The government has launched a multi-million pound challenge fund to help tackle the disability employment gap. The fund is the latest in a range of government measures that aims to see one million more disabled people in work by 2027.

The £4.2 million challenge fund will help support people with mental health or musculoskeletal conditions to stay in work. The fund, run by Rocket Science on behalf of the government, is aimed at testing new approaches to help people experiencing mental ill health and/or musculoskeletal issues to remain in employment.

The money will be used to fund around twenty projects to improve the government’s understanding of what works in one or more of the following areas:

• Helping people stay in work by increasing their ability to self-manage their conditions
• Helping people access advice and support about what sort of work they might be capable of doing, given their wider needs and circumstances
• Developing new approaches to help employers and employees develop workplace solutions, and ways of working, that facilitate greater participation of those with mental health or musculoskeletal conditions.

The projects which are approved for funding are anticipated to run between October 2018 and February 2020.