£60 million fund launched to transform employment support
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Businesses, charities and organisations to bid for up to £60
million to fund innovative ideas to support disabled people move
closer and into work. Expert panel including Paralympian Tanni Grey
Thompson - to help design the fund and shortlist best ideas Comes
as part of £3.5 billion employment support package to knock down
barriers to opportunity for disabled people and those with health
conditions. Businesses, charities and innovators are being invited
to compete...Request free trial
Businesses, charities and innovators are being invited to compete for a share of up to £60 million to transform how disabled people and those with health conditions are supported into work, the Government has announced today [14th July]. The Government's Pathways to Work Innovation Fund is a call to action' for the private, voluntary and public sectors to come forward with the most ambitious, creative ideas to help disabled people and those with health conditions get into and on at work. The Fund will open for bids in September, with organisations across the UK invited to compete for funding to test genuinely new approaches to employment support. With 2.8 million people currently out of work due to ill-health, and the Keep Britain Working review estimating economic inactivity caused by health conditions costs the UK economy £212 billion a year, the Government is looking to work alongside business, charities, tech innovators and disabled people themselves to tackle the issue and improve employment support. The Fund forms part of the Government's commitment to break down barriers to opportunity for disabled people backed by £3.5 billion in tailored employment support. This includes intensive, one-to-one job help from specialist advisers in their own communities, meeting people where they are, alongside a joined-up work and health offer. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: We inherited a welfare system which has locked too many disabled people and those with health conditions out of work. "We're determined to ensure no talent is left behind, and that people are given the support they need. Through our £3.5 billion Pathways to Work employment support offer, we've seen that personalised support can be life-changing. "Now we're calling on business, disabled people and charities to work with us, and bring forward their ideas to transform employment support." An expert panel including Paralympian Tanni, Baroness Grey-Thompson - will help shape the fund's design and advise on which bids should be funded, ensuring the voices and experience of disabled people are placed at the very heart of the process. It comes as the Department is embracing innovation by using technologies including AI and machine learning to deliver more efficient services, modernise systems and support more people into work, including a new tool to help people into jobs. Paralympian and Member of House of Lords, Tanni, Baroness Grey-Thompson, said: "I am delighted to be joining this expert panel at such an important moment. Finding and sustaining work matters enormously - not just for individual wellbeing and independence, but for society as a whole. We know that with the right support, disabled people can and do thrive in the workplace. The world is changing rapidly, and the systems that support disabled people must keep pace with that change. This Fund is a real opportunity to back the bold, creative ideas that can make that happen." To mark the launch, the Work and Pensions Secretary will today visit TechUK, the UK's leading technology trade association, where he will meet with their members at a tech and innovation showcase to see cutting-edge innovation in action and discuss how technology can help transform people's working lives. The new approach comes alongside wider Government action to help people into work and fulfil their full potential, as part of reforms to the broken welfare system this government inherited, , including:
Antony Walker, Deputy CEO of TechUK, said:
Our members are already developing and deploying innovative technologies that are breaking down those barriers, helping people to find work, stay in work and thrive in their careers. This investment has the potential to build on that success, accelerating the adoption of proven solutions and supporting even more disabled people to access rewarding employment while helping employers tap into a wider pool of talent." Notes to editors:
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