The Government's plans to help disabled people back to work risk writing off the very people who need the most help and support to get jobs, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Heath warned today.
In its consultation response to the welfare reform green paper No One Written Off, Sainsbury Centre warned the Government that its plans to pay providers of employment support by the number of people they get into jobs will not work.
Sainsbury Centre employment programme director Dr Bob Grove said: "A crude system of payment by results will create an incentive to focus on those who are easiest to get into work and to 'park' those who need extra support.
"People with severe and enduring mental health problems, or who also have drug and alcohol problems or have been in prison, face a big risk of being left out in the cold.
"We call on the Government to place greater emphasis on the needs of people who are hardest to place in employment. Contracts with providers must ensure they provide equal access to all disabled people and that they apply the highest possible standards of support using the evidence of what works."
Sainsbury Centre also warned that the UK does not have a big enough workforce with the right skills to offer the support people with mental health problems need to get and keep jobs.
Dr Bob Grove explained: "Ill-timed or insensitive actions can have disastrous consequences for people with mental health problems. Personal advisers need to know how to motivate and encourage clients, but not to push them too hard when they are too unwell.
"We need urgent investment in training many more rehabilitation professionals. And we need to ensure that they work sensitively with clients who have mental health problems to help them to achieve their potential in life."