How many people with intellectual disability are employed in the UK?

Abstract

Introduction Increasing employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities has recently become a priority for service provision in England following the publication of Valuing People Now (DH 2007, 2009a) and Valuing Employment Now (DH 2009b, 2009c). These developments may be regarded as the culmination of 35 years of previous policies which alluded to the importance of employment for the quality of life of people with learning disabilities, rather than stating how it should be achieved. It is generally recognised that very few people with learning disability are currently employed. For example, Valuing People (DH, 2001) and the Commission for Social Care Inspection (reported in DWP, 2006a) both estimate that fewer than 10% of those known to local authorities are employed. Precise figures and characteristics of employees with learning disability are harder to find. As a consequence, it is often difficult for service developers, clinicians and researchers to ascertain whether or not real advances have been made in this area. The aim of this paper is to outline some of the reasons for this shortfall, with the objective of promoting improved data quality and accessibility in the future. The diversity of potential sources: where to look? At present, data relating to employment could be derived from a number of sources, among them the Department of Work and Pensions, Job Centre Plus, Labour Force Surveys, National Indicator Data, PSA-16 data, and Economic and Social Data Service. Difficulties are encountered, however, when trying to co-ordinate and synthesise this information. Notably, data relating to people with learning disability is rarely a focus of recording in these sources, or presented in a way that can be readily accessed by practitioners. For example, in order to use data from the Office of National Statistics, a specific request must be made for the creation of customised tables at a minimum charge of £135.00 (see lfs.dataservice@ons.gov.uk). This makes searches both time-consuming and costly for clinicians and service providers.