7 October 2005 - Incapacity Benefit hot spots targeted by back-to-work help
Over 160,000 people in communities blighted by dependence on incapacity benefits will get rehabilitation and jobs support, David Blunkett announced today.
Some of the worst affected areas – Glasgow, Cumbria, West Lancashire and the Tees Valley, will join the groundbreaking scheme Pathways to Work, thanks to new government funding.
Meeting people already helped off benefits by the pilot in South Tyneside, Mr Blunkett said:
“Nearly all people coming onto incapacity benefits want and expect to get back to work. Our job is to help them surmount the barriers they face. This is not just good for the individual but for the local community and economy too, so that skills and potential do not go to waste.
“Gone are the days when people were left to fend for themselves, without a programme of rehabilitation and medical help. Pathways to Work is part of reforming the welfare state to build a ladder out of poverty that empowers the individual.”
Under the scheme new benefit claimants are assigned a skilled Personal Adviser for monthly work-focused interviews. They can be referred to NHS rehabilitation programmes and access training courses. This support is also available for those already on the benefit.
This is the first step in the expansion of Pathways to Work to a third of people on incapacity benefits as set out in the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget speech in December 2004. A further nine areas will run from next April and an additional three in October 2006.
Notes to Editors
- Pathways to Work started in 3 areas (Rhondda Cynon & Taf, Renfrewshire and Derbyshire) in October 2003 and a further 4 (East Lancs, Somerset, Gateshead & South Tyneside and Essex) in April 2004. By October 2006 it will cover a third of all IB customers.
- The expansion will follow the below programme: Phase 1. October 2005: Cumbria; Glasgow; Lancashire West; Tees Valley, Phase 2. April 2006: Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster; Sunderland; County Durham; Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire; Liverpool and the Wirral; Manchester and Salford; Swansea and West Wales. Phase 3. October 2006: Eastern Valleys; Greater Mersey; Staffordshire. Link to press notice on Pre-Budget Report: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2004/dec/fram-pathpbr21204.asp
- 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. The package includes:
- 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 be 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
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