DWP sicknote crackdown to see 59,000 claimants given 'work and health' coaches

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is rolling out a new initiative that will see 59,000 ill UK benefits claimants provided with "work" and "health" coaches - including in our area. The move forms part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak's campaign to reduce unemployment among those off work due to illness in a bid to clamp down on the so-called 'sicknote' culture.

The £64million WorkWell programme, which aims to assist individuals at risk of long-term unemployment, will be piloted in 15 locations including Solihull, Birmingham, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, and Cornwall. Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride commented: "WorkWell will link people at risk of unemployment with community services like physiotherapy, counselling, and money advice to ensure the barriers they face don't hold them back."

Stride went on to say: "It's part of a wider plan to deliver the long-term change our country needs to deliver a brighter future for Britain, and improve economic security and opportunity for everyone." The programme is designed to support anyone with a health condition or disability, encompassing mental health issues, who is keen to work, officials say.

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This initiative is a key element of Mr Sunak's broader strategy to address the issue of worklessness. Statistics show that there has been an increase in the number of people economically inactive due to long-term illness, rising from 2.1 million before the Covid pandemic began in 2020 to some 2.8 million currently, reports Birmingham Live.

Mr Stride highlighted the importance of the programme, saying: "Too many today are falling out of work in a spiral of sickness that harms their finances, their prospects and ultimately their health where, with the right workplace adjustments and help, this needn't be the case. And so we have designed WorkWell, which will integrate health and work advice at the local level, as part of our plan to stem the flow into economic inactivity, grow the economy, and change lives for the better."

He had earlier announced a press release indicating WorkWell's expected reception of 59,000 users from October. CEO of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, commented: "We welcome the cross-Whitehall approach to tackling knotty issues and look forward to seeing these projects get off the ground."

The Health Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said: "Too often, people with disabilities or poor health fall out of work with no support. We have a plan to change that and improve lives so everyone has the opportunity to find fulfilling work. This service will help tens of thousands of people."

Labour 's employment minister, Alison McGovern, responded: "Labour will look closely at any programme supporting people into work. But with a record number of people out of work due to sickness and millions of people on spiralling NHS and mental health waiting lists, we need a long-term plan to fix our NHS and get Britain working, not more pilots skirting around the edges."

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