AQW 54352/11-16


Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim


Tabled Date: 16/02/2016
Answered On Date: 24/02/2016
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail the schemes that exist to help people with mental health problems obtain or resume paid work; and for his assessment of the effectiveness of these schemes.


Answer:
My Department’s Employment Service provides a range of programmes and services, all of which are available to people with disabilities, including those who have a mental health condition.
The main adult employment programme is Steps 2 Success. This is delivered throughout Northern Ireland and can be accessed via the 35 Jobs and Benefits offices and Job centres. This programme has been designed, with a service level guarantee, to ensure that people with health and disability related barriers to work, can be supported.
More specifically, my Department has a dedicated Disability Employment Service that provides a comprehensive package of support measures, aimed at helping people with a full range of disabilities, including mental ill-health, to progress towards, move into and sustain paid employment.
This range of specialist disability provision includes pre-employment programmes such as Work Connect, the Job Introduction Scheme and the Condition Management Programme (CMP). These are aimed specifically at those people who have a disability, but who want to get back to work, and require additional support to do so.
Since its introduction in September 2012, 554 people presenting with mental ill-health have registered for the Work Connect programme, with 176 of these successfully moving into paid employment, both part-time and full-time. This programme is delivered by a consortium of seven local disability organisations, including Action Mental Health and others who work with people who experience a variety of mental health conditions.
CMP is delivered on behalf of the Department, through multi-disciplinary teams in each of the five health trusts. It is a positive example of cross-departmental partnership working, focussing on health and work as mutually beneficial solutions for individuals. The teams include mental health nursing staff and many use cognitive behavioural methods to help the individuals better manage their own mental health and well-being, with employment, or the prospect of getting back to work, being viewed as a very positive goal for the individual.
From April 2015, through to the end of January 2016, there have been 1,134 referrals from the Employment Service to CMP. Of this total 769 people, presented with mental ill-health as either the primary or secondary health condition, which was viewed by the individual as a barrier to work.
Both of these programmes are offered to unemployed clients, and participation is totally voluntary. This demonstrates the Department’s commitment to supporting people with disabilities to progress towards and move into employment.
For people with mental health problems who successfully make this transition, or for those in work and who are struggling to remain so, the Disability Employment Service manages a very successful programme, called Workable (NI).
This programme, which is also delivered by specialist disability organisations, is currently supporting 586 disabled people in employment across a full range of occupations and sectors. The majority of people have some form of learning disability or difficulty, and many of these people may also suffer from mental ill-health. However, 125 of the Workable participants have mental health as their primary condition. Again, this reinforces the level of support, and the priority that is given to people with disabilities, not just to secure employment, but to ensure that they are able to stay in work when their health condition fluctuates or deteriorates.
The Department also has its own Occupational Psychology Service which offers an all age advice, guidance and assessment service in areas relating to disability and employment. The team have a particular level of experience and expertise in working with customers with mental illness.
Finally, to illustrate its long term commitment to helping and supporting people with disabilities, officials from the Disability Employment Service have been working with key representatives of many local disability organisations and other relevant stakeholders, for almost three years, on the development of a new ‘Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities’.
The strategy, which is due to launch in March 2016, will focus on people who have significant disability related barriers to work, including those with diagnosed mental health conditions. The strategy will also promote and implement the Supported Employment Delivery Model. Underpinning this well established model, is the provision of person-centred, tailored, and often long term support to help people with disabilities to prepare for work, move into and then sustain paid employment.
As with its development, the strategy will be implemented in partnership with the local disability sector, and will be informed by people who live and work with disabilities throughout their lives.
In conclusion, I am content with the effectiveness of these programmes and services and I am confident that the launch of the strategy and associated implementation action plan will further promote and develop the combined efforts of Executive departments, disability organisations and other key stakeholders, which will result in more people with disabilities obtaining and progressing within paid employment.