Diane Lightfoot - United Response

---

ePolitix.com speaks to Diane Lightfoot, United Response's director of communications and fundraising, about their fringe event on welfare reform.

Question: Why are you involved in this fringe event on welfare reform?

Diane Lightfoot: Like Citizen's Advice, the hosts of the event, we're concerned that some groups are being overlooked by the welfare reform agenda, and we want the government to think again about how best to support people into work.

It's also a great opportunity to get involved in discussions with influential people from all the main parties, like James Purnell, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Andrew Selous, the Conservative shadow work and pensions minister, and Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat shadow work and pensions secretary.

Question: Which groups are you concerned about?

Diane Lightfoot: We're especially concerned about people who find it hardest to get jobs, those furthest from the labour market, such as people with a learning disability or mental health need. Citizens Advice also has evidence of the difficulties which lone parents are experiencing in trying to enter the labour market, and will be talking about that at the fringe event.

As a charity working with people with learning disabilities and mental needs, we are acutely aware of how many people would like the chance to work, but the opportunities just aren't there for them.

At the moment, only around 10 to 17 per cent of people with a learning disability have a paid job of any kind, and only around 10 per cent of people with a severe mental health problem, compared with 47 per cent of all disabled people.

And whilst employment rates have risen for disabled people overall over the last 10 years, this hasn't happened for people with learning disabilities or mental health problems.

Question: Isn't the new Employment and Support Allowance designed to help disabled people get into jobs?

Diane Lightfoot: That is the government's intention, and we very much hope that some people will benefit. But for people with more severe disabilities, we think the Employment Support Allowance is unlikely to make much difference.

We think some people will be worse off, because they will be expected to look for work even though the opportunities just aren't out there for them, and they may face cuts in benefits if they are judged to be not co-operating with what Job Centre staff want them to do.

This a particular concern in relation to people with fluctuating health conditions or mental illness, for whom the stress of worrying that they may lose their benefits could be very damaging. For most people with learning disabilities, there simply isn't enough support available to enable them to find jobs.

Question: But is it realistic to believe that people with learning disabilities are capable of holding down a job and making a genuine economic contribution?

Diane Lightfoot: The experience of the employers we work with who have taken on employees with a learning disabilities is that they can prove just as effective as people without a disability if they are in a job that suits their skills and abilities.

Sometimes a person with a learning disability takes longer to learn a job than a non-disabled employee, and may need a specialist job coach to train them, but with the right support, they can be incredibly reliable, conscientious and effective employees.

Employers comment that there are often wider benefits, because having a colleague with a learning disability can really improve the morale of team as a whole, and also from the point of view of customer relations they are seen to be employing a diverse workforce, one which certainly benefits any customers with disabilities.

Question: So what do you want the government to do?

Diane Lightfoot: We want more carrot and less stick; more support for people to find jobs and less fear that they may lose benefits. At the moment, most of the support offered by job centres focuses on people who are most likely to find work anyway.

We want a recognition that not everyone is ready for full-time work, and that for some people, working just a few hours a week can be enormously beneficial, helping them build up their confidence and stamina.

There is a lot of talk about work being the best form of welfare, and we absolutely agree that work can be great for reducing individuals’ social exclusion, but in reality the emphasis is usually on cutting the benefits bill.

Specifically, we want to see more investment in support for people with learning disabilities or mental health problems who want to work, such as in specialist programmes like the supported employment schemes we and other third sector providers run.

We also want the government to look again at the operation of the benefit system – the employment select committee has called for a wholesale review of benefits, and we back that.

Question: Why does the benefit system need reviewing?

Diane Lightfoot: At the moment it's enormously complex, and this complexity adds to the barriers which disabled people face if they want to get into work. Many disabled people also face a benefit trap, where they are worse off or no better off if they take a job.

We want the government to look again at the £20 Income Support disregard, which means people on Income Support face a pound for pound deduction of benefit if they earn above £20 a week.

The disregard has been frozen at this level since 2001, and with the minimum wage being uprated next month, it means people can only work 3.5 hours on minimum wage before they start losing benefit. We know from our work with disabled people that this is a huge barrier to people entering work.

Question: Is there anything you do like about the welfare reform programme?

Diane Lightfoot: There are some very positive measures, like doubling the Access to Work budget which covers the cost of reasonable adjustments which employers might need to make in taking on a disabled person, and can also be used to pay for job coaches and for transport if a disabled person can't use public transport.

We also think the government has taken a lot of important steps in tackling disability discrimination, such as the Disability Discrimination Act, which requires to employers to make reasonable adjustments.

But if the government is serious about making its slogan 'no-one written off' a reality, more help is needed for some groups of disabled people.