DWP unveils chat plan for disability claimants

Summary

The Department for Work and Pensions has revealed a rollout for 40,000 UK claimants who are disabled or have health conditions to receive closer and more personalised employment support – but against the backdrop of current and incoming cuts to welfare payments, the jury is out on whether the idea is credible or effective.

Details

As yet, the DWP has announced the names of 27 Jobcentres where the new opportunity will be offered, although none of Gloucestershire’s seven sites (at Stroud, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Coleford, Cinderford and Cirencester) has been named for the additional service.

The expansion will see new Support Conversations across 27 additional Jobcentres, bringing the total number of active sites to 33 across Great Britain and, the DWP says, forms part of a broader £3.5bn investment to “reduce economic inactivity and help individuals transition into sustainable employment”.

The DWP said: “Support Conversations are voluntary, hour-long sessions designed to help people identify and overcome the barriers stopping them from moving into work or into meaningful activity (such as volunteering) and is part of the commitment the Government made in last year’s Pathways to Work Green Paper .” Unlike standard Jobcentre appointments, the sessions aim to take a “holistic approach, covering not just employment, but housing, debt, skills, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation services”.

They are to be delivered by healthcare professionals, Pathways to Work advisers, and Disability Employment advisers and will be available face-to-face, by video, or by phone. The conversations are also open to those who are awaiting a Work Capability Assessment and people furthest away from the labour market, as in those who have been assessed as having Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA).

“These are people who for too long were written off and denied support. But the government’s expansion of Support Conversations is giving people they help they need and builds on the landmark deployment of 1,000 Pathways to Work Advisers, who have already helped more than 65,000 sick and disabled people get one step closer to work,” the DWP added.

Dame Diana Johnson, Minister for Employment, said: “Too many disabled people and people with health conditions face barriers that stop them from accessing the support and opportunities they deserve. “Early testing indicated “customers feeling ‘listened to’ and ‘supported’,” she added. However, not all stakeholders in employment issues concur with the DWP’s approach.

Welfare campaign group Benefits and Work (B&W), which advocates for the unemployed, points to a report issued by the DWP last year, The Experience of Additional Work Coach Support , which revealed how researchers carried out in-depth interviews with claimants on the “universal credit health journey” who had been given extra appointments with a work coach.

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Report source: Punchline Gloucester