Help for disabled people in England and Wales to get jobs is axed amid benefits crackdown

The blow to disabled people comes after the prime minister unveiled a plan to hand power to officials with no medical training to decide whether an employee is sick, raising the possibility that decisions about workers’ health will be taken to hit targets rather than on clinical need.

She said that scrapping WHP would leave “a big gap in provision”, as new programmes would not help as many disabled people, and those in some areas would have no support at all for a year.

“When this is put in the context of rising numbers on health-related benefits, greater expectations on people to find work and labour market shortages, it is alarming.”

The gap means providers will be left without funding, and some may fail or lay off the staff needed to help disabled clients find work.

Taylor said that without support, employers would be “likely to fall back to traditional hiring practices, therefore less likely to give disabled applicants the job opportunity”.

There are also concerns that people who may be too sick to work temporarily will be pushed out of their jobs and forced on to benefits if they are unable to access fit notes.