The government has published Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper which includes helping unemployed disabled people to move back into and remain in work, as well as focusing on the increasing number of people who are economically inactive because of a long-term health condition or disability.
There will be more investment in employment support for Disabled people and people with health conditions:
“We are stepping up our Work Coach support across the country, with disabled people and those with health conditions now having additional time with a work coach in Jobcentres.
“We are also extending the Work and Health Programme to September 2024 and rolling-out our new In-Work Progression Offer to help people in work on UC, including disabled people, to increase their earnings and move into better-paid jobs.”
“We will continue to work with employers and the occupational health sector to help more people remain in work and reduce health-related job loss.”
Other proposed reforms include:
- stepping up access to employment support through extra work coach time and Universal Support – a new programme working directly with employers to match individuals with jobs and provide wrap-around support to succeed.
- integrating health and employment provision to get people the health services they need to stay in or move into work. The WorkWell Partnerships Programme will test a new way of focussing health provision based on what an individual needs for work.
- investing more in testing ways to boost Occupational Health coverage while consulting on ways to go even further on this, including through tax incentives.
- embedding tailored employment support within mental health and MSK services in England, including expanding the well-established and successful Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) scheme, scaling up MSK hubs in the community and improving access to digital resources such as apps for management of mental health and MSK conditions.
The proposed benefit reforms will require primary legislation, that will be brought forward in the next Parliament.
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