On a regular basis local groups of businesses meet together for Breakfast or lunch meetings, usually focused on ideas which will enable some or all of the businesses present to strengthen their work and improve their profitability. The same is true for groups of charities in different areas which occasionally meet to discuss their work and share best practice as charities so they can operate more effectively. Once in a blue moon these groups of businesses or charities might try to invite their local MP to such a meeting and occasionally the MPs will invite along someone from the Civil Service to speak to such a group. On Friday I attended such a meeting nearby to where I work in Uckfield. Although it was mostly Businesses in attendance, part of the purpose of the presentation was to encourage the businesses to learn from a small number of charities that were also present. The common theme of their work is focused on assisting people with disabilities to find work. The Chamber of Commerce for Uckfield co-hosted the meeting with the MP for Wealden, Nusrat Ghani who is also a Transport Minister, and the people who made the presentations apart from Ms Ghani included an officer from the Department of Work and Pensions and a couple of young people who had managed to obtain work despite their disabilities. It was these two people whose stories were the most inspiring, along with the example given by Ms Ghani of a constituent who she offered a short internship too, who was disabled. An internship of course is only a small step along the way, but based on the words from Ms Ghani, it did assist that young man to find a more meaningful role.

Among the charities present were Possability People who are a Brighton based charity. Because I have had the privilege of working with people who are part of that charity, I know that they are well positioned to help businesses ensure that their workplace is a suitable environment. I have also worked with a national charity called the Centre for Accessible Environments which helps to prepare the ground for such activities across the UK, supporting a wide range of self employed auditors who are willing to work with businesses to shape their work spaces. It was clear from the effort being applied to this event, that the Government have grasped that their target of helping one Million disabled people to obtain work, will not happen simply as a result of Ministers or even a few MPs making speeches. However it does seem clear that the steps needed to achieve such a major change are numerous, particularly in an area such as East and West Sussex along with Brighton & Hove where the vast majority of businesses are micro enterprises or small businesses and where the transport links are at best a bit limited. To achieve a major change demands a long term, sustainable focus which needs to emanate from the Government if they are serious about promoting their hashtag #disabilityconfident. They need to spend time listening to charities such as Possability People and also small businesses as well as the people seeking work and applying community development principles so that they don’t just hear the words but ensure that they respond to them. If they do so, then things could change dramatically and the opportunity for some disabled people will become much wider than at present.

The same need for proper listening to people is true in the cases of other Ministers such as Nick Gibb who on Thursday was presumably in the House of Commons working hard as the Schools Minister whilst a large number of school children and teachers from across West Sussex visited the Butlins holiday camp in his constituency. They were not there to enjoy the holiday camp facilities but to meet local businesses and find out how Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects could enable them to find work and help improve society. Although Nick had been invited to the event, he did not come along which was very disappointing. It is of course inevitable that he and Nusrat Ghani will get numerous invitations to attend meetings that they cannot attend. The truth is that Nick regularly gets asked about STEM subjects when he is in the Chamber of the House of Commons or in front of select committees, and he always has an answer to talk about Government policy. However the problem with Government policies such as STEM education and employing people with disabilities, is that all too often the words that come from Ministers are not founded on real life situations, but a bit more of a theoretical approach to life. This needs to change if Governments want to be taken seriously.