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<p>The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper ‘Improving Lives’, published in October
2016, sets out our intention to remove the long-standing injustices and barriers that
stop disabled people and people with health conditions, including ongoing mental health
conditions, from getting into work and getting on. We are also determined to bring
a new focus to efforts to prevent health conditions from developing and worsening,
helping more people to remain in work for longer. This includes putting mental and
physical health on an equal footing, to ensure people get the right care and prevent
mental illness in the first place.</p><p>To make early progress we are significantly
improving our employment support. For example, expanding the number of employment
advisers and introducing a new Personal Support Package offering tailored employment
support. We are working with health partners to embed evidence into clinical practice
and support training and education across the NHS workforce. We are also investing
£115 million of funding to develop new models of support to help people into work
when they are managing a long-term health condition or disability. We will identify
and rapidly scale those which can make a difference, while weeding out less promising
approaches.</p><p>In her speech on the 9th January the Prime Minister announced that
more will be done to support mental wellbeing in the workplace. Lord Stevenson, who
has campaigned on these issues for many years, and Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and Chair
of the NHS Mental Health Taskforce, have been commissioned to work with leading employers
and mental health groups to create a new partnership with industry and, review how
best to ensure employees with mental health problems are enabled to thrive in the
workplace and perform at their best and make prevention and breaking the stigma top
priorities for employers. The Prime Minister also announced a review of employment
discrimination laws against people with mental health conditions in the workplace
for employees with mental health problems to ensure they are properly supported.</p>
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