Introduction 

The Regional Employment Team (RET) was set up in response to the Social Exclusion Task Force report and action plan, ‘Reaching Out' (Cabinet Office, Sept. 2006). ‘Reaching Out' set out recommendations to improve employment opportunities for people with mental health problems, for the benefit of those individuals, their employers and the region's economy.

The Regional Statement of Priorities and Action Plan sets out the priorities and regional delivery programme in terms of the relevant policy contexts and supporting evidence and the required actions and outcomes for the East of England in response to the above policy agenda. This paper has been endorsed by key regional agencies and other interested parties, and implementation of it will be achieved in partnership with them.

The vision

The RET's vision for the East of England is that:

• People with mental health conditions have the necessary information to be able to access the best therapies, workplace support and vocational services to enable them to gain or retain employment.
• Employers are supported to understand the benefits, resources and training available to enable them to retain/employ people with mental health conditions.
• Opportunities to ensure effective commissioning processes are explored across partnership organisations (Health, Social Care, Learning & Skills Council (LSC) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)) which recognise the importance of a joint approach in order to achieve value for money and a shared understanding of partners' agendas.
• Commissioners are supported to shape new and existing services which include employment, learning and skills as a key enabler in an individual's recovery.
• Mechanisms are developed for gathering, retaining and disseminating information that will ensure effective communication of relevant information including PSA 16, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), LSC and DWP targets across the RET partnership that will support shared agendas .

What are the priorities for the East of England?

The East of England Regional Employment Team has identified the following 4 interrelated priority areas for action:

1. Maximising Employer Engagement in employing and retaining staff who have experience of mental health problems
2. Ensuring that the commissioning of public services from the public, third and private sectors is flexible and joined up in order to deliver on the mental health and employment policy agenda
3. Developing better vocational services that demonstrate a cohesive but fluid  pathway for people with mental health problems in primary and secondary care that effectively support employment and learning and skills outcomes, regardless of the individual's starting point
4. Challenging and supporting public sector organisations in the region to accept corporate responsibility and demonstrate that they are exemplar employers  in relation to employees' mental health and the employment of people who have experience of mental health problems

How will this be achieved?

The partnership has developed an action plan to support delivery on the priorities which will depend on the commitment and ability of all services to:

• Ensure equity across the region
• Understand why employment and skills matters for people who have mental health problems
• Recognise the needs of individuals and the importance of personalisation in meeting their support needs
• Recognise, share and build on good practice
• Recognise and understand the needs of employers
• Communicate and work effectively in partnership to deliver action in the four priority areas
• Make it easy/easier for employers to:
  • Engage with this agenda and have an understanding of mental health awareness in the workplace
  • Access relevant information and effective help and support
  • Be convinced of the good business case for having a diverse workforce including people who have experience of mental health problems
  • Develop and implement workplace policies and practices that support the mental health and well-being of all staff
  • Commit to addressing cultural changes needed to reduce stigma and discrimination within the workplace
• Ongoing collection and analysis of data, intelligence, and the views of employers and people who have experience of mental health problems.

How will success be determined?

Specific targets/outcomes

In autumn 2007 the Government published its' Pre Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review and set out its expectation of the public sector within its Public Service Agreement targets for the next three years (Communities and Local Government , 2007).

PSA 16

PSA 16: Increase the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and employment, education and training,

This is the employment and mental health specific PSA target. It is owned by Cabinet office and has a direct impact on the work of the regional teams.

Within PSA 16 are 8 indicators, one of which relates directly to the employment of adults in contact with secondary mental health services (NI 150).

The three other indicators relating to employment in this PSA are in respect of offenders (NI 144), care leavers (NI 148) and people with learning disabilities (NI 146), all groups of people in whom the prevalence of mental health problems is higher than for the population as a whole.

The employment and mental health indicator will be collected via the Mental Health Minimum Dataset at the time of a patient's initial assessment in secondary care and at the point of reviews. Collection will commence in April 2008 using proxy data from the Healthcare Commission Service User Survey. This data will be available in October 2008.

The employment indicator will require information to be collected on:

• Employment status - those who are employed by a company and earning at least the national minimum wage, or self employed
• Unemployed
• Other, including in education or training.

Other PSA Targets

In addition delivery plans for several other PSA targets, owned by other Government Departments, provide opportunities to influence access to employment, learning and skills for people with mental health problems:

• PSA 2: Improve the skills of the population, on the way to ensuring a world-class skills base by 2020, owned by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)
• PSA 8: Maximise employment opportunity for all, owned by DWP
• PSA 15: Address the disadvantage that individuals experience because of their gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, owned by Government Equalities Office
• PSA 17: Tackle poverty and promote greater independence in later life, owned by DWP
• PSA 18: Promote better health and wellbeing for all, owned by Department of Health (DH).

To support implementation of these targets the RET (which includes key partners from DWP, DH and the Public Health Department of Government Office), who are responsible for ensuring that Public Service Agreements are agreed and implemented by local authorities in the region, have agreed this Regional Action Plan for the East of England. 

DWP Goal to Achieve an 80% Employment Rate

DWP also has an aspirational goal to increase the employment rate to 80%, to reduce the numbers of people who are dependent on benefit and to continue to close the employment gap between different groups .To achieve this they recognise the need to ensure there is a step change in the support they offer to those who are most disadvantaged in the labour market (DWP, 2007).

Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies

The Government has announced a £173 million investment in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT). It is expected that by 2011 an additional 900,000 people will be treated for depression and anxiety disorders, and that 25,000 fewer people will be on sick pay and benefits (DH, 2008).

This is a really important opportunity as it is expected that all GP surgeries will have access to psychological therapies within the next 6 years, and employment outcomes will be an expected component of that support.