‘LIFE-CHANGING’ HEALTH & EMPLOYMENT SCHEME WORKING WIN SECURES FURTHER £5.9M FUNDING

Published 14 March 2023 at 12:00pm

Following discussions with Government to stop the trailblazing Working Win scheme from being scrapped, South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard has announced grant funding to keep it going for a further two years, helping thousands of people with health conditions find or stay in work.

The programme has already supported more than 6,500 people in South Yorkshire. Through the new funding, it’s expected that a further 3,000 people with physical or mental health conditions will be supported until March 2025.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, who also chairs the region’s Integrated Care Partnership, has welcomed the new funding as part of his commitment to address the region’s health inequalities.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “When I was elected as South Yorkshire’s Mayor, I said I’d do what I could to make South Yorkshire the healthiest region in the country, and Working Win is a great example of how we’re working to tackle health inequalities in South Yorkshire. Too many people are held back by poor health in South Yorkshire, and are unable to stay in work or find new jobs. Working Win has been genuinely life-changing for thousands of people here, so I’m so really pleased our campaigning efforts have paid off and it’s been given further funding to keep going, and will now help thousands more people in South Yorkshire.”

The new funding, secured by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), is part of the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) initiative. The aim of the IPSPC initiative is to promote inclusive growth by helping to achieve a reduction in health inequalities through supporting people to access employment.

The £5.9 million IPSPC grant will mean that the current instalment of the Working Win programme, which has provided support since April 2018, can continue to benefit participants until June 2023. In July 2023, the delivery of the new grant programme will commence, for which an open procurement process will be announced soon.

Richard Stubbs, Chair of the South Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Fifteen million days of work a year are lost due to stress, anxiety and depression alone. This leads to businesses losing productivity and causes reduced quality of life for individuals. Working Win can help by supporting those out of work or off sick with free coaching to get them to a better place in their employment journey. This brings benefits to them, to employers and to the wider community.”
For more information or to register for support, visit our Working-Win page.

About Working Win

Working Win supports people who have a health condition to find and stay in employment. If you’re looking for a new role, or struggling at work, sign up for our free support. We’ll work with you to build on your strengths, and to feel settled and flourish in your role.

Who is Working Win for?

• If you live in Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster or Barnsley
• Aged 18 and over
• If you have a physical and/or mental health condition
• If you are unemployed and looking for work, or
• If you are working and want support to continue working, or
• If you are off work sick, and want to return to work

You will receive one-to-one support from a dedicated employment specialist. This includes : 

1. Help with job applications, CVs and interviews to find work that matches your skills and strengths
2. Support to continue working and manage your health at work
3. Offer to meet with your employer to talk about your needs at work
4. Support to apply for grants like Access to Work
5. Access to a team of qualified health and wellbeing coaches
6. Debt, benefits and employment law advice
7. Flexibility to meet in person, or support over phone or video appointments

The Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) Grant is being provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The initiative is aimed at helping adults who have a physical or mental health condition as defined by the Equality Act 2010 move into competitive employment and providing the support they need to maintain that employment.

About the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority 

We are the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA). Led by Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard, we bring together the local authorities of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield and the private sector through our Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Mayor, MCA and LEP have a shared purpose to create a stronger, greener, fairer South Yorkshire. We work together to unlock the potential of our people, businesses and places and ensure they prosper. Our Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) provides the blueprint for how we will transform our region. We will keep people and businesses moving and help them grow, delivering a world-class public transport network and attracting investment to create a stronger, greener, fairer South Yorkshire by 2040.

Our vision is to grow an economy that works for everyone. We will develop inclusive and sustainable approaches that build on our strengths in innovation and embrace the UK’s 4th Industrial Revolution, to contribute more to the country’s prosperity and enhance quality of life for all. We have powers and resources, devolved from Westminster to South Yorkshire, which mean we can take decisions locally about our economy, transport, skills, housing and infrastructure.

We use these to create a vibrant, thriving South Yorkshire where people want to live and work.
We attract new investment to our region. We build the conditions for inclusive economic growth which benefits everyone. We help create good jobs, by backing businesses to grow, invest and locate in South Yorkshire.
We support people so they have the training and skills to find work, remain in work or progress in work.
We help businesses secure the skills they need to be more productive and grow.