4th April 2006
Government and employers must focus on 'ability and work' rather than 'disability and work' if significant numbers of disabled people are to be helped back into the workplace. This was the core message that came from organisers of the fifth annual meeting of Beginnings, a coalition of key public and private sector stakeholders dedicated to developing strategies to help the UK's disabled people find work.
Main speakers at the Beginnings Spring Event, held at The British Library Conference Centre, included keynote speaker Lord Archie Kirkwood, former Chairman of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, David Ruffley MP, Conservative Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform, and Anne McGuire MP, Minister for Disabled People.
All appeared in agreement that there are at least one million disabled adults in the UK who are willing and able to work and yet face a variety of barriers to doing so, including discrimination, a lack of awareness, poor workplace accessibility and a lack of flexibility.
In line with political events and following discussions with attendees at the 2005 symposium, dedicated taskforces were set up in 2005 to look at the issues of SMEs, intermittent capacity, healthy living and incapacity benefit reforms, in relation to disabled people. As a consequence, particular focus was given to these themes at this year's event with progress reports provided by a representative from each taskforce.
Joanne Hindle, Corporate Services Director at the UK's leading disability insurer UnumProvident, which coordinates the annual event, commented:
Recent economic successes in UK society have not translated into improved wealth and prosperity for everyone. Today, around one million disabled adults don't have a job, but want one and many more find themselves stuck on benefits.
This situation is entirely unsatisfactory and at Beginnings we are continuously working with members of parliament and other key decision makers to ensure that these issues are addressed. The central aim of the Beginnings campaign is to help 250,000 unemployed disabled people back to the workplace by 2010 and the annual Beginnings events play a significant part in the progress we continue to make towards this goal.
ENDS