UK expands Connect to Work with advisers in GP surgeries

The government will place specialist job advisers inside GP surgeries and mental health services in nine additional English areas after committing a £167.2 million expansion of the Connect to Work programme to help more than 40,000 sick and disabled people into employment. Announced on Monday, the funding is part of a wider plan that the Department for Work and Pensions says will exceed £1 billion over five years and aims to support up to 300,000 people with longterm health conditions or disabilities into lasting jobs by 2030.

Under the programme, advisers will be embedded within healthcare teams and work alongside GPs, mental health services and community partners to offer tailored employment support. Services on offer include virtual reality interview practice, confidence and communication workshops, help finding affordable childcare, and direct work with employers to adapt roles and working environments. Referrals to the voluntary programme can come from clinicians, local councils or community organisations.

The expansion will cover Cumbria; Oxfordshire; West Sussex and Brighton; Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; the North East; the South Midlands; Buckinghamshire; Berkshire; and...