ABSTRACT
There is a widespread view in policy circles in Europe, the USA and Australia that work is the key to achieving social inclusion for marginalised people such as those who are disabled. For example, the Social Exclusion Unit within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the UK's New Labour government expressly argues the case for focusing policy development on getting people into work as the key to their inclusion (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2003). I do not intend to get into the debate on the nature of social exclusion as a concept, but it is important to note the primacy of this policy intention and the practice implications that follow from it. Are disabled people included in the policy framework for achieving this aim? If so, how well is the policy working? Inasmuch as social workers are key practitioners assisting disabled people, what part are they playing in the process of inclusion? These are the questions that this article will address, in relation to policy and practice in the UK, and focused on people who are disabled by general responses to their learning difficulty (n.b. "learning difficulty" is the preferred phrase for self-advocates in the UK. The British Government refers to "learning disabilities." Other countries use phrases such as intellectual impairment. I will use the phrase preferred by disabled people in the UK).
