DWP change could see 59,000 sick back at work in ‘too many’ warning

A new government scheme could help thousands of people get back to work. Radical changes are being made in the welfare system.

Among the government’s changes is a review of payments to people with mental health conditions. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a “joint work and health support service” that will help 59,000 disabled and long-term ill people get back into work, the DailyRecord reports.

A total of 15 areas across England were chosen as part of the scheme’s pilot program in October. These include four regions in the West Midlands, including Birmingham and the Black Country. People in Scotland will not be affected by the scheme.

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The WorkWell scheme is part of a UK Government plan to reform the country’s welfare system. This was recently highlighted in a recently published Green Paper.

The proposals include swapping fixed monthly Personal Independence Payment (PIP) cash payments for more than 5,300 people with “minor mental health problems” to support them through Talking Therapies services. However, the proposed changes, which also include an overhaul of the PIP assessment process and eligibility criteria, have been described by disability charities as an “all-out attack on disabled people”.

The £64 million WorkWell pilot program will connect people with a condition or disability to local support services, including physiotherapy and counselling, to help them stay in or return to work. The service, launched by the DWP and the Department of Health and Social Care, will bring together healthcare and workplace support advice.

It is voluntary, so people can self-refer or be referred to WorkWell through an employer or the community sector. For example, a GP might refer a patient with back pain to WorkWell, where an adviser can contact the workplace to make adjustments such as flexible working or moving the office downstairs and help them access physiotherapy.

Pilot areas from October

The WorkWell pilots will take place in the following areas:

• Birmingham and Solihull
• The Black Country
• Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
• Coventry and Warwickshire
• Frimley
• Herefordshire and Worcestershire
• Greater Manchester
• Lancashire and South Cumbria
• Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
• North Central London
• North West London
• South Yorkshire
• Surrey Heartlands

Each of the 15 WorkWell pilots will decide exactly what support will be made available that best suits the needs of their local area. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride MP, said: “We are delivering the next generation of welfare reforms so that thousands more people can get all the benefits that work brings.

“Too many today fall into unemployment in a sick spiral that damages their finances, their prospects and ultimately their health, where with the right adjustments and help in the workplace, this need not be the case. And so we’ve designed WorkWell, a ground-breaking new service that will integrate health and work advice locally for the first time as part of our plan to stem the tide of economic inactivity, grow the economy and change lives for the better.”

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins MP said: “Too often people with disabilities or ill health fall into unemployment without support. We have a plan to change that and improve lives so that everyone has the opportunity to find fulfilling work.

“This service will help tens of thousands of people, who will receive shared work and healthcare tailored to their individual needs. This service, together with a faster, simpler and fairer health service, will build a healthier workforce and a stronger workforce. economy.”

Ministers also want the fitness note process to be integrated with WorkWell, whereby people applying for one ‘have a conversation about work and health and are referred to local employment support services so they can stay at work,” according to the DWP. Last month, Rishi Sunak announced a proposal to have so-called health specialists and professionals tasked with issuing sick notes instead of GPs in a bid to end the “sick note culture”.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the system as it stands is letting people down by not being focused enough on the work they could be doing. Labor said it would “look closely” at any program that supports people into work.

The opposition party’s acting secretary for work and pensions, Alison McGovern, said: “But with record numbers of people out of work due to illness and millions on spiraling NHS and mental health waiting lists, we have need a long term plan to fix ourselves. NHS and put Britain to work, no more pilots sitting on the sidelines. Labour’s plan to make Britain work will reduce NHS waiting lists, reform jobcentres, make work pay and support people to get good jobs in every part of the country. Change with Labor can’t come soon enough.”

More details about the WorkWell scheme can be found on the GOV.UK website here.