Just 900 people on top-level benefits joined work coach scheme last month

Times

5 days ago

Only 900 people on the top level of incapacity benefit joined a coaching scheme to help get them back into work last month, new figures show.
Since 2022, 14,000 people in the 'limited capability for work or work-related activity' (LCWRA) group of universal credit, the highest level of incapacity benefit, have taken up the voluntary offer of employment support.
The numbers represent a tiny fraction of the 1.93 million people in the LCWRA group who have no 'requirement to look for work'. Ministers are facing questions about whether their reforms will succeed in getting the long-term sick back to work after a chaotic retreat last month saw key elements watered down.
Previous figures have shown that almost half of people on universal credit, Britain's main working-age benefit, have no requirement to look for work, as rising numbers are signed off sick. Ministers have pledged to deal with the rising numbers being deemed unfit to work, with measures including a £1 billion-a-year boost to employment support scheme designed to help them get jobs.
'These numbers show the urgent need to reform welfare and get people off long-term sickness benefits,' said Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, who uncovered the figures through parliamentary questions.
'Labour's decision to scrap the Conservative reforms they inherited will mean hundreds of thousands more people trapped on these benefits with no work requirements at all, as The Times have previously reported. After their costly welfare U-turn, it's clear the Labour government is failing to turn tough words into action.'
• More than a million universal credit recipients are non-UK citizens
Ministers scrapped Tory reforms that would have made it harder for people with mobility and mental problems to claim LCWRA even before they had to retreat on their own reform package after a backbench revolt.
Those currently on LCWRA will no longer see a cut in income designed to encourage them to seek work and reduce incentives to stay signed off sick, after ministers agreed to apply the cut only to new claimants.
Sir Stephen Timms, the disability minister, said that the help from work coaches 'provides disabled people and people with health impairments increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work'.
He pointed to changes that will require all those on LCWRA to 'engage' in some way with employment support, ranging from annual chats to intensive work preparation, with pilot schemes beginning this summer.
A thousand extra advisers will be hired as part of the scale-up of employment support, and Timms said that those affected by welfare reforms 'will be able to access a conversation about their needs, goals and aspirations; offered one-to-one follow-on support'.
Stephen Evans, chief the executive of the Learning and Work Institute, a think tank, said: 'A significant minority of people out of work due to ill health want to work and say they would be able to work. But they are rarely offered help to do so and may not be confident they'll get the help they need from the Jobcentre.'
• Labour rebels now know that if they push, Keir Starmer will back down
He warned ministers that 'building trust and engagement takes time. Rolling out regular conversations with Jobcentres can help, but health services, local authorities and others all have a role to play. We also need employers to think about recruitment and job design so work can fit with people's health conditions.'
Previous official evaluation has found that sickness claimants are reluctant to take up support, fearing that 'the Jobcentre would force them into any work'.
However, those who did take part generally found the schemes helpful, particularly people with mental health problems who reported improvements in their conditions 'because of the consistent, empathetic support they received from their work coach — this was often simply due to attending appointments, or through work coaches signposting customers to other mental health support', the evaluation found.
Those given work coaching were more likely to find jobs, but still just 11 per cent were in work a year later. This suggests that even if all LCWRA claimants took part in the scheme, just 57,000 extra would find work.