Types of support

In the survey we asked respondents about support received through Access to Work that related to their current paid employment, or job they were waiting to take up. If they were not in work at the time of the interview we asked about their most recent job, or job interview in the case of users of communicator support at interview. It should be noted that, although we did not ask them specifically (excepting users of communicator support at interview), some respondents would have had experience of Access to Work support in earlier jobs or job applications, as suggested by the finding that over one third (35%) said they had first applied before 1997 and 17 per cent had made more than two applications. (Tables A.3.1 and A.3.2 in the

appendices)

Respondents were asked which of the types of support listed in Table 3.1 had been agreed or arranged for them in relation to their Access to Work supported job. They were also asked which of those had been agreed or arranged in relation to their most

recent- or only- application.

Table 3.1 shows that nearly two thirds (64%) cited specially provided equipment or furniture and 16 per cent alterations to existing equipment. We asked about training to use new equipment and found around one in five respondents (21%) reporting some. Only eight per cent reported alterations to the workplace. Three per cent

reported support with adaptations to their own vehicle

Turning to human support, as opposed to environmental adaptations, we found over one in ten (11%) had a personal reader for someone who is blind, and seven per cent a communicator or sign language Interpreter at work. A support worker was reported by 16 per cent (Support workers’ roles are reported in Section 3.4.2 below.) Help with fares for travel to work was reported by 44 per cent of respondents.

Table 3.1 Types of support agreed/arranged through Access to Work*

Type of support received Relating to AtW From only or most supported job recent application

% %

Specially provided equipment or furniture 53

(SAE)

Travel to work fares (TW) 44 38

Training to use new equipment 21 16

Alterations to existing equipment (APE) 16 10

Support worker (SW) 16 12

Personal reader (SW) 11 7

Alterations to building (APE) 8 5

Communicator or sign language interpreter at 7 6 work (SW)

Communicator or sign language interpreter at 5 4

interview (CS1)

Adaptations to own vehicle (APE) 3 2

Base: all respondents 628 628

percentages sum to more than 100 because some respondents received more than one kind of support

We classified these results into ES administrative categories or ‘elements’ (in brackets in Table 3.1) as shown in Table 3 2.~

Table 3.2 Support elements agreed/arranged through Access to Work*

ES categones of A1W support Relating to AtW From only or most supportedjob recent application

% %

Special Aids and Equipment (SAE) 64 53

Travel to Work (TW) 44 38

Support Worker (SW) 27 12

Adaptations to Premises and Equipment (APE) 23 16

Communicator Support at Interview (CSI) 5 4

BaseS all respondents 628 628

* percentagessum to more than 100 because some respondents received support under more than

one ES category

5’Training to use new equipment’ is not an ES category The small numberof cases of ‘Adaptations to own vehicle’ is unciuded in Adaptations to Premises and Equipment (APE), although classified by the Employment Service as Travel to Work (TW), because we have developed an analytical distinction between environmental adaptations and human support

Access10Work Support 17

3.1.1 Number of types of support received

It is evident from the findings presented in Tables 3.1 and 3.2 that some users receive a package of support through Access to Work and not lust one type or element of provision Using the five ES categories, just over half of users (53%) receive more than one element of support, 30 per cent receive Iwo and 17 per cent three or more. (Comparable figures from users’ only or most recent application for Access to Work are 74 per cent, 20 per cent and six per cent respectively.) Table A.3.3 in the appendices shows how elements of support combine in a variety of ways, reflecting the diversity of individuals’ employment-related needs.

As already noted, some respondents to the survey had made more than one

application to Access to Work: nearly one in four (24%) had made two applications; and 17 per cent had applied more than twice (Table A.3.2 in the appendices). The number of supports that users in the survey received increases systematically with the number of applications they have made. The association is statistically significant whether support is defined according to the five ES Access to Work elements (as in Table 3.2) or the ten types of support distinguished in this survey and described in Table 3.1. This finding suggests that users already ‘in the system’ benefit from extensions to their support package, thoughit should be noted that, because of the

sample design (see Appendix C), users of multiple elements ot support are likely to be over-represented relative to those who may have had to give up paid work

because their support needs were not adequately addressed or those who stayed in paid work without requiring further support.

3.1.2 Support alongside Access to Work

Respondents in paid work were asked if, at the time of the interview, they used any other special equipment, assistance or arrangement at work or for getting to or from

work; that is, anything not provided under Access to Work One in five (20%) said that they did They were found to be more likely than those respondents who received only Access to Work support to be receiving APE, SAE and SW through Access to Work. Respondents were not asked to detail the other supports they used but some users in the qualitative study said employers had made building alterations or purchased computers, keyboards and monitors adapted to users’ needs.