Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the potential impact of poor health outcomes on economic activity.

Long-term sickness is now the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. To step up our focus on tackling rising economic inactivity due to long-term sickness, we announced a further wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work.

New investment includes:

o Expanding additional work coach support, an existing programme to provide disabled people and people with health conditions with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work.

o Introducing Universal Support, a new supported employment programme for eligible inactive people (disabled people and people with health conditions and additional barriers to employment), matching participants with open market jobs and funding support and training.

o Piloting the WorkWell Partnerships Programme to provide integrated work and health support for disabled people and people with health conditions who want help to remain in, return to, or take up, work. The programme will be locally led, bringing together the NHS, local authorities and other partners, in collaboration with jobcentres.

o Launching two Occupational Health consultations – one focused on occupational health tax incentives and one on ways to boost UK occupational health coverage.

o Introducing employment advisors in Musculoskeletal Conditions (MSK) services in England, helping individuals with MSK conditions to return to, or remain in, employment.

These initiatives build on wider announcements at the 2023 Spring Budget, including the publication of the Health and Disability White Paper and greater investment in mental health and musculoskeletal condition services which are the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long term sickness.

The Government already has a range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay, and succeed in, work. These include increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres; Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; the Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; the Support with Employee Health and Disability Service; and work to further join up employment and health systems, including Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.