People on wards with ‘serious mental health problems’ could get visits from job coaches

People on wards with ‘serious mental health problems’ could get visits from job coaches under new plans outlined by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.

Employment advisers giving CV and interview advice could be deployed to help people suffering from severe mental illness, including those on hospital wards after trials produced “dramatic results”.

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 £63 billion by 2028-29, a jump from £48 billion 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”.

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.”

Others on social media have also shared their concern, with Harry Eccles calling the proposed plans “despicable”.

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.