Job advisers to be embedded in GP surgeries

The government has announced that job advisers are to be embedded in GP surgeries to offer sick and disabled people help into work.

£167 million is to be invested into Connect to Work, rolling out the programme to nine further areas across England, including Cumbria, Oxfordshire, and West Sussex and Brighton.

There are currently 2.8 million people out of work due to health conditions.

Total funding is now set to reach over £1 billion across England and Wales over the next five years and provide 300,000 sick or disabled people with help to get into work by the end of the decade.

The support will include embedding specialist advisers directly within healthcare teams and treating employment support as holistic care.

Areas like Portsmouth, the North East and East Sussex are also connecting people from community-based health programmes to dedicated employment support, using Virtual Reality immersive classrooms to support people with interview practice and helping parents and families access affordable childcare so they can re-enter the workforce.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: "Writing off people with long-term health conditions or disabilities fails them and fails our economy.

"We are giving people a hand up, not a handout, realising their potential and providing them with the skills to succeed as part of our Plan for Change.

"Thanks to local areas hitting the ground running, it is already delivering results – proving that when we invest in people and communities, everyone wins."

Minister of State for Health Stephen Kinnock said: "Employment support can be a crucial part of good health, but for too long, we’ve treated health and work in isolation. Our 10 Year Health Plan sets out how we are bringing the two together, through innovative schemes like this one.

"For many people, getting help finding the right work could be as an important part of their prescription as the correct physio or medication.

"This investment is just what the doctor ordered and will help thousands more find the help they need to get back into a job."