DWP rule change aims to help people who are 'frightened' to find jobs

LAW WILL MAKE SURE DISABLED DON'T LOSE OUT SAYS MINISTER

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE [e-mail]

THE head of a service helping hundreds of people with disabilities to get jobs says a planned Government change could be "life changing" for many.

The Department for Work and Pensions is planning legal changes to stop people who have been out of work and on benefits being "frightened" by the prospect of a new job.

Sir Stephen Timms, minister for social security and disability, was pushed to move quickly on the change when he visited Portland Pathways in Mansfield on Thursday.

The service is part of the Portland Charity, which opened in 1950 after the Duke of Portland donated 15 acres of Harlow Wood. It aims to give greater opportunities to people with disabilities through residential services and its education and care programmes.

It was set up in 2017 with a particular focus on employment and has since helped 552 people into jobs with a sustainability rate of 80% for those who have kept jobs for at least six months.

An employability conference at the Portland Charity on Thursday was told that one of the barriers faced by clients was the impact of new jobs on their benefits.