The Work and Health Programme is a welfare-to-work programme which will be launched in autumn 2017. It will provide specialised support for those unemployed for over two years and, on a voluntary basis, to those with health conditions or disabilities. The Government expects that the majority of people referred to the Programme will be disabled. The Programme will be run by service providers awarded contracts by the Government.

The Programme will target people who with specialist support are likely to be able to find work within 12 months. It takes the place of two existing welfare-to-work schemes, the Work Programme and Work Choice, although many jobseekers who would previously have been supported by the Work Programme will now receive support directly through Jobcentre Plus rather than the Work and Health Programme.

Funding for the Work and Health Programme will be £130 million a year by 2019/20, including funds devolved to Scotland. Aspects of the Programme will also be devolved to local areas.

The Programme forms part of a wider package of employment support for people with disabilities, as outlined in the Government’s Work, Health and Disability Green Paper: Improving Lives, published in October 2016. The Green Paper also includes proposals to increase the level of employment support provided to disabled people through the Jobcentre Plus network.

researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7845

Personal Support Package One of the key announcements in the Green Paper was a new Personal Support Package for people claiming ESA (or the equivalent Universal Credit claimant group), consisting of more tailored employment support form Jobcentre Plus.

22 The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Damian Green MP, explained in an Oral Statement: We will also introduce a new personal support package for disabled people, providing better tailored support, including a new health and work conversation between someone on ESA and their work coach, focusing on what they can do, rather than on what they cannot do. We will recruit around 200 community partners into jobcentres, to bring in expertise from the voluntary sector, and we will give young people with limited capability for work the opportunity to get valuable work experience with employers.

23 The Green Paper states the Government will “continue to build and develop the capability of our work coaches” (who are front-line support staff in Jobcentre Plus), who will be supported by a greater number of specialist Disability Employment Advisers. ‘Community partners’ from
the voluntary sector will be able to identify what support there is locally as well as to engage with local employers: ... We have introduced an accredited learning journey for work coaches, which includes additional mandatory training in supporting those with physical and mental health conditions. From 2017, we will introduce an enhanced training offer which better enables work coaches to support people with mental health conditions and more confidently engage with employers on the issue of mental health.

Work coaches will be supported by specialist Disability Employment Advisers. We are currently recruiting up to 300 more Disability Employment Advisers, taking the total to over 500. These advisers will work alongside work coaches to provide additional professional expertise and local knowledge on health issues, particularly around mental health conditions. The role will have a much stronger focus on coaching work coaches to help build their confidence and expertise in supporting individuals with a health condition or disability. ...

We will recruit around 200 Community Partners across Jobcentre Plus. These will be people with personal and professional experience of disability and many will be seconded from a Disabled People’s User-Led Organisation or disability charity. From next year, Community Partners will be working with Jobcentre Plus staff, to build their capability and provide valuable first-hand insight into the issues individuals with a health condition or disability face in securing and sustaining employment. Drawing on their local knowledge, they will identify more tailored local provision to ensure individuals with health conditions can benefit from the full range of support and expertise available. Community Partners will also engage with local employers to help improve the recruitment and retention of disabled people and people with health conditions.

More complex needs From 2017, all new ESA claimants in the Work-Related Activity Group (and the equivalent group of Universal Credit claimants) who wish to volunteer and are eligible will be offered a place on either Work Choice or the Work and Health Programme. However, the Green Paper notes that the Work and Health Programme will not be suitable for some people with more complex needs and that the Government is considering how to provide employment support to this group in the future. Currently, support is delivered through the Department for Work and Pensions’ Specialist Employability Support programme.

25 Young people Proposals in the Green Paper specifically targeted at young people include: • Adjusting maths and English requirements in apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities.

• Testing a voluntary supported work experience programme for young people with a limited capability for work. • Increasing the number of supported internships by helping employers to link up with schools.

26 Engaging claimants in the ESA Support Group Some of the proposals in the Green Paper specifically relate to ESA claimants in the Work-Related Activity Group only (or the equivalent Universal Credit claimant group). The Green Paper also discusses how best to help claimants in the ESA Support Group, who are likely to be severely limited in what they can do as a consequence of their illness or disability, noting that very few people in this group have volunteered for employment support in the past.

The Government therefore plans to “undertake comprehensive research to better understand how best to engage with people in the Support Group and those found to have limited capability for work and workrelated activity in Universal Credit, and what interventions are needed to support them effectively.” The Green Paper also seeks views on how Jobcentre Plus might maintain contact with people in the Support Group.

Green Paper

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/work-health-and-disability-improving-lives

Work, health and disability: improving lives

From:
Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health, The Rt Hon Damian Green, and The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt

2 November 2016
The nature of the problem

3) Making progress on the government’s manifesto ambition to halve the disability employment gap is central to our social reform agenda by building a country and economy that works for everyone, whether or not they have a long-term health condition or disability. It is fundamental to creating a society based on fairness: people living in more disadvantaged areas have poorer health and a higher risk of disability. It will also support our health and economic policy objectives by contributing to the government’s full employment ambitions, enabling employers to access a wider pool of talent and skills, and improving health.

4) Almost 1 in 3 working-age people in the UK have a long-term health condition which puts their participation in work at risk. 7 Around 1 in 5 of the working-age population has a mental health condition. 8 As many as 150,000 disabled people who are in work one quarter are out of work the next. 9 Over half (54%) of all disabled people who are out of work experience mental health and/or musculoskeletal conditions as their main health condition. 10 It is evident that our health and welfare systems are struggling to provide meaningful support, and, put simply, the system provides too little too late. Too many people are falling into a downward spiral of declining health and being out of work, denying them the benefits that employment can bring, creating pressures on the NHS and sustaining a major injustice in our society.

5) Over 3.3 million disabled people are now in work. 11 Yet many disabled people experience expectations that are too low, employers who can be reluctant to give them a chance, limited access to services and a welfare system that does not provide enough personalised and tailored support to help people into work and to stay in work. Too many people experience a fragmented and disjointed system which does little to support their ambitions of employment, and indeed can erode those ambitions.

I read that green paper it was an abomination. Frequently it referred to long term health conditions then spoke of obesity and nicotine/alcohol dependency as if any of those 3 were even grounds to receive esa or it's uc equivalent

Also does it mention any 'bonus' that these providers will get if they find work for people? And I bet it will be the same providers that had there fingers in the Work-Program trough, that will be providing this new program ?

I did find this not too sure if it is still relevant?


welfarecentral.org/index.php/forum-home/workfare-programmes/124-same-old-snouts-in-the-poverty-pimping-trough

No doubt they will wheel in a load of totally unqualified wombats to pretend they know whats best for individual peoples mental health;if qualified Drs find that a problem at the best of times, i fail to see how joke centre staff are going to address this issue or some other jumped up training provider.

Feel the torys will spin this trying it on for a vote winner here under the mental health banner of which seems to be in the news all of a sudden the past 2 weeks.

Lets see what qualified individuals are going to take this new wonderful idea up.
Maybe the roaches will do a 1 day course to qualify.

Totally sick of all the dwp and joke centres constant bull shit when people need real!!! constructive!! help!!!

that will actually lead to a result,not more time spent in solitary confinement.

I have an idea;they could send us all to prison.

Does anyone know how long people will need to be on this Work and Health Programme? The old Work Programme was 104 weeks, I hope this new one will be less time.

I don't know yet myself Ducray but most things they come up with seem to run on an annual or bi-annual basis so I wouldn't be surprised if it is another two year sentence.

Like jobber says, (supposed awareness of) mental health has been in the news not least involving the royals and they should know a bit about it with all those centuries of in-breeding and talking to plants.

The nugget remains how to get employers to hire the disabled when the DWP can't even find enough jobs for all the fully abled folk whom they appear to be giving up on in favour of hitting even easier targets.

Where better to start then than at home. Prince William and wifey can give a chauffer job to somebody who can't dress themselves or walk unaided. This will not only aid the disadvantaged but increase the learning curve of 'providers'. Jeremy Hunt could set somebody on as a food taster just in case his lunch is poisoned. Some of the homeless can move into spare rooms in the mansions of the super rich enabling them to get a good night's sleep so very important to a good day's productivity at the local slave farm.

The clear problem is that although this programme is due to be rolled out in the autumn it doesn't quite sound out of the planning stage yet and won't be fully functional until next year. Another rushed gimmick no doubt lacking in (genuine) professional credentials and amounting to medical negligence when they start implementing the 'care' side of it. Are they going to fund on site nursing/psychiatric staff when the NHS itself has a shortage?

We can expect the usual carnage of victims that stretches back into the new labour era but looking on the brightside, this might just be the step too far that gives them enough rope to finally hang themselves. You would have thought the plonkers would have at least waited until Universal Credit was fully rolled out because the added burden to support services is only going to increase the chaos which just makes the government look like the incompetent fools they are.

Couldn't have put it better myself very. It's another ploy to target the most vulnerable in an effort to show those precious "tax payers" they love to harp on about that they are doing something about the "feckless scrounges" who aren't like the rest of you how DARE they inconvenience us all with their ... disabilities.

But as usual it will be badly planned, badly implemented and achieve the square root of negative bugger all apart from set up a new set of justifications to cut the help of those that need it. After all they managed to get to the HWC didn't they? Not that disabled then NEXT!!!

I did find this thou, haven’t got the full document but it a start. Not sure if the funding is still correct as the ESF/Brexit deal?

democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/documents/s102782/ITEM%202.2.2%20-%20APPENDIX%202%20Work%20and%20Health%20Programme.pdf

Programme design
•Claimants will spend 15 months on the programme and will be tracked for a further 6 months to capture any job outcomes, and provide in-work support.

• All referrals to the programme will be made via a Jobcentre Plus (JCP) Work Coach .

• Approach has been co-designed with boroughs and local health partners and the specification will include the preferred options for integrating the Work and Health Programme with local services.


Programme Summary:

• DWP funding for Central London is £29m with European Social Fund (ESF) match, taking the total funding package to £53m.


Client groups

Participants will be drawn from the following groups

• Health and disability: 75% of caseload, two third of which will be claiming job seekers allowance (JSA), one third will be claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and in the Work-related activity group (WRAG). These individuals will be referred on voluntary basis.
• Long Term Unemployed (> 2 years): 17% of caseload. These individuals will be mandated to elements of the programme

•Early entrant: 8% of caseload. Includes individuals such as, care-leaves, exoffenders, ex-carers, refugees, ex armed forces personnel. These individuals will be referred on a voluntary basis.

Christ. I come back from a three days and nights of nightmare eye pain and chronic onset of pain to read this. Interesting though that they say Work Choice will be replaced. I asked the last coach I saw a few weeks ago for some information on the Scottish governments new employability schemes and she got up, walked over to a desk behind her and handed me a leaflet saying, `these are just literally hot off the press`....it was a leaflet which read, "WorkAble, providing your customers with the help they need to move into work". Run by the Wise group. Under this it sais, "Tailored support for people receiving Employment Support Allowance or Universal Credit!.

Now the reason I asked about this was because I knew here in Scotland all these new training schemes are to be voluntary. And indeed, it states inside the leaflet right at the top that Work Able is entirely VOLUNTARY and is designed to support your customer for up to 52 weeks to help them move into work. BUT....you have to be able to commit to at least a minimum is 16 hours a week within a 12 month period. I can`t do 16 hours a week because my health problem is such that I can have nasty flare up`s for three-four days/nights at a time, so until I am able to have some control over my pain in such a way that I am able to control it well, I can`t sign up for things like this. The coach also said that if I was interested, I would be signed up for it through the job centre.

I instead went along to meet a voluntary sector person and gave some information about myself and they will be contacting me soon about what they have available. It will possibly be befriending of older people or hospital volunteering. But a lot will depend on the commitments.

Interesting too that here in Scotland, a new "Fair Start Scotland" programme will be launched from2018. Again, run by this Wise group. So I`m not sure where this new Work & Health programme will sit alongside these other schemes for people on ESA/UC and have disabilities.

I told the coach I saw that I wasn`t considered disabled, but I DO have a disabling illness. And I will always say that because I won`t allow them to class me as nearer to the workplace when I`m not.

Thanks for all the links guys, good work. x

Another glorified titled no doubt dreamt up in the bath tub by some waster of a politician and will be no more effective than the past efforts.

Another waste of tax payers money and another way to bash the unemployed into surrender leading them down a road to nowhere.

I spent 2 years on the previous work programme and was a total waste of time,literally.

Opportunity for jobs has never been worse ,90% low wage temp.

Zero constructive training being offered and never matching peoples skills they already have and enhance them with appropriate training.

Far easier for the SSP club to send everyone to training provider class rooms doing cat sat on the mat and more mindless job search of which they already do at home.

We have a system designed by government which is a bloody joke and-labor were no better.


When i was on the WP i just kept my head down and made sure i knew all my rights back to front because if you dont!they will shaft you one way or another.

Cant wait fully expect to be put forward for this. Waste of time last time round and in the end they just did the minimum with me . Clueless as i remember them trying to get me to apply to be a postman. Bearing in mind i had chronic leg and back pain im sure id of been a great match.
Fully expect it to be worse this time round as my RSI is bad so if they think im sitting in front of a computer all day job searching they can think again. Having to type today using a pen on the keys as get sharp pains in fingers and up my arms. Wounder if these clowns who no doubt will be the same as i see b4 will make reasonable ajustments ? Not to fussed as id not employ myself with what i have going on so how im meant to convince a potential employer is anyones guess.

I`m becoming concerned that due to my onset of nerve pain and eye pain that I`m struggling to use my own laptop these days and as far as job search would go if I was on JSA/UC, I would really struggle to do it. Because I`m on ESA at the moment I don`t have that worry, but if I`m ever thrown back onto these benefits, I really can`t expect to sit at a desk for five hours a day looking for a jib because my health prevents it. So I can see me having a right battle with them over this if I don`t find a control for the pain I have to allow me to do so.

What grinds my gears the most is i would not be so bad had they made the ajustments when i was struggling ( doctor or jcp) I had to look into it myself and contacted various charities who told me what could be done to help. Sometimes feels like no one is on your side. Luckily a new GP has started at my local surgery and she seems really nice so if i struggle with my usual one who to be fair has helped by sending me everywhere when he aint sure whats going on but on the other hand has not helped with other stuff as he was the one when i was younger early 20s and you put blind faith with the doctor ive seen as a kid and he told me to work as long as i could cope with the pain and ive never been the same since as i broke down and could do my job no more. He also should of wrote about fit for work letter but maybe never realised it applies to us when on JSA ?. Also when i was first struggling with depression he tried to tell me i wernt .
As for work programmes i remeber being in a room and a group of advisors who were trying to get us on a Amazon warehous contract. Transport provided. Sounds gd but it takes nearly a hr to get to the pick up point then a gd half hr cramped like sardines on a mini bus and they expected me to do that. Big row erupted as he was trying to bully me into it by saying job centre will make you do this that and the other and what else am i going to do.
I told the tit who ive never met before to come and look at the car id driven in today must of had 3 or 4 pillows to help with comfort as mother had just got rid of the Zafira which was comfy more up right and not sunken seat for a mondeo which was excruciating pain. Joys of chronic pain the most simple thing like a seat car seat can be the difference between having a gd day and a big flare up for days. In the end my own advisor agreed the role wernt suitable

Chronic pain takes many guises and is very misunderstood by people who don`t have to live with it. So for work coaches or anyone else associated with DWP to now what that feels like, they would have to be in the same position to understand and 99% of them won`t be. One of the work programme advisors I saw when on the programme was very good at telling me how I should have a hysterectomy to `cure` my endometriosis and that my nerve pain can be managed if I pace myself. Much like using a virtual wheelchair that I CAN`T push due to my upper body pain. I wouldn`t want to be wheeling myself about a workplace in a wheelchair anyway when I would be expected to walk for a bus and travel without one! IDIOTS.

How will the Work and Health Programme Impact the Frontline?

www.fenews.co.uk/featured-article/how-will-the-work-and-health-programme-impact-the-frontline-13283

That fenews article tries to look positively at how things will be implemented and turn out. The present climate demands that negative aspects be considered as well particularly for those actually taking part. Rather it suggests what would need to be put in place but is at least honest in saying the details aren't out yet. Why anybody would give the DWP the benefit of the doubt under this govt beats me but then politic allegiances can warp even the most intelligent of minds.

One thing education establishments don't like is losing bums off seats midway through a course. It is one thing attracting students (without whom it is all pointless), it is another thing keeping them and student services are often of limited support funds on a first come first served basis or at least they were when I was involved. I actually got a PC and an IT helper one year which I had to jump through hoops for and was tougher than any essay/assignment just to put things into perspective. A bit like dealing with the JC has always been harder for me than any work I have done.

Something I picked up on there was the single provider per area which suggests streamlining is the main aim (although people with disabilities being more expensive to cater for this seems a bit odd but then again that's nowt new). In practice of course this also means that slaves living the furthest from their local provider could have some considerable travelling to work, which for one thing, increases the level of travel expenses. Linked to this, I find the mention of outreach services (for those with mobility issues?) interesting and slightly difficult to envisage given the cuts to vital services that many people have experienced. Although looking at it from a specifically FE perspective it is possible that the author is in the know of some funding (sign up teasers?) which will be beneficial to users from that specific sector.

When I did my Access to HE around 20 years ago, the JC were anything but supportive actually resulting in a number of people giving up their courses. I was lucky as on Incapacity, my GP recommended the course for therapuetic purposes which all came about after she said a line of Shakespeare one morning and I declared a mutual interest. Funny how things develop sometimes (I started with literature but left it behind for a combination of other subjects) but the eejits didn't get me off my course nor when they tried again at Uni. All that said, things have become harsher since (witht the WP which I survived but doubtfully so lucky this time) and survival through this will no doubt be even more of a minefield with loss of benefits factored in there somehow. The general direction we are going in, I reckon it will be WP + more crap - some quality (sitting on bales of hay in a cowshed using an abacus) and ultimately can't see it being any more effective at improving peoples' chances of real jobs or better lives, the ultimate motivation and purpose always being to punish whatever the cost.