Personalised support for disabled and neurodivergent people

Supporting more disabled people, neurodivergent people and those with long-term health conditions into sustainable work is critical to the Government meeting its 80% employment target. More than one in three (36%) of the working age population now report having a long-term health condition, including one in four (23%) who are disabled. At least 600,000 people amongst the 2.8 million who are not active in the labour market because of disability or health want to find work - and this is likely to be an underestimate.

These big numbers disguise millions of individual stories, however. Some people may need only light touch support and encouragement to find work, while others may need intensive, one-to-one and face-to-face employment and health support with a big emphasis on in-work support.

We decided to ask some disabled people and neurodiverse people what they found useful, alongside the advisers supporting them. We spoke to some of the people that Reed in Partnership has been supporting on the Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) service that we have been delivering for the DWP since 2019 in the North East of England and held a focus group with key workers on the service. You can read our report below.

Download the full report →