youth Contract offering a job coach through the programme. We are extending Access to Work to provide more pre-employment activities such as work experience and Supported Internships, which will help young disabled people for whom traditional recruitment methods do not always work to showcase their talents to employers.</p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions is currently developing a new strategy for disability employment which will be published before the end of this year. The strategy will set out actions to improve the position of disabled people in the labour market and to support disabled people prepare for, get into, stay in and progress in work. In developing the strategy we are building on what disabled people told us about employment issues during the ‘Fulfilling Potential’ discussion, which can be found here:</p><p>http://odi.dwp.gov.uk/docs/fulfilling-potential/fulfilling-potential-discussion-so-far.pdf</p><p>as well as working with disabled people, employers, disability charities, ambassadors from disabled people user led organisations (DPULO) and other experts.</p> |