Positive Meeting with Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, DCMS

Craig Crowley, Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Jim Edwards

The Chair of UKCoD, Craig Crowley together with his advisor, Jim Edwards today met with the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP for a positive meeting on VRS provision in the UK.

Purpose:
To ask the Minister to support a government wide approach to purchasing VRS and to support a further review by Ofcom of the voluntary/market model. A briefing on this was sent prior to the meeting (attached)

Discussion:
Matt Hancock whilst at Cabinet Office led on the Crown Commercial Services Framework Agreement and he was keen to see a government wide approach that, ensured universal access to services that built on and exploited developing technologies and brought some economies of scale to the purchasing arrangements. He has positive reports on the DWP Pilots and wants to see this initiative built on by all government departments. The minister acknowledged that the current model is making progress and that the understanding of costs of the service are based on outdated estimates of service cost, hence the need for a review of the market model, though he would want to be clear what would be the outcome of a review and is keen on progressing provision.

Outcome:
The Minister agreed to contact his successor at the Cabinet Office Ben Gummer about building on the DWP pilots of VRS and the Crown Commercial Services Framework agreement with  a government wide initiative to purchase VRS in a similar model to ‘contact Scotland’. He will also keep the Penny Mordaunt ( Minister for Disabled People) informed of the discussions and developments.

The Minister will talk with Ofcom about a further review of the evidence of the market developments.

Follow up letter to the Minister to be drafted.

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