Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce economic inactivity among women between the ages of 45 and 64.

DWP supports people up and down the country to start, stay and succeed in work.

At Autumn Statement, we announced DWP’s Back to Work Plan alongside a suite of other measures to reduce economic inactivity. These included;

· Doubling the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme, to provide support for 100,000 people per year when fully rolled out;

· Formally launching WorkWell, which will bring together the NHS, local authorities and other partners, in collaboration with jobcentres, to provide light touch work and health support in approximately 15 pilot areas;

· Building on the extension of the certification of the fit notes to a wider range of healthcare professions, exploring new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to work and health support; and

· Establishing an expert group to support the development of the voluntary national baseline for Occupational Health provision.

This is alongside pre-existing support such as the Midlife MOT which was rolled out in Jobcentres from January 2023 to encourage individuals to optimise re-skilling prospects and improve health and longer-term financial resilience. The Mid-life MOT acts as a vital prompt to engage more people in planning more actively for later life – both for work and retirement. It provides individuals in their 40s, 50s and 60s with signposting to information and guidance on wealth, work and wellbeing, providing a holistic assessment to ensure that individuals can plan for the later life that they want. We continue to work with organisations, and with employers, on how they can offer the Mid-life MOT.

The DWP 50PLUS Champions network also provides dedicated support to Work Coaches to enable them to effectively direct suitable support to claimants who are aged 50 and over.