Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support workers’ mental health in Wales.

Employers play an important role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their workforce. The Government provides a range of initiatives to support employers and employees, including those who experience mental health conditions in the workplace.

The Disability Confident scheme operates across the UK, including in Wales, and supports employers to recruit, retain and develop disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. The scheme aims to increase employer confidence, awareness and understanding of disability in the workplace and to encourage more inclusive employment practices.

Well over 1,000 employers registered with Disability Confident are based in Wales. A list of employers participating in the scheme, including their membership level, is published monthly on GOV.UK.

The Access to Work grant provides personalised support and workplace assessments, travel to work assistance, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment. Access to Work also includes the Mental Health Support Service which can provide up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing whilst in employment.

The Government also offers tailored guidance to employers on supporting disabled people and people with health conditions in the workplace, through its Support with Employee Health and Disability service. This includes guidance on disclosure and having conversations about health and disability, plus guidance on legal obligations and making reasonable adjustments.

More broadly, the Department is also working to improve understanding and inclusion of neurodivergent people in the workplace. While neurodivergence is not in itself a mental health condition, neurodivergence often overlaps with other conditions, including mental health challenges, and understanding these overlaps is important for providing effective support, including in the workplace. In 2025, DWP established an independent advisory panel of academics with expertise and lived experience of neurodiversity to consider these issues and advise on improving neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel’s findings, alongside the Department’s response, were published on 2 October 2026 and we continue to work with employers and stakeholders to understand how the report's recommendations can be translated into practical action that improves recruitment, retention and progression for neurodivergent people in the workplace.

Keep Britain Working is working with employers across the UK, including the devolved nations, to improve support for workers with mental health conditions. We meet regularly with Welsh Government officials to explore how the Keep Britain Working agenda can join up with Welsh programmes and services in support of healthy workplaces in Wales.

Through its Vanguard Phase, the programme is testing and refining approaches that help people with long-term mental health conditions stay in and thrive in work.

Keep Britain Working is also developing an employer-facing standard with the British Standards Institution and exploring Workplace Health Provision to provide practical work and health support and advice for employers.