Employment Services: Disabled

John Howell
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what impact assessment she plans to carry out in respect of the effects on disabled people of the implementation of recent changes to arrangements for specialist disability employment services.

Jonathan Shaw
An Equality Impact Assessment was published online in December 2008 on initiatives covered in the White Paper ‘Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future’. This included a focus on disability in the new specialist disability programme replacing WORKSTEP, Work Preparation and Job Introduction Scheme from October 2010—to be known as Work Choice.

We are currently undertaking the procurement process for the delivery of Work Choice and when contracts are awarded in April 2010, an updated Equality Impact Assessment will be produced.