The DWP estimates 300,000 people will benefit from the scheme over the next five years
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is to inject £338million into a scheme helping people with advanced requirements find jobs. The Connect to Work programme help over 85,000 people who are sick, disabled or facing other complexities to work in 15 areas across England.
Service users will be given personalised help including individual coaching from employment specialists to job matching services. The DWP estimates 300,000 people will benefit from the scheme over the next five years.
Those who think they’d benefit from the programme can self-refer or they can be referred through avenues like healthcare professionals and local authorities. The DWP claims 2.8 million Brits are out of work due to ill-health – one of the highest rates in the G7 – so the government has tasked itself with hitting an 80 per cent employment rate by overhauling jobcentres, tackling economic inactivity through local plans, and delivering a Youth Guarantee so every young person is either earning or learning.
Among those out of work, over one in four cite sickness as a barrier – more than double the 2012 figure of one in ten – which the DWP says highlights the necessity for tailored employment support that removes barriers faced by disabled people and those with health conditions.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “For too long, millions of people have been denied the support they need to get back to health and back to work. It’s bad for their living standards, it’s bad for their families, and it’s bad for the economy.
“That’s why we’re taking decisive action by investing millions of pounds so sick or disabled people can overcome the barriers they face and move out of poverty and into good, secure jobs as part of our Plan for Change.”
The announcement comes days after the Universal Credit Bill received Royal Assent, which kicks in during April 2026. it will streamline the welfare system by rebalancing Universal Credit to reduce the incentives that discourage work and fuel inactivity. It will also amp the rate of the standard allowance of Universal Credit, for around four million households, putting an extra £725 in their pockets by 2030.
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