14 December 2004 - Increasing opportunity to move from welfare to work
The best practice of doctors, employers and the Government will shape the strategy to help sick and disabled people back to work, Minister for Work Jane Kennedy announced today.
Speaking at the Social Market Foundation, Jane Kennedy outlined her vision, saying:
“In today’s economic climate there are many opportunities available to those who can work. Government must recognise our shared interests with the medical profession and employers.
“For most people, being out of action and on benefits in the long-term is not inevitable. Around two-thirds of people on incapacity benefits were told by their doctor that they should not work. Many have also faced a lack of adequate support, even discrimination at the hands of employers.
“To address this we need to bring together the best practice of employers in managing sickness absence, the medical profession in promoting well-being and the Government in supporting people on benefits back to work.”
Joint working through the trail-blazing Pathways to Work initiative has shown a doubling in the number of recorded job entries compared to other areas and about six times as many people are taking up further help to get back to work compared to the national average. The initiative combines job help by specially trained Personal Advisors, health advice from the NHS and better links with local GPs and employers.
Proposals for further reform build on the joint approach between Government, business and the medical profession. Employment support will be available in doctors’ surgeries in pilot locations and Statutory Sick Pay will be looked at to ensure it delivers the right information and incentives to employers to manage staff absence effectively.
Notes for editors
- Pathways to Work pilots offer early, sustained support involving Jobcentre Plus, the NHS and the voluntary sector to help people with health conditions and disabilities.
- There are seven pilots – the first wave was launched in October 2003 (Renfrewshire, Derby and Bridgend) with a further four launched in the second wave in April 2004 (Essex, Gateshead and S. Tyneside, Somerset and E. Lancs).
- The extension of the scheme announced today will cover additionally the following Jobcentre Plus districts: Durham; Tees Valley; Lancashire West; Lanarkshire and East Dunbarton; Staffordshire; Barnsley and Rotherham (to be merged with Doncaster); Manchester (to be merged with Salford and Trafford); Cumbria; Greater Mersey; Liverpool (to be merged with Wirral); Eastern Valleys; Swansea Bay (to be merged with West Wales); Glasgow; and City of Sunderland.
- The Pathways to Work pilots include:
- Support from a highly skilled personal adviser and contact every month in the first 8 months of the claim when people can be most readily helped back to work
- Groundbreaking NHS rehabilitation support so that they can learn to manage and cope with their health condition (e.g. back pain, angina, mental illness) so they can get back to work
- Strong local partnerships with the New Deal for Disabled People - voluntary and private sector employment advisers
- £40 a week return to work credit once they get a job so that it always pays to get back to work
- Work with local GPs and employers to ensure people on IB are not discouraged from working again
- The Pathways pilots have targeted new IB claimants and existing claimants who volunteer. The approach is being extended to those who have been on IB for over a year from early 2005.
- Early evaluation of Pathways to Work published on 30 November showed that double the number of people are getting jobs through Jobcentre Plus compared to last year. There was also between eight and ten per cent increase in the rate of people coming off incapacity benefits after four months of their claim compared to non-pilot areas and five times as many people in pilot areas joining New Deal for Disabled People compared to old-style jobcentres.
- Copies of Jane Kennedy’s speech to the Social Market Foundation can be obtained by calling DWP press office (see below contact details)
For more information contact: Kathy Barlow on 020 7238 0766
Press office: 020 7238 0866
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Public enquiries: 020 7712 2171
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk