Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are being assisted through Universal Support.

We have interpreted your question as referring to the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) initiative and Work and Health Programme (WHP) Pioneer, both of which form part of the first phase of Universal Support.

We explained in our press release that we expect to help 25,000 people by September 2024. Progress will be reported in the WHP official statistics publication on GOV.UK. Information relating to IPSPC is not currently available; however, the Secretary of State has committed to the publication of data for the IPSPC initiative as part of the first phase of Universal Support. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.

The next release of published statistics for the WHP is planned for 30 May 2024. This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer. Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.