Connect to Work

Descriptions

The recently launched "Get Britain Working" White Paper outlines Government's strategy to invest £240m to support the ambition of a national 80% employment rate and help improve workplace health and keep people in work, including trials of combined public services for those out of work due to ill health. Connect to Work is the first major element of the Get Britain Working Strategy.

By encouraging join-up between health systems and employment support, Connect to Work will support those, primarily, currently outside the workforce and facing greater labour market disadvantages, to stay in work and get back into work. In turn, supporting the Government's ambition for a more inclusive economy, supporting local people to realise their potential and supporting local and national growth.

In England and Wales, Connect to Work funding will support around 100,000 disabled people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to get into employment and on in work.

Connect to Work is a new employment programme, funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The programme will primarily support people who are disabled and economically inactive. The programme will be based on the Integrated Placement Support (IPS) and Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF) model of supported employment. It will focus on vocational profiling, early engagement with employers and supporting people into work quickly. Ongoing support is then provided to the participant and their employer to help sustain them in work. The programme also involves flexibility to support adults at risk of unemployment due to complex needs to be supported to sustain and improve their employment.

As the Accountable Body, Hull City Council is responsible for the commissioning, implementation and management of Connect to Work but will be working in partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council on this exciting programme which will support up to 3400 residents from the Hull and East Riding Area. The programme is expected to run for 5 years.

An Invitation to Tender for Connect to Work Hull East Yorkshire programme will be launched in August and will be live for 30 days on the YORtender tendering system.

It is anticipated that delivery will start in Autumn 2025.

The purpose of this online session is to provide a high-level overview of the Connect to Work commissioning process, specification, and timescales.

We encourage providers to attend, we will provide details of the programme and its design and there will be opportunity to ask questions and seek additional support for engaging. Copies of the presentation and a transcript of Q&A will be available following the 11th July 2025.

Once you have registered you will be emailed a form, if you can please complete this in advance of the session it will allow us address questions effectively and efficiently as we commence this process. This information will be treated in confidence and will not commit either party in any way.

Engagement

A digital market briefing event is taking place on two separate dates 9th and 11th July for Hull and ERYC respectively. The link below will allow suppliers to register accordingly: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connect-to-work-tickets-1438407338069 Attendance for the event is not mandatory and will not exclude bidders from responding to the opportunity when it is published The procurement exercise is due to be released in early August 2025.