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<p>This Government is committed to supporting disabled people and those with health
conditions to reach their potential. Since 2015 there has been a steady increase in
the number of disabled people in work. From April-June 2015 to April-June 2017 (the
latest period for which the Office for National Statistics has published estimates
without ‘health warnings’), the number of disabled people in work increased by 235,000
from 3.3 million to 3.5 million. The disability employment rate in this period increased
by 3.3 percentage points, from 45.9% to 49.2%.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit helps
people with a disability or health condition who are already in work, to remain and
progress in work. It is specifically designed so that we can engage with and support
people early in and throughout their claim, to give them advice and support – and
not to lose contact with them. All work coaches delivering Universal Credit will receive
training on supporting claimants with health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>On 30 November
2017, we published ‘Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability’, which
sets out actions we’re taking in the welfare system, in the workplace and in health
services to realise our commitment to see one million more disabled people in work
by 2027.</p><p> </p><p>Our programme is supported by a wide range of ‘test and learn’
activity designed to build the evidence about what works to support disabled people
and those with health conditions to get into and stay in work. Projects worth up to
around £1 billion have been launched, including:</p><ul><li>up to £500m of investment
in the new Work and Health Programme, which we expect to help around 275,000 people
over five years, with the majority (around 220,000) being disabled people;</li><li>our
Personal Support Package, including the investment of £330m for those on the UC/ESA
health journey, delivering a range of new interventions and initiatives designed to
provide support tailored to the individual needs of claimants;</li><li>health-led
trials in Sheffield City Region and the West Midlands Combined Authority, which build
on the internationally-recognised Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach
to provide employment support in a health setting for people with mild-to-moderate
mental and physical health conditions;</li><li>more than doubling the number of Employment
Advisers in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services, providing
support to adults with depression and a range of anxiety disorders through integrated
employment advice and psychological treatment;</li><li>recruiting 300 additional Disability
Employment Advisers, and introducing 200 new Community Partners to bring more specialist
advice and support into the Jobcentre; and</li><li>supporting Greater Manchester and
the Scottish Government with early intervention initiatives that make it easier and
quicker for people to access the right support through a needs assessment, and rapid
access to interventions such as occupational health support, mental health and musculoskeletal
treatment, and job brokerage.</li></ul><p> </p><p>We have also recently introduced
the new Tech Fund in Access to Work, offering employers significant support with the
cost of assistive technology; and we’re continuing to build our engagement with employers
through Disability Confident, which is growing strongly and now has over 6,800 employers
signed up.</p>
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