The potential for disabled people to be successful entrepreneurs

Transcription

1 The potential for disabled people to be successful entrepreneurs June

2 1 Introduction 1 2 Background what the national data reveals A more imaginative approach. 2 4 What is micro-enterprise? Micro enterprise case studies Going forward 4 1. Introduction This report highlights the potential for disabled people to be successful entrepreneurs. It shows how enterprising disabled people are helping to create inspiring organisations and services, with some finding fulfilling employment through them. Sadly many services which aim to support disabled people back into employment are still failing to make a real difference to the majority of disabled people. 2. Background what the national data reveals New data from the National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service 1 shows that the percentage of people with learning disabilities in employment remained unchanged over the last three years. Whilst a majority of local authorities (60%) have improved employment rates, demonstrating that employment for people with learning disabilities is a real possibility, the remaining 40% have performed increasingly poorly, resulting in a flatling national picture which disguises the inexcusable failure of some areas. The data collected by local authorities on the percentage of people with learning disabilities in employment is called NI146 and includes any and all people in paid employment, from those with more than 30hrs of paid employment, to those with only a few weekly hours or working less often than every week. This measure values not just the way work enables people to come off benefits, as many still receive benefits when working only a few hours per week, but recognises that even very part time work can make a huge difference to an individual s confidence, independence and status within their community. The government has highlighted the crucial importance of work its strategy, Valuing People Now. With almost 10% of authorities (14 areas) achieving employment rates of over 15%, the economic situation alone cannot explain the performance of those local authorities where rates are as low as 1% or 2%. Two thirds (over 50 local authorities) report fewer than 5% of people with learning disabilities in employment. (Regional and local figures are below.) 1 Shared Lives Plus

3 3. A more imaginative approach In light of the data above and with a consultation on closing many Remploy sheltered employment workplaces underway, the need for more imaginative approaches to helping people achieve employment has never been more urgent. National charity, Shared Lives Plus and social enterprise, Community Catalysts, between them support hundreds of very small scale micro-enterprises, a number of which are run by, or employ, disabled and older people. Enterprises such as these, even where they do not provide full time paid employment, nevertheless create training and volunteering opportunities which also build people s skills and confidence and enable them to contribute to their community. With the right form of support, micro-scale approaches can have a big impact: A micro-enterprise development programme run by Community Catalysts in Oldham created 125 jobs and 40 volunteering opportunities. 25 older or disabled people have new jobs or are working as volunteers. Specialist support transforms the success rate of micro-enterprises from 10% to 90%. Disabled people are establishing some of the UK s most creative small enterprises as highlighted in our case studies below. The micro-enterprise development approach has been demonstrated to be replicable in over 25 council areas with very different social and economic contexts. 4. What is micro-enterprise? A growing number of people are setting up micro-enterprises which meet the needs of a local individual or small group. Some of these enterprises are set up by front line workers previously based in large organisations, others are set up by disabled or older people themselves. They often draw on the resources of the local community. Some are funded through personal budgets or paid for with people s own money (self-funding). Some are carried out on a voluntary or part-voluntary basis, with any payments simply covering the cost of providing the service. Some micro-enterprises are owned jointly by people who deliver and people who use and pay for the service. Many micro-enterprises operate below the radar of local government and NHS. Micro-enterprises face regulatory, legislative and other barriers and as a result many fail. In most areas their numbers are falling, but some areas draw on the support of social enterprise, Community Catalysts to create the conditions in which they can survive and thrive. 1 The data reports on progress against indicator NI 146, which measures the percentage of the adults (18-64) known to the authority with learning disabilities who are in employment, is a target intended to improve employment outcomes. The timescale of the data is from 2008/9 to 2010/11. The new data can be found here Shared Lives Plus 2

4 5. Micro enterprise case studies 2 These are a number of case studies where disabled people have developed their own employment through a range of services and settings. Covering both learning disabled employment (highlighted in the contact data above) and people with other disabilities who have found equal disadvantage in the employment market. DanceSyndrome Jenny has a passion for dancing. She also happens to have Down s Syndrome. With support from her Mum and her personal assistant, paid for through a personal budget, Jenny has established a social enterprise to take dance into the homes of people with a disability to increase their health and wellbeing. Jenny is currently undertaking training designed for people with a learning disability to develop their skills as dance leaders. She is now working with a number of other dancers, disabled and non-disabled. Pulp Friction Smoothie Bar (CIC) Based in Nottinghamshire and set up by a young woman with learning disabilities and her mother they works with groups of people with learning disabilities running pedal-powered smoothie bars at community events as a novel approach to developing social, independent and work-readiness skills. When Jessie was seventeen she wanted a part-time job at the weekend like a lot of her non-disabled friends. Jill felt it was unlikely that Jessie would be able gain employment locally so together they started looking for something which would interest Jessie and which could be supported by Jill. Funky Fitness and Fun Carita (who has also been a Shared Lives carer) launched Funky Fitness and Fun in 2007 as a small social care enterprise after realising that the closure of day services had resulted in a lack of activity for some people. The programme of activities is co-designed by the 15 people who use the service and takes place in a community centre. Michael, who sometimes has to use a wheelchair, pays for the service using his personal budget. He found traditional services too rigid and didn t like the constant changes of staff. He feels Carita s service is cheaper and better than using a PA, particularly valuing the opportunity to make new friends. Rumbletums A small group of parents who know each other through their children s shared learning disabilities were underwhelmed by the workplaces and training opportunities on offer and wondered if they could find their own solution which could offer work experience and develop training opportunities through work. The café they started is now self-sufficient and provides work experiences for nine people and receive income for the support they provide for many of these placements with the longer term aspiration of providing paid work places. 2 More case studies and articles are available on request and at, co.uk, Our blog: 3 Shared Lives Plus

5 Harry and George Harry and George are men in their 70s who used to work as joiners. They set up an enterprise to make and sell rocking horses and then began teaching woodworking skills to other older men. They are now joined by between 8 and 10 people every week who enjoy the work but just as importantly the friendship. Mike the baker Mike is recovering from mental illness. He finds baking therapeutic and has set up an enterprise to teach other people who are mentally unwell to bake. They pay him for his teaching skills and they share the income from selling their cakes and bread. Notts Independent Living Consultancy Becky, who is deaf, feels that others often see this as a barrier but it is not the barrier she is most concerned with when she speaks about her experience of running her business. After charity offering direct payment support made her redundant she, with her business partners set up a direct payment support service, where all the staff are disabled. They offer this to all potential customers but focusing particular in working with people with sensory impairments. 6. The future Shared Lives Plus and Community Catalysts are committed to working with local and national government and other organisations which share our vision: a thriving marketplace of micro-enterprises in every area, supporting, including and employing disabled people. People who use services can also be the owners and providers of services, taking the lead in ensuring that real and accessible choices are available everywhere. Shared Lives Plus is the UK network for small community services. Our members create family-based and smallscale ways of supporting adults to live independently and to contribute to their families and communities. Our members are Shared Lives carers and workers, Homeshare programmes and micro-enterprises. We help our members to work together to survive, thrive and influence decision makers, providing support, training, events, resources, access to insurance, research and campaigning. Community Catalysts is a Community Interest Company launched by Shared Lives Plus in January Community Catalysts and Shared Lives Plus work together to support the development of sustainable local enterprises delivering services which people can buy to live their lives. Community Catalysts works across the UK through local partners to support local enterprise. A major focus of our work currently is with local authorities and health trusts keen to create an environment within which micro entrepreneurs can flourish. Our skills and knowledge are also being used by a range of other organisations including regional and national care providers interested in unlocking the potential of staff teams and of the people that they support and Shared Lives schemes exploring expansion and development opportunities. Shared Lives Plus 4

6 Contacts: Simon Taylor Shared Lives Plus Micro-enterprise Support and Development Officer Sian Lockwood Community Catalysts Chief Executive Officer Shared Lives Plus 2012 Company Number: Registered Charity Number (England and Wales): Registered Charity Number (Scotland): SC