Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 53
Roll out Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care nationally with devolved administrations
Recommendation
We welcome the joint DWP and the DHSC Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) initiative that has tried out embedding employment support in mental health services for mild to moderate mental health conditions. The Department should work with devolved administrations to roll out IPSPCs more widely so that this service is available across the country. DWP should also consider how NHS integrated care systems can provide employment support to people with other long-term health conditions, along with mental health.
Government Response Summary
The government states that the IPSPC programme already targets individuals with both physical and mental health conditions and is being extended to support more disabled people in England. While health is devolved, they commit to sharing expertise and exploring opportunities for wider availability of evidence-based models with devolved administrations.
Paragraph Reference:
53
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme, a Supported Employment model (place, train and maintain) delivered in health settings, is already aimed at people with physical health conditions as well as common mental health conditions to support them to access paid jobs in the open labour market. IPSPC is the first phase of the DWP’s Universal Support employment programme, announced in the Spring Budget. IPSPC services began in April 2023 and have since been extended to support over 25,000 disabled people in 41 top tier local authorities in England find and stay in work, by March 2025. The learning from IPSPC will inform the design and delivery of Universal Support (Phase 2) which will be introduced nationally from 2024. It is one of the models developed by the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) which was set up in 2015 in recognition of the significant link between work and health and to reflect the shared agenda of boosting employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions. Our provision includes a range of other initiatives delivered in partnership with DWP and the health system, including: • Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions. • Working with partners to support healthcare professionals and non-clinical staff to improve work and health outcomes for patients. For example, we have extended the certification of fit notes to a wider range of health care professionals, enabling better conversations about work and health. Spring Budget 2023 announced a further wide-reaching package focused on faster access to joined-up work and health support. New investment includes support for: • Piloting the WorkWell Partnerships Programme (WWPP) to provide integrated work and health support for disabled people and people with health conditions who want help to remain in, return to or take up work. WWPP will be locally led, bringing together the NHS, local authorities and other partners, in collaboration with jobcentres, to design and deliver integrated work and health support. • Introducing Employment Advisors (EAs) in Musculoskeletal Conditions (MSK) services in England, helping individuals with MSK conditions to return to or remain in employment. Since health is a devolved matter, some of these initiatives apply only in England. We do however share expertise with the Devolved Administrations and explore opportunities to ensure evidence-based models are available more widely. In Scotland for example the IPS model has been built into their Fair Start Scotland programme and they have recently published a review: Fair Start Scotland - individual placement and support review: findings - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)