Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure employers are encouraged to support people with disabilities into employment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good 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. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
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. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, WorkWell and NHS Health and Growth Accelerators.
In recognition of employer’s vital role in addressing health-related economic activity, we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working independent review which led to a report which was published on 5 November. In partnership with DBT and DHSC colleagues we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work and develop a Healthy Workplace Standard, putting his key recommendations into action from day one.
Additionally, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Directorate has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.
In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new additional funding by 2030. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.
The NHS 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, stated our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure employers are encouraged to support people with disabilities into employment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are funding local authorities to open our supported employment programme, Connect to Work, throughout England and Wales. Crucially, as part of this programme, specialist employment advisers work with both participants and employers, ensuring that participants are supported and workplaces are inclusive.
It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The Independent lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield’s report has now been released - Keep Britain Working: Final report - GOV.UK