Government committee calls for evidence on transition from education to employment for young disabled people

The Public Services Committee has launched a new call for evidence for its new inquiry, the transition from education to employment for young disabled people. The Committee will be scrutinising how disabled young people transition into work from higher or further education and what challenges and barriers they face in doing so. The Committee would like to hear from young disabled people, carers, public services employers and organisations and businesses.

The Committee has produced the call for written evidence in multiple formats to ensure that it is accessible to as many people as possible:

• Call for evidence 
• Call for evidence Easy Read Guide
• Call for evidence British Sign Language
• Call for evidence Audio

Topics the Committee is exploring include:

• The support available for young disabled people and how effectively education systems provide careers advice, guidance and support to meet the needs and career aspirations of young disabled people.
• The accessibility of careers in public services to young disabled people when they are first entering the job market: the Committee will ask for examples of good and poor practice in recruitment.
• How effective are government programmes which support or encourage employers to employ disabled people, particularly young disabled people? Does this differ by condition or disability? How could they be improved?
• How effectively are the rights of disabled people upheld and enforced in the workplace? What barriers do young disabled people face in accessing the support (including legal support) that they need and are entitled to? How could enforcement mechanisms be improved?

The Committee Chair, Baroness Morris of Yardley says: "Disabled people are more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive than non-disabled people. And they face many barriers to entering the workplace, particularly for the first time. A key transition in young disabled people’s lives is leaving education and entering the workforce. This at a time of significant change already: that from services aimed at young people to services geared towards adults. We want to establish how well this works, and how it can be improved. And we want to know about careers support, and how well that is working. We have produced this call for evidence so that it is as accessible as possible. We want to reach past the usual audience, and we hope that people – especially young disabled people - will tell us what they know."

The consultation can be completed online or submissions can be emailed to HLPublicservices@parliament.uk with guidelines available on the links above. The closing date is Thursday 21st September 2023.