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 provide advice and mentoring support to those who will receive the new lower rate of employment and support allowance; who will provide such advice and mentoring support; and when those measures will be in place.

We have allocated a total of £330m for new, voluntary employment support for people with limited capability for work, over four years starting from April 2017.

This additional funding means that from April 2017 we will be offering people newly placed in the Work Related Activity Group, and it’s Universal Credit equivalent, more assistance to move closer to the labour market and when they are ready into work.

Improving Lives, The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper’ provides further details of this Personal Support Package for people with health conditions and disabilities which will be in place from April 2017. This includes a range of new interventions and initiatives designed to provide support that is tailored to the individual needs of claimants including Peer Support Job clubs.

We are rolling out Peer Support job clubs to 71 Jobcentre Plus areas to offer a personalised package of employment support, delivered away from the Job Centre by people who have a lived experience or expert knowledge of disability. The Peer Support job clubs will be overseen by a Community Employment Specialist who will use their experience and knowledge of disability to support participants in the Peer Support job club and the job centre.