New Research Shows How Mental Health Employment Support Works in Practice

7 November 2024

The Government Outcomes Lab (GO Lab) is pleased to share the second interim evaluation report of the Mental Health Employment Partnership (MHEP), published in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

This publication comes at a significant moment as government increases its focus on employment support, with the recent Autumn Budget announcing £240 million for new back-to-work initiatives. The evaluation offers important learning about effective approaches to supporting people with mental health challenges into employment.

This second interim evaluation examines five projects funded through DCMS's Life Chances Fund, operating across Haringey and Barnet, Shropshire, Enfield, and Tower Hamlets, examining how local partnerships are supporting people with mental health challenges and learning disabilities into employment. Drawing on qualitative evidence from 27 stakeholder interviews and extensive project data, the evaluation reveals important insights about implementing employment support through partnerships.

Key Findings

The evaluation reveals several important insights about implementing employment support through partnerships:

• Improved commissioning practice: A data-driven and collaborative culture has significantly improved service management.
• Strong job outcomes: 32.3% of participants with severe mental illness have moved into employment, meeting NHS England's benchmarks.
• Service quality improvements: Better integration between employment and clinical teams, with caseloads of 20-25 people.
• Scaling success: The approach has informed new quality standards and led to the creation of IPS Grow, supporting service coordination across the UK.
• Implementation challenges: Complex payment structures affected service delivery, though staff remained focused on helping clients.

Next Steps

This second evaluation report is part of GO Lab's ongoing research partnership with DCMS. The final report will provide a complete assessment of the projects' impact and value for money and is due in March 2025.

Access the full report on the DCMS website.