Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether disabled people will have access to voluntary, specialised and personal employment support during and after the transition from the Work Choice and Work Programme to the Work and Health Programme.

The Work and Health Programme is only one part of the wider package of support for disabled people. ‘Improving Lives, The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper’ published on 31 October, confirms we will introduce a new Personal Support Package for people with health conditions and disabilities, with a range of new interventions and initiatives designed to provide support that is tailored to the individual needs of claimants.

The Spending Review announced funding rising to at least £130 million a year by 2019/20 for the new Work and Health programme, including funding to be devolved to Scotland, focussing support on people with a disability, early access for priority groups and the long term unemployed. We expect the majority of people who will start the programme will be disabled people and they will be able to volunteer to join the programme at any time.

Our current assumption is that participants provided support on existing programmes will continue to be supported on that programme and will not transfer to the Work and Health Programme, although no decision has yet been made. The Work and Health Programme will launch in 2017 following the end of referrals to the Work Programme and Work Choice.