A new £7.6 million government initiative has been launched to help over 2,000 adults with learning disabilities and autism across England and Wales move into work.
Kirklees Council has been awarded a grant of £420,000 by the DWP to deliver its Local Supported Employment (LSE) initiative. Funding is available from August 2022 until March 2025 with the council being required to match the funding to the value for £180,000 - which will be met through existing budgets.
The aim is to assist adults with learning disabilities, autism or both to move into competitive employment and provide the help they need to maintain that employment. Participants are set to benefit from the grant funding and support, which will include assigning job coaches who can carry out vocation profiling, engage employers and provide in-work support to help develop more careers.
This follows the government hitting its target to see one million more disabled people in work by 2027 five years early, as ministers consider a new target to help bring down the disability employment gap further in the forthcoming Health & Disability White Paper, due in the autumn.
Kirklees Conservatives Deputy Leader Cllr John Taylor said:
I am delighted that Kirklees is to be one of the 24 local authorities to receive investment for the Local Support Employment (LSE) initiative. It demonstrates the Government’s commitment to removing unnecessary barriers to employment and will ensure that every one of Kirklees’ talented employees receives a fair chance of success in the workplace.
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith MP said:
Disabled people deserve the same opportunities to start, stay and succeed in employment as everyone else.
We know that those with autism and learning disabilities can face particular barriers to employment, which is why we’re spending £7.6m through the Local Supported Employment initiative.
We hope to break down those barriers and use local networks to help more disabled people reach their full potential.
For more information, please contact John Taylor on 07831810096
