Southwark's Connect to Work programme, designed to support residents facing health and disability-related barriers to employment, has received £8.3 million in funding.
The programme aims to address barriers for young people with long term physical or mental health conditions and disabilities, care leavers, young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and those involved or at risk of being involved in serious violence.
The funding, announced at the Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Commission meeting on Wednesday, will support the programme's objectives of helping people with health and disability-related barriers find sustainable employment. Danny Edwards, Head of Economy, and Nick Wollf, Employment and Skills Manager, provided the update on the Connect to Work programme.
Connect to Work is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) funded initiative that will run for five years, from April 2025 to March 2030. The programme aims to use proven support models, known as Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and the Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF), to assist participants in securing good quality, lasting employment.
Southwark is expected to have the highest number of Connect to Work participants among central London boroughs, with up to 700 starts per year. The council has adopted a mixed approach to delivering the programme, combining a commissioned service with a new in-house delivery team. This approach was selected as offering the highest level of local influence over programme design and delivery, enabling flexibility and responsiveness in the model and driving integration with health, care and wellbeing services delivered by the council and its partners. This approach was also selected so that the council could ensure the programme was delivered under the established Southwark Works brand and inform future decisions on strategy for the Southwark Works service.
The in-house team began supporting residents in October 2025, and the contracted delivery partner is scheduled to begin taking referrals in January 2026. The council conducted a procurement exercise for the contracted elements of the service over the summer of 2025, awarding contracts in October. The specific organisation is not named in the provided documents.
Further details about the programme can be found in the Connect to Work report presented to the commission.