Access to Work and Driver Support

ecdp Lived Experience report Success Update November 2011

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1. In August this year, ecdp highlighted an issue preventing disabled people accessing the support they need to work. Access to Work, a government employment programme which provides personalised support to disabled people in the workplace, made a change to their guidance on support worker drivers. These changes which seemingly contradicted guidance from Department for Transport (DfT), about how licensing laws should be applied to those supporting disabled people meant that many with successful travel arrangements were going to have to give up their support in favour of a less personal and more expensive service. 2. ecdp originally became aware of the issue because many ecdp members and staff were being affected directly. We worked to understand the details of situation, liaised with DWP to understand the details of their new guidance and called for disabled people in Essex and further afield to share their lived experience of the issue. 3. At the point of assessment or reassessment, Access to Work clients were being told that their support workers could not drive their own cars, an arrangement which had previously been acceptable. With the options to buy their own car or ask the employer to provide the PA with a company car being unavailable to many disabled people, most were left only with the option to use taxis. 4. Obvious issues around the practicality of this arrangement caused real concern for our members. Primarily these included the general unavailability of accessible taxis and whether they would be able to provide for the need to travel to lots of places in one day, or be available at short notice, for example. 5. Members were also concerned about losing control of the personal support arrangement already in place. Many highlighted the driver role of their PA was a relatively small aspect of the overall support they gave and were worried that losing their driver would also mean losing other essential support. 6. Interestingly, a majority of those who made contact worked in roles supporting other disabled people, such as social workers, rehabilitation officers and equipment assessors. The impact of these people losing their job/not being able to do their job as efficiently as before, would therefore have wider implications on a number of other disabled people too. 7. While Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), who govern Access to Work, assured clients that they would still receive the same level of service, there were clear and substantial cost implications, which ultimately would mean Access to
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Work costing the taxpayer a lot more at a time when the Government are aiming to make savings. Of course, if each individuals support is more costly, less disabled people would be able to access to the support on offer. The exact costs of this change varied case to case, but for some the changes were going to make their support cost thousands of pounds more each year. 8. ecdp called upon Access to Work to urgently re-examine and reverse their application of this policy and committed to working with all relevant stakeholders, including DWP and DfT in order to take this forward. We were grateful to receive coverage in the media, including in The Guardian, Community Care, The Disability News Service and on BBC Essex radio. Following this we were contacted by many more disabled people and organisations concerned that they or their staff would be affected. 9. We are very pleased to announce that DWP has now amended this policy, and returned to their previous guidance. Those who were using Access to Work funding to pay support workers to drive using the support workers own car will be able to continue to do so. 10. This issue demonstrates the impact policy can have on disabled people and their everyday lives and the importance of ensuring their lived experience is considered and reflected in any changes that will affect them.

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About ecdp
ecdp is an organisation run by and for disabled and older people. Established in 1995 our origins are firmly rooted in a belief that the voice of disabled and older people, both as individuals and collectively, is vital if the lives of disabled and older people are to be enhanced. Our vision is to enhance the everyday lives of disabled and older people in Essex and beyond. We do this by: Actively involving and engaging with disabled and older people Delivering a range of high quality services, projects and programmes Working in partnership with a range of stakeholders in the public, private and voluntary sectors Shaping and influencing strategy, policy and practice Creating a professional, effective and efficient organisation that can and does deliver. We provide a wide range of support, information, advice and guidance services, primarily in the field of social care. We currently1 provide Direct Payment / Personal Budget support services to approximately 3,900 clients in 3 services across 4 local authority areas. We are also closely involved in the design and delivery of the Right to Control Trailblazer in Essex. As an organisation we have 43 staff, approx 1.7m turnover, nearly 190 volunteers and approximately 1,700 members of all ages and impairment groups. ecdp and Access to Work ecdp has previously worked with members to understand the ways in which Access to Work enables people to maintain their work.2 The resulting report was submitted to the Sayce Review of specialist disability employment support and informed our response to the Sayce Review consultation in October 20113. ecdp's CEO, Mike Adams sat on the scrutiny board of the
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As of December 2010 ecdp Access to Work survey: http://www.ecdp.org.uk/home/2011/3/23/our-access-to-worksurvey-the-results.html 3 ecdp response to Sayce Review consultation: http://www.ecdp.org.uk/home/2011/10/18/ecdp-response-to-getting-in-staying-in-and-gettingAccess to Work and Driver Support: ecdp Lived Experience report on.html Success Update Page 5 of 6
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Sayce Review.4 For more information about ecdps work on Access to Work, please contact Faye Savage, ecdps Lived Experience Officer by phone 01245 392310 or email: fsavage@ecdp.co.uk.

ecdp The Sayce Review: employment support for disabled people: http://www.ecdp.org.uk/home/2011/6/16/the-sayce-review-employment-support-for-disabledAccess to Work and Driver Support: ecdp Lived Experience report people.html Success Update Page 6 of 6