Roundup of recent DWP announcements
Back to Work Plan
Yesterday the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced a package of employment support measures as part of the Back to Work Plan. This £2.5bn investment will help up to 1.1 million people with long-term health conditions, disabilities or who are long-term unemployed to look for and stay in work.
The Back to Work Plan includes exploring reforms of the fit note system, expansion of available treatment and employment support, and measures that strengthen the sanctions process as part of the next generation of welfare reforms.
For disabled people and people with health conditions:
- Fit note reform. We will work with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to develop, design and test how best to reform the fit note process. We will begin small-scale testing of reforming the fit note process in 2024, which will inform further rollout to a small number of local health systems (trailblazer sites) to improve the assessment of fitness for work, provide easy and rapid access to specialised work and health support, and enable more people to resume work after a period of illness. Government will formally consult on proposals for this new approach in 2024.
- Universal Support in England and Wales – matching up to 100,000 people per year with existing vacancies and supporting them in their new role, an increase on the 50,000 people outlined at Spring Budget, also helping people with disabilities and from vulnerable groups. Participants will access up to 12 months of personalised 'place and train' support. The individual will be supported by a dedicated keyworker who will help the participant find and keep a job, with up to £4,000 of funding available to provide each participant with training, help to manage health conditions or help for employers to make necessary accommodations to the person's needs.
- WorkWell – a new WorkWell service delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Health and Social Care, which will support almost 60,000 long-term sick or disabled people to start, stay and succeed in work. Following its announcement at the Spring Budget, the departments have written to Integrated Care Systems setting out more details about the programme. A prospectus launched in the coming weeks will provide information for all Integrated Care Systems across England to develop their localised work and health strategies. The service will then be delivered in up to 15 pilot areas.
WorkWell: Letter to Integrated Care Systems on the new service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Also announced was the expansion of two Department for Health and Social Care-led measures, Talking Therapies, and Individual Placement and Support.
- NHS Talking Therapies provides evidence-based therapies for adults with common mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders and depression. The funding will support an additional 384,000 people over the next five years to benefit from a full course of treatment, with a focus on improving outcomes by increasing the average number of therapy sessions per person.
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is an evidence-based model of supported employment integrated within community mental health teams for people who experience severe mental health conditions or have complex mental health needs, aiming to help people to gain and retain paid, competitive employment. This funding will provide for an additional 100,000 people to access support.
- For long-term unemployed people or people on Universal Credit who could work more we will introduce more stringent conditionality for those on working-age benefits, smarter compliance monitoring, and stronger sanctions for those who fail to engage. This consists of:
- Testing Additional Jobcentre Support in England and Scotland – testing how intensive support can help claimants into work who remain unemployed or on low earnings after 7 weeks into their Universal Credit claim.
- Extending and expanding the Restart Scheme for 2 years – we will extend Restart, a work-support programme that assists claimants in overcoming barriers to getting back to work through coaching, CV and interview skills, and training. We will bring claimant referrals forward to six months from nine months.
- New claimant review point post-Restart – Universal Credit claimants who are still unemployed after the 12-month Restart programme will take part in a claimant review point: a new process whereby a work coach will decide what further work search conditions or employment pathways would best support a claimant into work. If a claimant refuses to accept these new conditions without good reason, their Universal Credit claim will be closed and benefits stopped.
- Post-Restart pathway trials (including phased rollout of mandatory work placements) – claimants who have not taken up suitable local job offers at the end of Restart (18 months into claim for those who start Restart at 6 months) will be required to accept time-limited work experience or another intensive activity to improve their employability prospects. This will be gradually rolled out from 2024, so the model can be tested and refined.
- Strengthen the sanctions process for people who should be looking for work but aren't, including by targeting disengaged claimants by closing the claims of individuals on an open-ended sanction for over six months (this only applies to people solely eligible for the Universal Credit standard allowance). We will also use digital tools to track claimants' attendance at job fairs and interviews.
- Rooting out fraud and error using the government's Targeted Case Reviews to review Universal Credit claims of individuals on an open-ended sanction and disengaged for over eight weeks, ensuring they receive the right entitlement.
For further information, please see the full press notice and Written Ministerial Statement.
DWP's response to the situation in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Lebanon
DWP has legislated to exempt those arriving from Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Lebanon, in connection with the violence in the region, from the Habitual Residence Test and Past Presence Test. Those arriving from the region who have recourse to public funds will meet the residency tests for income-related, disability and carer benefits upon arrival in the UK.
This mirrors the approach taken in response to recent crises in Ukraine and Sudan.
The legislation also disregards compensation paid under the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation scheme as capital when assessing entitlement to income-based benefits such as Universal Credit.
Find out more (includes French, Arabic and Hebrew translations)
This applies to England and Wales. Scotland has introduced similar changes for their benefits and Northern Ireland have laid mirroring legislation.
Winter Pensioner Support Package
This winter, help is available for millions of pensioner households with the cost of living. DWP plays a crucial role in ensuring the financial well-being of pensioners through a number of winter support measures. It is important that people receive the support they are entitled to so we would appreciate your help to increase awareness and up-take of available support.
We have provided a summary of key support measures below and suggested copy you can use and edit for your channels.
Pension Credit
DWP is encouraging low-income pensioners not already getting Pension Credit to check their eligibility, as they can still qualify for the £300 Cost of Living Payment if they make a successful backdated Pension Credit application by 10 December 2023.
This means-tested Cost of Living Payment is for those on low-income benefits such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit and Tax Credits and is in addition to the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment. Check eligibility and apply for Pension Credit at gov.uk/pensioncredit.
To support the Pension Credit campaign please take look at resources in our online toolkit which includes posters, leaflets and digital assets you can print and use across social media.
Help for Households - Pensioner Cost of Living Payments and Winter Fuel Payments
Over 8 million pensioner households will receive the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, worth £300. This is in addition to the payment made last year, which was also worth £300.
To receive this payment, pensioners must be entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment. They can get this for winter 2023 to 2024 if they were born before 25 September 1957. It is also dependent on their circumstances between 18 and 24 September 2023, the Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week.
Payments will normally be made automatically alongside the Winter Fuel Payment in November or December. This will be done via usual payment methods – people do not need to contact DWP to apply for the payment.
Please see the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment Toolkit to help you communicate the upcoming payment to the people you support. The toolkit provides more information and resources about the payment and wider support for pensioners, including downloadable social media copy, newsletter copy, frequently asked questions, printable poster, easy read assets and British Sign language video.
Find out more about the range of government support with the cost of living, including Pension Credit and Cold Weather Payments, at gov.uk/helpforhouseholds.
We also have a new Winter Fuel Payment video that provides more information including eligibility and payment. The videos are also in Welsh and British Sign Language.
Help for disabled higher education students into work
A new Adjustment Planner for disabled students is being rolled out to all universities and higher education colleges across the UK. The planner collects key information about a student's adjustment needs which can easily be shared with prospective employers to help ease their transition into work.
The voluntary planner will collate the relevant needs of students which can then be simply passed on to employers – negating the need for repeated assessments and conversations for adjustments such as specific desks and chairs, assistive software or arranging travel to the workplace.
The planner will also reduce the need for an Access to Work assessment and enable all students exiting higher education to benefit from the scheme faster. This will ensure disabled people have the equipment they need to work effectively.
The planner also contains helpful advice on what types of funding and government support is available to help employers unlock the potential of millions of disabled people across the UK.
Read the press release
More funding announced for the Local Skills Improvement Plan
As part of the Government's drive to get more people into good jobs, plug skills gaps and grow the economy, more than £200 million has been announced to support colleges and universities in offering more training opportunities.
Investment is being targeted in key industries, such as the growing green sector, as well as the specific skills needs of each region, which local businesses and employers have identified as priority sectors in their Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). It is hoped that by providing people with this training, local businesses can access the skilled workforce they need to grow.
If you would like to share details of these plans though your channels, the Department for Education has produced a toolkit.
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