29/03/2010 – Building bridges to work
The Government today published "Building bridges to work: new approaches to tackling long-term worklessness", which outlines it’s next steps on welfare reform.
The report sets out how the Government will help the long-term workless back into work, support those with health conditions and the disabled who are at risk of long-term unemployment and worklessness to make sure no one gets left behind in the recovery.
The key elements of this package are:
• guaranteeing a place on our specialist disability employment programme, Work Choice, for those on Employment and Support Allowance who want to work but do not find work after two years.
• improving the accuracy of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), giving appropriate consideration of people’s ability to adapt to their disability, as well as ensuring better recognition of mental health and fluctuating conditions.
• providing a personalised time-limited WCA reassessment and an individual programme of support with conditions for those who are currently unable to work but maybe able to in the future.
• assessing everyone on incapacity benefits over the next three years through the WCA, culminating in the abolition of incapacity benefits in April 2014.
• providing extra support for people who are newly assessed as fit for work but may have spent a number of years on an incapacity benefit.
• guaranteeing employment or work placements for jobseekers who do not find work after two years.