To ask the Assembly Commission to outline any further actions that can be taken to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities to undertake work experience at the Assembly.

Mr Clarke

Mr Speaker, I may require an extra minute to answer the question. I thank the Member for her question. The Assembly Commission's school work experience programme is facilitated through a partnership between our internal education services team and an organisation called Futures For All, a social mobility charity. The programme aims to be as inclusive as possible for all young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or additional support needs (ASN). All schools who are registered with Futures For All are eligible to put forward pupils for participation in the programme, including pupils with SEND. Any additional needs of participants are then considered and provided for during online and in-person sessions. The Assembly Commission also has an apprenticeship and placement framework that provides the opportunity for people with a disability to avail themselves of short-term supported placements. Such placements are arranged by the Commission's human resources office, working in partnership with an external umbrella body that supports a range of organisations that work with individuals who have a disability. Implementing supported placements for people with a disability is an action in the Assembly Commission's disability action plan. The Assembly Commission has also sought to ensure that young people with disabilities are represented in the Youth Assembly and have an opportunity to share their views and directly influence decisions taken by the Assembly. For recruitment to the current Youth Assembly and on the basis of research on the youth demographic in Northern Ireland, a minimum of 10 young people with disabilities were sought in order to be representative of the data. Of the 90 young people appointed to the Youth Assembly, 18 have a disability. The commitment to inclusive recruitment is also reflected in the Assembly Commission's wider contract arrangements. Over recent years, the support services contractor, which provides catering, cleaning, porterage and related help desk services, has developed links with social enterprises, leading to the permanent employment of five team members. Building on that approach, the Assembly Commission will explore further opportunities to embed social value in the delivery of those services during the next contract term. The Assembly Commission will continue to identify further actions that could help people with special educational needs and disabilities to access meaningful work experience opportunities at the Assembly.

Mr Clarke

Following the apprenticeship and placement framework in June 2019, the implementation of supported placements was initially delayed by COVID-19. Three supported placements have now been completed, and the feedback from the business areas and individuals involved has all been positive.