Greater Manchester to try "radical new way" of reforming benefits to get people into work

An ambitious plan will support the Government’s mission to ‘Get Britain Working’ by helping 150,000 GM residents back into work over the next five years.

Live Well is a radical new approach, routing employment support funding through local community and voluntary groups, the NHS, skills training, Jobcentre Plus and social prescribing services to help them live healthier lives and support them back into work.

With new devolved powers and funding, the approach would reduce welfare spending, ease pressure on the NHS and help grow the economy.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has offered to help the Government to ‘Get Britain Working’ by pioneering a new way of supporting residents into work.

He’s asked for new devolved control over employment support funding so Greater Manchester can be the test bed for a radical new approach to employment support.

This new approach would tackle the root causes of worklessness with positive tailored support to grow confidence, wellbeing and skills.

It would be delivered though neighbourhood ‘live well' centres, in partnership with the NHS and voluntary and community organisations that know their areas best.

Each centre would bring health services, social prescribers, skills and employment support and housing advice all under one roof. 

Centres would be open to all and services such as GP surgeries, Jobcentre Plus and community hubs could refer people to a centre in their neighbourhood.

Research shows that helping people overcome the barriers holding them back could get 150,000 people in Greater Manchester into employment in the next five years.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “The current welfare system is based on distrust and too often leaves people feeling worse about themselves and further away from work. ‘Live well’ will build self-esteem and get people ready to move into work.

“Here in Greater Manchester our economy is growing faster than the UK average. There are high quality jobs here, but many people struggle to access them because they are weighed down by worries, health problems, financial barriers and insecure housing.

“By providing wraparound support to tackling the everyday issues holding our residents back, we can transform their lives and help them enjoy the stability, dignity and sense of community that comes with a decent job.

“The Government is rightly taking a more preventative approach to health and unemployment. The Secretary of State has talked about the importance of joining up support for work, health and skills to tackle the root causes of worklessness and here in Greater Manchester, we're ready to make that vision a reality.

“Building on the innovative work our NHS has done around social prescribing and in partnership with our fantastic community organisations, we will help residents to improve their health and get a decent job.

“Not only will this reduce the inequalities in our city region and boost life chances and wellbeing, but it will also cut the benefits bill and ease pressure on our NHS.”

The current system is formulaic and can feel remote and transactional, offering limited training options. Greater Manchester has already proved that positive and personalised support, focusing on mental health and offering practical help, better prepares people for work than the old tick-box approach.

In the past ten years, Greater Manchester’s Working Well pilot has helped around 27,500 people into new jobs and 76,500 more have had access to training and support that will help them get ready to work. It is currently ranked one of the top performing out of all the Department of Work and Pensions’ contracts for similar services across the country.

Creating ‘live well’ centres is the natural next step to give all residents access to the support they need to thrive.

Nationally, 2.8 million people are inactive due to long-term sickness (7% of the working-age population). This is an 800,000 increase on pre-pandemic levels with most of the rise accounted for by mental health conditions

Data shows that in Greater Manchester there are around 80,000 people who want to work but struggle to get a job due to long-term sickness. There are also a further 75,700 people currently unemployed and looking for work.  

Lord Darzi’s recent review of the NHS in England stressed how important work is for wellbeing and described “a virtuous circle” where getting more people into work grows the economy, creating more tax receipts to fund the NHS.