The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a £60 million Innovation Fund aimed at helping disabled people and those with long-term health conditions find and stay in employment. The fund is part of the government's wider £3.5 billion Pathways to Work programme, which promises personalised employment support.
Bidding process and expert panel
Businesses, charities and technology firms are invited to bid for a share of the cash to test new ways of supporting people into work. Applications will open in September 2026. Paralympic legend Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson will sit on an expert panel deciding which projects receive funding. She said: "Finding and sustaining work matters enormously - not just for individual wellbeing and independence, but for society as a whole. We know that with the right support, disabled people can and do thrive in the workplace."
Scale of the challenge
The DWP stated that 2.8 million people are currently out of work due to ill health, and economic inactivity linked to health conditions costs the UK economy an estimated £212 billion a year. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: "We inherited a welfare system which has locked too many disabled people and those with health conditions out of work. We're determined to ensure no talent is left behind, and that people are given the support they need."
Reforms and technology
The Innovation Fund is part of a wider package of welfare reforms, including changes to Universal Credit, a new Right to Try Work Guarantee, more face-to-face health benefit assessments, and measures to cut benefit fraud and error. The DWP also plans to make greater use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve employment support, including developing digital tools to match people with jobs.
The panel overseeing the fund will include experts from disability charities, business groups, the technology sector and public services. Full details on how organisations can apply will be published by the DWP nearer the launch in September 2026.
