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Welfare Reform Bill

We have worked with the National Autistic Society, for example, to see exactly how we can deal with that, because people who are on the autistic spectrum may have difficulty understanding or complying with some of the expectations in the job-seeking system. We want to ensure that we are sensitive to those needs while giving people the right support. For people who have more serious mental health needs, we may need to think about a different approach apart from just helping them to interview for a job and then expecting them to be able to stay in it when their condition will often recur or get worse. We can start to think about that new approach through the work that Dame Carol Black is doing on mental health and employment. Importantly, because the Bill will reduce public expenditure in some ways, we have been able to increase the money for Access to Work—a scheme that helps people with disabilities to stay in work or to go into work. Because of that extra money, we will be able to do far more for people with mental health needs, particularly those with fluctuating conditions. We are working with Mind on a project in precisely that area.