'Better support' to help disabled people into work

The founder of a community cafe which helps people with disabilities into work has called for better government support to allow more employers to do the same.

More than 85% of team members at The Willow Tree Coffee and Kitchen in Ashbrooke, Sunderland, have a disability, while over half deal with mental health issues or are neurodivergent.

Founder Jo Gordon said what the cafe offered should be "the norm" but employers needed more to help disadvantaged people into the workplace.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it was going to introduce proposals in the spring for reforming the health and disability benefits system "to genuinely support disabled people into work".

"We're committed to delivering opportunities for all - including disabled people who want to work but have been denied the support they need," a spokesperson said.

The Willow Tree Coffee and Kitchen was set up as part of a community interest company helping people who face barriers into work.

The project also offers pizza-making apprenticeships, aiming to keep trainees in the business or connect them with other partner organisations.

Ms Gordon said there currently was a waiting list both for volunteering and paid opportunities.

"To me, what we're offering here, it should just be the norm," she said.

"It should just be a standard part of society."

But she added that was not happening and more support was needed for employers to "financially be able to help someone into the workplace".

"What can happen is you have a member of staff who, for whatever reason, has got some barriers but when that member of staff is unable to come into work the employer needs to be able to get some sort of help and support instead of being financially worse off," Ms Gordon said.

People with physical or mental health condition or disability can apply for support through the government's Access to Work Scheme, which offers grants to help pay for things like specialist equipment.

But Ms Gordon said the waiting list was over a year and people needing support could not wait that long.

A spokesperson for the DWP said it had brought in extra staff to process claims and it was making online applications easier.

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