£420,000 fund to help 120 adults in Sandwell and Solihull with learning disabilities and autism into work

The Local Supported Employment (LSE) initiative is providing grant funding to 24 local authorities in England and Wales, representing an investment of £7.6 million over the next three years.

In Sandwell and Solihull, £420,000 will be available to support 120 jobseekers with learning disabilities and autism.

Each local authority area will support between 60 and 140 adults with learning disabilities, autism or both to move into competitive employment and provide the help they need to maintain that employment.

An average of 90 participants in each local authority 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.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith 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 £420,000 here in Sandwell and Solihull 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.”

A total of 22 local authorities in England and two in Wales will benefit from the funding worth £7.6m over the Spending Review period.

The DWP along with nine local authorities ran an LSE proof of concept pilot in November 2017 for 18 months.

Following a consultation process with those involved, the DWP has incorporated feedback and lessons learned into the design of the latest initiative.

Evidence from other supported employment programmes suggests that at least 30 per cent of participants should start some form of work following involvement in the initiative.

The longer-term ambition is to provide further evidence to local authorities of the value of supported employment to help drive further investment and secure effective employment for more people with learning disabilities, autism or both.