Mental health patients could get job coach visits

Job coaches could visit mental health patients when they are in hospital to help them get back to work, the government has said.

Trials of employment advisers giving CV and interview advice in hospitals produced "dramatic results", Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall told the BBC.

She said a wider roll out would form part of her drive to shrink the UK's annual disability and incapacity benefits bill.

But disability rights campaigners expressed concerns about the proposals, saying they have the potential to worsen someone's mental health.

"It is ridiculous to try and turn a hospital, a place of care and support into a business setting," said Mikey Erhardt, campaigner at Disability Rights UK.

James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, added: “We need to see evidence that work coaches being sent to visit seriously ill people works, and doesn’t cause distress."

'Dramatic' trials

The cost of disability benefits specifically is projected to surge almost a third in the next four to five years, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

It predicted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would spend £63bn by 2028-29, a jump from £48bn for 2023-24.

“I want to see those costs coming down, because I want to have people able to work, to get on in their work, which is good for them," Kendall told BBC News in an exclusive interview.

She indicated some people will lose their benefits, saying the "benefit system can have a real impact on whether you incentivise or disincentivise work".

Kendall praised projects in Leicester and at the Maudsley Hospital in Camberwell, in south-east London, which offered employment support - such as training on CV writing and interviews - to people with serious mental health conditions, including on hospital wards.

"The results of getting people into work have been dramatic, and the evidence clearly shows that it is better for their mental health," she said.

However, disability rights campaigner Erhardt said he would like to see the evidence of the trials.

"It is hugely inappropriate to be considering subjecting people who experience mental ill-health and distress to a CV check-up," he said.

Minesh Patel, associate director of policy and campaigns at Mind, added: “We welcome this much-needed spotlight on mental health hospitals [but] we’re still waiting to see the full details of the scheme and results of the trials.

“Right now, too many people with the most serious mental health problems are left more traumatised by their stay in hospital. If we want people to join or rejoin the workforce, they need safe and compassionate care that helps them truly get better."

The move by the government comes as figures suggest benefits will rise by 1.7% next April. September's inflation data is normally used to calculate how much many benefits go up by.

That is less than the current level of wage growth, and also less than April's expected rise in the state pension of 4.1% which is governed by the so-called triple lock.

Most benefits rose by 6.7% in April this year, in line with the inflation rate a year ago.

The amount paid in some benefits should, by law, rise at least in line with prices.

They include all the main disability benefits, such as personal independence payment, attendance allowance and disability living allowance, as well as carer’s allowance.

Others, including the universal credit, received by seven million people, are expected to rise in line with the inflation rate, but that is a decision for ministers.

However, the DWP is preparing a new employment white paper, for release around the time of the Budget and spending review later this month, which will outline its plans for reform of certain benefits, including who might receive them.

'We are really struggling with health problems'

Kendall said she believed British society had become "sicker" and that the UK was the only country with advanced economies "whose employment rate has not gone back to pre-pandemic levels".

According to official figures released yesterday for the period from June to August, 21.8% of people are considered "economically inactive", meaning they are aged between 16 to 64 years old, not in work or looking for a job.

The figure has fallen marginally from the May to July period, but it remains at close to a decade-high after rising during the pandemic.

"There is clear evidence we are really struggling with health problems," Kendall added.

She also urged employers to “think differently” about workers with mental health conditions to offer flexibility to support and retain workers with health problems.

Kendall also told the BBC job centres would be transformed by merging them with the national careers service and using AI.

She suggested the face-to-face work would remain for the people “who really need it”, but “more personalised support using AI” for others, expanding on an idea introduced by her predecessor Stride.

She also suggested that giving powers to regional mayors would help match unemployed people more closely with local vacancies.

This echoes calls from Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to hand control of job centres over to his regional government.