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Apologies to all The second message I sent out this morning was a draft and went out in error. This should make more sense! DAN is collaborating closely withAchieveAbility (AA). A recent phone call with them brought out the following points: - AA will be focusing on assessment as something that enables and does not put up barriers: this includes Access to Work (AtW) among other things, they are also interested in education and apprenticeships. - They have just attended a parliamentary briefing on engaging with govt and have a meeting coming up with Lord Addington. - AA is in favour of user-led representation, the Nothing About Us Without Us approach. - DEAs are being phased out. The new approach is to have an emphasis on JCP coaches who will guide people through online job searches. - AA is already doing work on this with JCP to develop the IT skills of the dyslexic/ neurodiverse unemployed Both DAN and AA are concerned about digital exclusion - both in terms of services for the unemployed and the proposals for Universal Credit I have invited AchieveAbility to share our DAN jiscmail list since it is currently under-used NEXT: An All-Party Parliamentary Group on Disabilities, chaired by Disability Rights UK, is coming up on April 13th. DAN's concerns about Access to Work (below) will be raised. These were forwarded to a senior member of AtW last month. She replied yesterday, inviting me to arrange a meeting, but not till end of May. So I'll phone in the first instance with urgent matters (such as the deadline for renewal of contracts for AtW providers )and also arrange a meeting for later. These questions are based on DAN's training of Access to Work Advisers, feedback from claimants who have contacted us with their experience of Access to Work (AtW), meetings and correspondence with AtW senior staff. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Currently the information given out by Contact Centres to people with dyslexia and related conditions is inconsistent. Some claimants are still being asked for proof of disability or a GP’s letter. How can this be rectified? Many AtW advisers are inexperienced, lacking training on dyslexia and related conditions although this is one of the biggest disability cohorts. How can this be rectified? There is a lack of quality assurance in AtW reports. The process appears to be measured on administrative throughput, lacking quality assurance and oversight. Some assessments are of very low quality (we have examples from Capita) How can this be rectified? Claimants report difficulty of getting hold of the same person, to enable continuity. How can this be rectified? Melanie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melanie Jameson Chair of the Dyslexia Adult Network, DAN Together we can make a difference www.dan-uk.co.uk Dyslexia Consultancy Malvern http://www.dyslexia-malvern.co.uk/ [log in to unmask] +44 (0)1684 572466