The government has recently talked about their aim to increase employment for disabled people.

However, the planned changes to Access to Work that they’ve laid out in their Green Paper will not work.

In fact, they will undo the progress made by successful employment models for disabled people and could block many disabled people from work altogether.

But there are solutions.

Access All Areas has signed this letter to Lisa Nandy (DCMS) and Liz Kendall (DWP), asking them to

• Stop the current changes
• Get proof that reforms will improve employment for disabled people
• Improve Access to Work, by getting advice from people who use it
• Make sure any changes won’t harm disabled people
• Collaborate with disabled people, and disabled-led organisations, to get the best ideas.

Without disabled people being involved, these plans will only make things worse.

The sector is also asking government to

• Put in place a panel of disabled people with relevant experience, chaired by a disabled person, to lead and support these changes.

For many years, Access All Areas has been creating employment for learning disabled and autistic creatives, many of whom never or rarely worked before. We train 40+ learning disabled students, creatives, facilitators, and arts leaders every year to start and sustain creative careers. We’ve directly provided over 15,000 days of work to learning disabled creatives. They’ve gone on to train 10,277 staff in hundreds of TV, film and theatre companies to make their workplaces accessible, increasing employment opportunities for disabled people across the sector. We know how to create accessible employment models that support disabled people into work. The changes proposed by the government will stop these models from working. This will mean that many of the learning disabled and autistic professionals we’ve trained will be blocked from work, and the successful economy they’ve created around them will collapse.

We know that government ministers are worried about the economy. But we want to tell them not to worry – disabled people have been improving the economy, and building successful employment models, for years. We have the solutions, and we’re ready to work with you to realise them. If we work together on this, we can achieve your aims of building a better economy and improving employment for disabled people.

But if you try to do this without the disabled community, you will fail.

Why Access to Work works

Access to Work funds support costs for disabled people in work. The government has said it is too expensive, but this misses the point.

Here’s an example:

• Two learning disabled artists from Access All Areas recently used £16,590 of Access to Work funding to pay for support workers on a project.
• This meant they were able to get further commissions, earned income, and private funding, bringing in £188,000 in further financing for this project and for their careers.
• Not only did this £16,590 support these disabled artists in their job, but it improved the economy around them, supporting employment for a further 32 people on this project.
• Without this Access to Work funding, these creatives could not have made this project, and none of this further employment would have been created.

If the government cuts funding for support workers, then not only will many learning disabled people be blocked from work, but projects around the country will collapse, severely damaging the economy.

As well as the moral case for support, we know that investing in disabled people has an economic return. Previous reports from DWP estimate that for every £1 spent on supporting disabled people into work, the government gets about £1.50 back in National Insurance contributions and other sources.

Invest in us

There are many stories and examples coming from our friends in the creative sector about the impact that badly thought-through cuts can have, as well as the huge benefits that well-thought through reforms could bring. We are so sad to hear that one of the UK’s most successful theatre directors, Jess Thom, might be forced out of her career because of cuts to her Access to Work. This would have a huge negative impact not just on Jess, but on a whole ecosystem of employment that she’s built. We also stand by our friends in Graeae Theatre, who have for decades been showing us the incredible results that can come from properly supporting our country’s disabled people.  

We ask the government to recognise the huge achievement that disabled people make to our society and our economy, and to invest in disabled talent by supporting them to live and work.

There are many Labour MPs, and MPs from other parties, that truly believe in an inclusive society that removes obstacles to achievement and empowers people to work. We say to you all now, this is the time that disabled people need your support. We are not against you in your ambitions to improve employment for disabled people and improve the economy. We are your allies in these missions.

Work with us, and we will figure out a better way to do this.

How can I help?

If you’d like to join us in building a better economy, and increasing employment for disabled people, write to your MP and tell them how you feel. You can use this template to send your MP a letter.