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Work programme expansion is "a broken oar to the disabled who deserve a proper life raft"

ended 04. September 2025

EXPERTS have criticised a government announcement expanding a work programme for disabled as a “token gesture”.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a £338million expansion of the Connect to Work programme across 15 areas in England.

It is offering intensive coaching and job-matching to over 85,000 sick or disabled people as part of a £3.8billion employment support package.

In total, around 300,000 people across England and Wales are expected to benefit over the next five years, according to the government announcement.

Mary Maguire, Managing Director at Derby-based Astute Recruitment Ltd, criticised the ambition of the scheme.

She said: “£338m? In the grand scheme of things, that's a broken oar to the disabled and sick who deserve a proper life raft. The Government are unable to connect the dots, let alone connect the sick and disabled to work opportunities.”

Sarah Gatford, Director - Head of Interactions at Sarah Gatford Ltd, said the scheme is “nowhere near adequate”.

She said: "£338m across 85,000 people over five years equals £795 per person annually. For someone needing BSL interpreters or bespoke workplace adjustments, that's nowhere near adequate. This programme assumes disabled people are the problem. 

"Intensive coaching won't help if workplaces remain inflexible about hours and communication support, where Access to Work funding has been slashed and whilst employers see adjustments as expensive hassles. A Deaf BSL user can't sustain employment without interpreter provision. 

"Someone who needs frequent hospital appointments will not be seen as reliable. Until we stop forcing people into systems that weren't designed for them, these programmes will keep recycling the same people through the same failures. £795 per person per year won't create sustainable employment for people with complex needs. It's another band-aid on a fundamentally broken system that expects sick and disabled people to adapt rather than workplaces to change."

Scott Gallacher, Director at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said it is not as simple as the government is making out.

He said: "Where are the 'good' jobs for them to go into. Helping the long-term sick and disabled into work is welcome, but the government seems to have forgotten that crucial detail. 

“Job vacancies have been falling for three years, while Labour’s rise in employers’ National Insurance and the Minimum Wage adds to employment costs. With firms turning to technology and AI instead of hiring, this scheme could be doomed to failure without real opportunities at the end.”

Carol Vickers, Owner at Created by Carol, said the scheme just isn't enough.

She continued: “This appears to be a token gesture that doesn't tackle the real problems faced by disabled people seeking paid employment, and further evidence that the Government isn't listening to disabled job seekers. 

"The current barriers to work for people with disabilities or long term illness are a lack of accessible and inclusive employers, inaccessible public transport, and an Access to Work scheme that is completely broken. 

"Laying the blame at the door of the disabled, by assuming we lack something that can be corrected by coaching, is sidestepping the real issues that prevent many disabled people from working. To make a real difference, the government needs to tackle the systemic barriers, discrimination and access issues that prevent employment.”
 

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Mary Maguire
Managing Director at Astute Recruitment Ltd
£338m? In the grand scheme of things, that's a broken oar to the disabled and sick who deserve a proper life raft. The Government are unable to connect the dots, let alone connect the sick and disabled to work opportunities. Currently, recruitment firms get irrelevant referrals from unemployment and job offices. These are for able-bodied people looking for work. The Government's latest big and bright idea assumes someone with cancer or another illness doesn't want to work. They do. It's other areas of the recruitment strategy that need overhauling.
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Editor
Scott Gallacher
Director at Rowley Turton
Where are the 'good' jobs for them to go into.
Helping the long-term sick and disabled into work is welcome, but the government seems to have forgotten that crucial detail. Job vacancies have been falling for three years, while Labour’s rise in employers’ National Insurance and the Minimum Wage adds to employment costs. With firms turning to technology and AI instead of hiring, this scheme could be doomed to failure without real opportunities at the end.
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Editor
Sarah Gatford
The Positivity Pathfinder - Head of Interactions at Sarah Gatford Ltd
£338m across 85,000 people over five years equals £795 per person annually. For someone needing BSL interpreters or bespoke workplace adjustments, that's nowhere near adequate.
This programme assumes disabled people are the problem. Intensive coaching won't help if workplaces remain inflexible about hours and communication support, where Access to Work funding has been slashed and whilst employers see adjustments as expensive hassles.
A Deaf BSL user can't sustain employment without interpreter provision. Someone who needs frequent hospital appointments will not be seen as reliable. Until we stop forcing people into systems that weren't designed for them, these programmes will keep recycling the same people through the same failures.

£795 per person per year won't create sustainable employment for people with complex needs. It's another band-aid on a fundamentally broken system that expects sick and disabled people to adapt rather than workplaces to change.
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Carol Vickers
Owner at Created by Carol
This appears to be a token gesture that doesn't tackle the real problems faced by disabled people seeking paid employment, and further evidence that the Government isn't listening to disabled job seekers. The current barriers to work for people with disabilities or long term illness are a lack of accessible and inclusive employers, inaccessible public transport, and an Access to Work scheme that is completely broken. Laying the blame at the door of the disabled, by assuming we lack something that can be corrected by coaching, is sidestepping the real issues that prevent many disabled people from working. To make a real difference, the Government needs to tackle the systemic barriers, discrimination and access issues that prevent employment.