Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what research he has commissioned into the mental health needs of people claiming jobseeker's allowance.

We recognise that mental health is a mainstream issue for employment support and are committed to supporting people with common mental health conditions into employment. That is why the Department commissioned research into the effects that unemployment has on the mental health and wellbeing of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants. In 2012 we published The Mental health in context: the national study of work-search and wellbeing report which examined the mental health and wellbeing of JSA claimants.

We also commissioned RAND Europe to undertake research to examine the existing evidence on mental health interventions and propose new approaches to develop the evidence base for future policy development. The report suggested a range of approaches to improve the alignment of mental health and employment services for people with common mental health conditions.

With the Department of Health we took forward a number of feasibility pilots based on the recommendations put forward in the report Psychological Wellbeing and Work: Improving Service Provision and Outcomes to explore the most promising and evidence-based approaches to supporting individuals with mental health conditions.

These pilots will contribute to a better evidence base for action and will inform our thinking about next steps not only for government, but for all who have a role to play including employers, commissioners, service providers and individuals.

We will expand these pilots from summer 2015 and use the learning from the early pilots to support the delivery of the next phase.