The debate on welfare reform in March this year catapulted the issue of long-term sickness and disabilities into the public domain. Economic inactivity reached 21% in May 2025, with 2.8 million people out of work due to ill-health. These statistics not only reflect a weakness in our labour force but also reflects other failures in Government, such as NHS backlogs and a lack of support for those wanting to get back into work. Additionally, it must be noted that Covid-19 exacerbated these issues, as the numbers of ‘long-term sick’ increased by more than 400,000 since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For those who are disabled or face long-term health problems, flexible working practices and support are key. Such demands were raised at a recent joint All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting between the APPG for Eye Health and Visual Impairment and the APPG on Disability. In this meeting, it was highlighted that the existing Access to Work Scheme is not fit for purpose. Whilst in theory it can provide employers with funding to adapt their workplace to be more accessible, in reality, long delays render this scheme unsuitable.
Perhaps the announcement on the 4th of September of a £338 million investment into the Connect to Work programme could be the solution. As part of the broader ‘Get Britain Working Again’ white paper and campaign, this programme endeavours to provide personalised and local support to over 85,000 people who are sick, disabled or face complex barriers to work in 15 areas across England. This programme appears a positive step, offering individual coaching and job matching services, for those who either self-refer or are referred through healthcare professionals, local authorities or voluntary sector partners. Such personalised career support is clearly vital, as the chance of returning to work after unemployment stands at just 3.8% if economic inactivity is due to health reasons.
However, there are evident weaknesses, with this expensive scheme estimated to help just 300,000 people over its course, a fraction of the 2.8 million people who are economically inactive due to poor health. Moreover, as highlighted by the ongoing Keep Britain Working review, it is not enough to just support people into work; better efforts need to be made to keep people in work. Possible measures, such as incentivising employers to invest in workplace health programmes and expanding NHS ‘fit note’ reform to encourage greater collaboration between GPs and employers, could help prevent people from becoming economically inactive for extended periods.
The question of how best to support disabled and long-term-sick people is not just an economic problem, it is a social and ethical one: it is about enabling people to realise and achieve their full potential.
