"When we first got to the awards ceremony, I thought: 'it's amazing to be here, just to be shortlisted - that's enough.' But, by the time it was half way through, I thought: 'I want to win!'," says Tanja Tinari, Westminster Employment Service (WES) manager.

WES, Westminster Council's supportive employment service for disabled people, has striven to create sustainable employment opportunities for disabled people in partnership with TNS Mystery Shopping and Transport for London (TfL). In recognition of the support given to disabled people to help them become employed as mystery shoppers, together with the valuable consultative role it provided to TNS and TfL, WES won the disability category at last year's Community Care Awards.

TfL wanted to launch a mystery traveller survey to measure the experience of disabled people using bus and taxi services in London, and commissioned TNS to carry out the research.

"WES became involved after one of our employment advisers saw an advert", says Tinari. WES was well placed to help recruit disabled people because "we had all the multi-media equipment in place which would enable them to communicate their interest in being involved", she says.

The threat to benefits can be a barrier to employment for disabled people. "If employment affects benefits it can have an enormous impact on people's lives," says Tinari. For that reason, in consultation with the disabled recruits, it was decided that they would be paid a fixed sum for each journey they do. This means that travellers can manage how much they earn and decide whether they want it to affect their benefits or not.

The travellers test access to buses and taxis, staff courtesy and helpfulness and signs and information. There were 24 travellers in the first team who, having finished their training, completed 40 journeys. Since then the team has continued to work for TNS, making as many journeys as they choose to each week.

Tinari believes that it is important that travellers are employed directly by TNS once they are trained. "It is important", she says, "because it empowers them to manage their own employment as well as ensuring that the partnership is sustainable."

The project, now in its third year, has seen people who were employed through this partnership move on to other things. "The experience of training, being employed and compiling information that will directly benefit other disabled people, has helped them to gain confidence and has opened a whole lot of other doors for them. The confidence in using public transport that this job develops is valuable in itself because it is getting people out more."

WES continues to receive a huge number of calls every time a new recruitment advert goes out. "It shows how willing people with disabilities are to work. What they want are meaningful employment opportunities that fit their own needs," says Tinari.

WES was thrilled to win the award. "It's been fantastic for the team," she says. "For two-and-a-half years our work wasn't acknowledged on a national scale. Winning the award has thrown WES into a high profile position and helped us to get the message across which will make it easier to bring people into the fold."

The project will use the £5,000 prize money to improve the opportunities for young people in transition. Currently it runs a Thinking About Work course in Westminster for students in their final year of high school. The money will enable the project to expand its work with young people and their parents and carers to empower them to make real choices about their futures.

The disabled people's cateogry was sponsored by Cooper Stanley