Select committee: Public Services Committee
Recommendation 23
1st Report - Think Work First: the transition from education to work for young disabled people
Published 15 Oct 2024
Paragraph 88
Public Services Committee The transition from education to employment for young disabled people All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government must ensure that young disabled people are given equal access to work experience and must work with DWP, schools, and local government bodies to address the barriers to access to work experience for young disabled people identified in this chapter. This should include introducing further incentives for schools and colleges to develop work experience opportunities, taking steps to improve support for employers offering work experience, and supporting and incentivising local bodies such as Chambers of Commerce to encourage businesses to offer work experience opportunities. We ask the Government to provide an update to us on progress in this area by March 2025 .
From: Public Services Committee, 1st Report - Think Work First: the transition from education to work for young disabled people, paragraph 88, 15 October 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 3 June 2025 (deadline 20 January 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts some recommendations in full, partially accepts others, and "notes" several, with commitments including Connect to Work funding and consultation on disability pay gap reporting.
- On vocational profiling, the government "agrees" it should be a standard part of careers guidance for young disabled people, and says it will be embedded into Careers Leader and SENCo training modules "by September 2025".
- On the information hub (Recommendation 5), the government says it "will consider" the recommendation and makes no commitment to build the hub or launch it within 12 months.
- On disability pay gap reporting for large employers, the government "accepts" the recommendation and refers to a consultation that closes on 10 June 2025, which it will draw on to shape the legislation.
- On a four-week employer deadline for reasonable adjustments, the government "notes" the recommendation and says research with the University of York will inform next steps, with initial findings "expected in the Summer".