London Work and Health Programme Evaluation

  • By Heather Spurr

In the UK there are currently more than two million people economically inactive due to ill-health. Sickness absence and worklessness are estimated to cost the UK economy £100 billion a year. Against this backdrop the Work and Health Programme was launched in late 2017.

The programme provides employment support for:

  • Jobseekers Allowance (JSA),
  • Employment and Support (ESA)
  • Universal Credit claimants with long-term health conditions and disabilities;
  • the long-term unemployed;
  • a range of ‘early access’ groups, including ex-offenders, homeless people, ex-armed forces, refugees, care leavers and those with drug/alcohol dependency.

In London four sub-regional partnerships have each commissioned their own Work and Health Programmes, with their devolved funding matched by the European Social Fund (ESF). The four sub-regions are: Central London Forward, Local London, South London Partnership and the West London Alliance. The four Programmes are expected to deliver support to a collective total of 50-55,000 individuals.  They will receive referrals for up to five years and operate for just under seven years in total (with support continuing for up to 21 months following the last referral).

London sub-regional partnerships

This evaluation will run from October 2018 to November 2022, examining the implementation and impact of each sub-regional Programme. 

Theme A report

This is the Theme A report for the evaluation of the London Work and Health Programmes. It details the fieldwork and analysis undertaken by SQW between April and August 2019, the findings of this analysis and the implications of these findings for each sub-region’s Work and Health programme and the subsequent stages of the evaluation.

The 'Theme A' report examines the match between participant characteristics and programme design/support available. 

 

Heather Spurr