Job coaching alone isn't enough, UKCP responds to new ONS statistics

Recent analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), tracking outcomes to 2024, found that people who were employed when they received job coaching, alongside NHS talking therapies, were more likely to claim benefits three years later. This raises important questions about how we support people whose mental health affects their ability to work.

Employment advice can be valuable, but it is no substitute for appropriate mental health care. Addressing the underlying causes of anxiety or depression is essential to helping someone enter or remain in employment.

Benefit claimants experiencing mental health issues must be offered more routes into NHS talking therapies. While these services can help many people, they will not meet everyone's needs.

People should have genuine choice over the psychological therapies available to them. For those with complex or longstanding mental health needs, this must include access to appropriate longer-term psychotherapy.

Reducing the number of people out of work long term requires investment in a broader range of mental health services, helping people not simply back into work, but ensuring they have the right support to remain in paid work.

Jon Levett
UKCP CEO