11 October 2004 - Radical new pilots out-perform the rest of the country to get people on Incapacity Benefit off benefits and into work
Thousands of people have been helped off benefit and into work by radical new measures, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Alan Johnson announced today.
Mr Johnson said we are already seeing improvements in recorded job entries for people on Incapacity Benefit nationally but in Pathways to Work areas, this success rate is double.
More people in the pilot areas move off Incapacity Benefit to return to the labour market than in the rest of the country, according to these early indications.
In Pathways to Work areas, new claimants attend compulsory work-focused interviews with Personal Advisors, can access NHS rehabilitation support and are eligible for a £40-a-week return to work credit.
In the pilot areas six times as many people claiming Incapacity Benefit have taken up support from the New Deal or other rehabilitation programmes, which will give them the skills and confidence to move into work.
Pathways to Work is proving so successful that people already on IB in the pilot areas who don’t automatically benefit from the new support package are volunteering to go through the programme.
Welcoming the news of an encouraging start, Alan Johnson said:
“Nine of ten people coming onto Incapacity Benefit told us they wanted to work and this programme provides them with the support to achieve their aims.
“These results are extremely encouraging, and show that Pathways to Work is already making a real difference by breaking down barriers to work and getting people into jobs.”
Notes for editors
- Pathways to Work pilots offer early, sustained support to involve Jobcentre Plus, the NHS and the voluntary sector to support 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 findings are for the first wave of pilots and contained in Secretary of State for Work and Pension’s Oral PQ Monday 11th October 2004.
- The Pathways to Work pilots include:
- Support from a highly skilled personal adviser support 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 next year.
For more information: contact John Fennessy, Madeleine Jamieson or Kathy Barlow on 020 7238 0762/0723/0766
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