Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has said too many Britons are falling into a “spiral of sickness” as a pilot scheme aimed at tackling “sick note culture” is expanded.
Mr Stride’s comments came as it was announced that WorkWell, a programme connecting people with work support when they seek to be signed off sick, is to be launched in 15 areas.
Greater Manchester – where three quarters of a million “fit notes”, as sick notes are now called, were issued last year – is one target area. Lancashire and South Cumbria, which saw almost half a million, is another.
The scheme is part of Mr Sunak’s wider drive to tackle worklessness. Some 2.8 million people are currently economically inactive because of long-term illness, up from 2.1 million before the Covid pandemic.
In a speech last month, Rishi Sunak said he wanted to end the country’s “sick note culture”.
One idea put forward was to end GPs being the sole decision-makers for sick notes, with health and work specialists making the calls instead.
Concerns have been voiced that GPs, already under strain with record NHS waiting lists, may have little incentive not to sign someone off sick, and that the benefits of work are being undervalued.
WorkWell sees people referred to a work and health coach for an assessment if they think they are too ill for employment. GPs, employers and local services can make the referrals.
Individual are then offered sessions with a physiotherapist, a counsellor and a human resources expert for employment advice to discuss their circumstances. Sometimes, putting in place a plan to overcome barriers to work or being given extra training can follow.
Government insiders argue that people are too often being regarded as too ill to work by the welfare system, and that a more tailored approach could help them retain their jobs.
Mr Stride said: “Too many today are falling out of work in a spiral of sickness that harms their finances, their prospects and ultimately their health where, with the right workplace adjustments and help, this needn’t be the case.
“And so we have designed WorkWell, which will integrate health and work advice at the local level, as part of our plan to stem the flow into economic inactivity, grow the economy, and change lives for the better.”
A press release said 59,000 people would use WorkWell from October. Participants do not have to be receiving benefits to use the scheme, which is backed up with £64 million of public money.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “We welcome the cross-Whitehall approach to tackling knotty issues and look forward to seeing these projects get off the ground.”
Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, said: “Too often, people with disabilities or poor health fall out of work with no support. We have a plan to change that and improve lives so everyone has the opportunity to find fulfilling work. This service will help tens of thousands of people.”
Alison McGovern, Labour’s employment minister, said: “Labour will look closely at any programme supporting people into work.
“But with a record number of people out of work due to sickness and millions of people on spiralling NHS and mental health waiting lists, we need a long-term plan to fix our NHS and get Britain working, not more pilots skirting around the edges.”
Some mental health charities have sounded the alarm on the Government’s sick note rhetoric, questioning whether ministers are treating reports of increasing mental health problems with enough seriousness.
Mr Sunak’s speech was criticised by some mental health charities. James Taylor, the director of strategy at Scope, the disability equality charity, said it “felt like a full-on assault on disabled people”.
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