§ The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Andrew Smith)The Department of Work and Pensions laid before the house on 18 November 2002 a consultation document entitled: "Pathways to Work—Helping People into Employment", (Cm 5690). This outlined a range of proposals to provide more effective support to people with health conditions and disabled people. The Pathways to Work are at the leading edge of international best practice on the help and support that is on offer for people whose job prospects are affected by a health condition or disability. In a recent economic survey by the OECD, Pathways to Work has been described as a "radically new approach to dealing with those on incapacity benefits".
On 27 October, I announced the launch of the first three pilots—Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taf; Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Argyll & Bute; and Derbyshire. I know there has been considerable interest in these groundbreaking reforms and I wish to update colleagues on progress in the first three pilots.
To date, the specially trained personal advisers we have put in place have carried out over 3,000 Work Focused Interviews with promising results. Many customers are, as we believed; keen to actively consider a return to work and positive about the help on offer. They are keen to participate in the NDDP Programmes and NHS Condition Management Programmes. By mid-March, well over 400 customers had been referred to NDDP Programmes and in the first few weeks of operation, around 130 people had been referred to Condition Management Programmes. The Return to Work Credit of £40 a week is also proving a popular incentive, with approximately 700 awards made, helping incapacity benefits recipients make that final step back into work. Furthermore, there are over 700 longer-term recipients who have volunteered to work with an adviser to try and find a job. These figures are drawn from management reports and are provisional—validated statistics are expected to be available from May. With over 700 people helped back to work and off benefits, these pilots are already changing many people's lives. One such example is from Tonypandy, where a client who had been claiming Incapacity Benefit since 1978 due to a back problem and depression, with the support from her Personal Adviser, and help from Return to Work Credit, Adviser Discretion Fund, Tax Credits and New Deal 50+, started work as a Production Operator after 25 years on benefits.
On 5 June, I announced the locations of the final four pilots—East Lancashire, Essex, Gateshead & South Tyneside and Somerset.
My Department, together with the Department of Health have been preparing for the implementation of these pilots.
106WS In the Budget we also announced the expansion of the specialist Personal Adviser service to more actively support some longer-term IB recipients. We will also be introducing a new financial incentive to support customers as they undertake return to work activity.
Today, I am pleased to announce that these pilots will be launched on 5 April.
The pilots are to run until 2006 and the impact of the extra support will be fully evaluated before decisions are made about extending the measures.