Mr. Gareth ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he is taking to improve vocational rehabilitation services; and if he will make a statement. [83855]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownImproved vocational rehabilitation services are key to our strategy for enabling people with health problems and disabilities to move into employment, and so become and remain independent.
Jobcentre Plus, in partnership with the NHS, has already tested work-focused rehabilitation programmes in Salford and Bristol. The programmes provided integrated support to enable people with chronic back pain to return to work. Trials finished in 2001, with many participants finding work as a result.
Building on this partnership approach, our new Green Paper "Pathways to Work— Helping people into employment", published on 18 November, proposes the establishment of groundbreaking rehabilitation programmes. These will be piloted in six areas across the country starting from late 2003, combining support to find jobs with health-focused rehabilitation.
The programmes will be complementary to any clinical care already being provided by primary care and community services in pilot areas. Their key focus will be to help those with conditions such as depression, back pain and heart disease understand the impact that their condition has and increase their confidence to work or train and lead as normal a life as possible.
In addition, the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot Project, a joint initiative with the Department of Health, is currently exploring ways in which we can support people faced with losing their employment through prolonged sickness or disability. The pilot will run from early 2003 to 2005, and will aim to provide robust evidence about the relative impact of three intervention strategies (boosting healthp are, boosting workplace support and a combined approach) in helping people to return to work.