Thousands of disabled people and people with complex health conditions to receive help finding secure, well-paid jobs
Thousands of people who are out of work due to health conditions, disabilities or other reasons will be helped to find and stay in jobs thanks to a £100 million taxpayer funded boost announced by the Department for Work and Pensions today [Friday 11 July].
It’s part of the Government’s plan to Get Britain Working again including changing Jobcentres so staff have more time to support people, using better technology, and making sure there are good jobs across the whole country. The Get Britain Working plan gives towns and cities the powers they need to grow and help more people into work.
The £103.6 million taxpayer funded package will go towards the Connect to Work programme in Kent & Medway, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Greater Lancashire, supporting nearly 30,000 people.
With 2.8 million people out of work due to ill-health – one of the highest rates in the G7 – the government is taking action to tackle the pressing challenge, and Connect to Work is part of the government’s wider efforts to reduce economic inactivity and grow the economy by supporting more people into work and out of poverty as part of its Plan for Change.
Minister for Employment Alison McGovern said:
Connect to Work is being delivered across England and Wales, with the government already providing more than £150 million of taxpayer money, which will help to support around 41,000 people. In all more than 300,000 people will be supported by the programme over the next five years.
The programme comes as part of a major investment by the taxpayers in employment support for sick and disabled people across this parliament - worth £3.8 billion over the course of this Parliament, and includes £2.2 billion of taxpayer money delivered for support announced in our Pathways to Work Green Paper over the next four years, to help people find good, secure jobs.
The Connect to Work funding will be used to provide services including:
The programme is just one of the ways disabled people, those with health conditions or complex barriers to employment can access support – including assistance provided through Jobcentres.
The latest taxpayer funded support was announced as the Minister for Employment visited a Jobcentre in Preston to meet people already helped into work by existing employment support.
Under the Connect to Work programme Greater Lancashire - which includes Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Blackpool Council - is to receive up to £38.8 million of taxpayer funding to support 11,000 participants.
The Minister for Employment met with:
As announced earlier this year, through Connect to Work, up to £42.8 million of taxpayer funding has been allocated to West London Alliance to support 10,800 people, and up to £11.1 million to East Sussex to assist 2,900 people.
It comes as 15 regions will benefit from a share of £1.5 million in funding to launch a pilot for the WorkWell Primary Care Innovation Fund. The pilot could transform how local people with health conditions are supported back into employment rather than writing them off with a fit note, reducing pressure on GPs in the area.
Additional Information