Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of plans to reform the fit note process on people with mental ill health.

Good work is good for health. We know that good work can positively impact people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing. We also know that tailored work and health support can help break down the kinds of barriers that can make finding and staying in a job more difficult for those with mental health conditions.

In 2023, 24% of fit note episodes had a known diagnosis and of those, 33% are for mental and behavioural disorders. We are reforming the fit note process so that it starts with an assessment of what someone can do with the right support, rather than what they cannot. This builds on the £795m investment we made at Autumn Statement for additional funding over five years for mental health services to help support people with mental ill health to gain and/or retain employment, as well as our successful Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies programme, which is now being rolled out across England.

Our ambition is to bring together preventative healthcare and employment systems to support people who are at risk of falling out of work or who have already fallen out of work due to ill health. We continue to work with stakeholders including mental health organisations and those with lived experience, to co-develop this policy, this includes seeking insight and evidence via a public call for evidence.

This work is an essential part of the Government’s ambition to improve health outcomes, and help people get access to the support they need to return to, remain and thrive in work.