Work and health
Among disabled people, people with learning disabilities have the lowest employment rate of all disabled groups, followed by people with mental illness. The employment rate of autistic people is also low. Improving the employment prospects of these groups is a priority in a number of national and local strategies including: Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability; the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and the NHS Long Term Plan; the Greater Manchester Strategy and Taking Charge.
Current specialist employment service provision in Greater Manchester is limited and the amount of service provision varies across localities. We know that more people in these population groups could work with the right support. Supported employment and Individual Placement and Support are evidence-based models that support people with complex disabilities and health needs access and sustain paid work in the open labour market – that is real jobs.
We’ve engaged with people with lived experience and self-advocates to find out what’s important to them and what they need from this service.
The service will be funded by a blend of funding from the Greater Manchester Mental Health Transformation Fund, the European Social Fund alongside a contribution from the ten local authorities and one Clinical Commissioning Group in Greater Manchester. It will operate across Greater Manchester and is expected to provide support to around 1300-1400 people significantly increasing the amount of this type of support available for the three groups in scope.