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<p>The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health
conditions, including people with mental health conditions, with their employment
journey. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone
to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Government
announced an 80% employment rate ambition in the Getting Britain Working White Paper.</p><p>Disabled
people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right
work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. My department
therefore is investing in a range of support for individuals to help them stay in
work and get back into work, including several that join up employment and health
systems.</p><p>Additional Work Coach Support, delivered through our Jobcentres, provides
disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions,
with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them
move towards, and into, work. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England,
Scotland and Wales. This rollout has been informed by trialling in Jobcentres. This
personalised support from Work Coaches aims to enable disabled people and people with
health conditions, to access employment, wider support including our employment programmes
earlier.</p><p>Work coaches receive specialist support from Disability Employment
Advisers on how to tailor their support to help disabled customers move closer or
into the labour market. Disability Employment Advisers can also offer “direct support”
to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, including mental health
conditions, where additional bespoke support would benefit the customer. We will continue
to ensure that every Work Coach has access to support from a Disability Employment
Adviser.</p><p>The Access to Work Scheme provides grant funding to disabled people,
as well as those with a health condition. The grant supports workplace adjustments
that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty
to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. The Scheme
also includes the Mental Health Support Service which provides up to nine months of
non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while
in employment. In 2023/24, 49,920 people were in receipt of a payment for an Access
to Work element. Of those, 14,310 (29%) received one or more payments for the Mental
Health Support Service element in the same period.</p><p>Work in partnership between
the DWP and health systems, currently includes Individual Placement and Support in
Primary Care (IPSPC) a Supported Employment programme (using the place, train and
maintain model) delivered in primary care settings and is aimed at people with physical
or common mental health disabilities, both out of work who need help into work, and
those needing support with their health issues to stay in work. IPSPC is integrated
with an individual’s normal health treatment encouraging recognition of employment
as an important driver of an individual’s health and wellbeing. We will be bringing
this approach to all areas of England and Wales through the roll out of the Connect
to Work Programme which will support 100,000 people a year from 2026/27. This complements
the delivery of Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness which is
delivered in secondary mental health services by the NHS in England.</p><p>The Employment
Advice in Talking Therapies programme combines the expertise of therapists and employment
advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find
work tailored to them. Employment Advisors support patients in NHS Talking Therapies
irrespective of their employment or benefit status. People who are looking for work
will be supported to improve the quality of their CVs, complete application forms
and improve the quality of their performance in interviews. If the client wishes,
Employment Advisors can also work with NHS Talking Therapies clients and their employers
to support returns to work following mental health-related absences. This could include
suggesting coping mechanisms empowering clients to have better conversations with
their colleagues or manager, or through suggesting workplace reasonable adjustments
or a graduated return to work.</p><p>WorkWell sites went live in 15 areas across England
from October 2024, providing low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers
to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service
provision. Each area designs and delivers an integrated work and health support offer,
that brings together partnerships between Integrated Care Boards, local government,
Jobcentres and community partners, including mental health services. People can be
referred via their GP, Jobcentre, via other local services or can self-refer. By Spring
2026, WorkWell is expected to support up to 56,000 disabled people and people with
health conditions, including mental health conditions, to get into work or get on
at work.</p><p>Furthermore, in March we announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper
that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people
with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or
return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.</p><p>As the Green Paper notes,
we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed
to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders
including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral
Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential
users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation
process.</p>
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