UK launches £60 million employment support fund for disabled workers

Traders Union
All News
Geopolitics & Trade
UK employment support fund

Highlights

UK government launches £60 million Pathways to Work Innovation Fund inviting bids from businesses, charities, and innovators to improve employment outcomes for disabled people.
Economic inactivity due to ill-health affects 2.8 million people and costs the UK £212 billion annually, emphasizing the fund's potential macroeconomic impact.
The fund is part of wider £3.5 billion employment support initiatives and coincides with welfare reforms projected to save £14.6 billion over this Parliament.

Fund launch and bidding timeline

As announced by GOV.UK, businesses, charities and innovators are being invited to compete for funding to test new approaches that help disabled people and those with health conditions get into work and stay in work.

The Pathways to Work Innovation Fund is positioned as a call to action for the private, voluntary and public sectors to submit ambitious proposals. Ministers say the programme sits within a wider £3.5 billion commitment to tailored employment support, including one-to-one help from specialist advisers in local communities and a more joined-up work and health offer.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden says the government wants to reverse a welfare system that has left too many people excluded from work. An expert panel that includes Paralympian Tanni, Baroness Grey-Thompson, is helping shape the fund’s design and advise on which bids should receive backing.

Economic and sector impact across the UK

The fund is being launched against a backdrop of 2.8 million people currently out of work because of ill-health. The Keep Britain Working review estimates that economic inactivity linked to health conditions costs the UK economy £212 billion a year, underscoring the business and public finance case for expanding employment participation.

To mark the launch, McFadden is visiting TechUK to meet members at a technology and innovation showcase focused on how digital tools can improve working lives. Antony Walker, deputy chief executive of TechUK, says the investment could accelerate the adoption of proven technologies that remove barriers to employment and help employers reach a wider talent pool.

The announcement also comes alongside broader welfare reforms, including changes to Universal Credit, a Right to Try Work Guarantee, more face-to-face health benefit assessments and measures to cut fraud and error that the government says will save £14.6 billion over this Parliament.

In our earlier article on Canada’s new federal funding for MH Enterprises, we covered how Ottawa is expanding targeted employment and training support to reduce barriers to work. The package combines youth skills development with disability-focused assistance in Northern Ontario, aiming to widen pathways into jobs and build a more inclusive local labour market.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.