Disability and Employment in Scotland: Challenges for Policy

1

• Disability and Employment in Scotland
  Challenges for Policy Practice
• Sheila Riddell,
• Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and
  Diversity,
• University of Edinburgh

2
Questions

• What is the position of disabled people in
  Scotland in relation to employment?
• What are the implications of welfare reform?
• What can be done in Scotland to help disabled
  people access employment?

3
Why is employment important? Links with
poverty social exclusion

• Poverty Defined as household with less than
  60 of median household income. Decline in
  poverty rate between 2000/01 2006/07 (from 37
  to 32 of people)
• 30 of disabled people living in poverty
  double the rate for non-disabled people. (Joseph
  Rowntree Foundation/New Policy Institute study of
  poverty in UK, 2007

4
Disabled people less likely to be in employment
than other groups

5
Economic activity rates by disability status
6
Likelihood of being on low income by disability
family status
7
Interconnections

• In area of employment, clear links between
  disability poverty, including child poverty.
• Particular issue in areas of industrial decline
• Poverty essential human rights issue - difficult
  for people to participate in society.
• Sustaining benefits level important but most
  people on benefits are defined as poor.

8
The Green Paper Potential Pitfalls

• Accords with Government Policy as set out in
  Economic Strategy Workforce Plus An
  Employability Framework for Scotland
• Balance between sticks and carrots is delicate
• Disabled people more likely to find jobs during
  economic expansion much less likely during
  retraction
• Danger of shift from support to compulsion

• In area of employment, clear links between
  disability poverty, including child poverty.

9
Major investment essential

• Many disabled people want to work but likely to
  require support over protracted timeframe.
• Success of Government programmes often measured
  by targets which may encourage cherry picking.
• Very low rates of participation of disabled
  people on mainstream training programmes such as
  Modern Apprenticeship Skillseekers
• Revolving door special training programmes
  which do not lead to employment.
• Need for realism some people may work part-time
  or in supported setting.

• In area of employment, clear links between
  disability poverty, including child poverty.

10
Conclusions

• Position of disabled people in employment
  symptomatic of wide social marginalisation.
• Employment generally a better option than
  worklessness but some people will not be able
  to work others only part-time or in supported
  settings.
• Pitfalls of short-term low-level work
• Flexible benefits system essential
• Supporting disabled people into employment not a
  cheap option particularly difficult during time
  of economic retraction.