Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Davies Excerpts

Monday 20th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, there is a discretionary fund that is administered at a local level. Many local authorities have not accessed the fund. The vast majority of people, including those who are disabled, are exempt from the scheme. If he has examples of cases where that is not happening, he should write to us and let us know.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

22. What are the Government doing to draw on the expertise of charities and other third sector organisations to help find the best way to support those most in need into the workplace, as many charities have much experience in supporting those with mental health conditions?

[Penny Mordaunt]

In addition to the community partners that we are recruiting to ensure that we have local networks plugged into our Jobcentre Plus scheme, we are also looking at opportunities for where that sector can increase the services that it already provides and derive an income from them. One such example is our one-stop-shop hub for employers, which can be a shop window for many of the organisations that already provide support to employers and that want to do more.