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£60 million is on the table, and bidding closes on 26 October

Qurexa Editorial Team1 October 20266 min read 0 0
£60 million is on the table, and bidding closes on 26 October

What happened

The Pathways to Work Innovation Fund opened for bids on 28 September 2026, and the Department for Work and Pensions set out the details publicly on 1 October. There is £60 million available overall. Businesses, charities and other organisations across the UK can bid for a share, to test new ways of helping disabled people and people with health conditions get into work, stay in work and progress at work. Applications close on 26 October 2026. That is a short window, so anyone considering a bid needs to move now. The fund is open to public, private and voluntary sector organisations. The examples given include AI-powered job-matching tools, prosthetics, and digital therapies for mental illness. An expert panel will help decide which bids get funded. It includes Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, the Paralympian and member of the House of Lords, alongside Jon Sparkes of Mencap, Angela Matthews of the Business Disability Forum, entrepreneur Mark Esho and others. Additional advisers from the Northern Ireland Executive and the Welsh Government are being appointed. Baroness Grey-Thompson said: 'We know that with the right support, disabled people can and do thrive in the workplace. This is a real opportunity to back the bold, creative ideas that can make that happen.' Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the government wants 'the best ideas from business, charities and disabled people themselves'. Sir Charlie Mayfield, author of the Keep Britain Working Review, put a figure on the problem: 'Economic inactivity caused by health conditions costs our economy £212 billion a year. But this is fixable.' Almost 800 organisations took part in a recent event as part of the programme. The fund sits within a wider £3.5 billion investment in tailored employment support for sick or disabled people, aimed at the 2.8 million people out of work due to sickness.

Why this matters

The gap between the employment rate of disabled and non-disabled people in the UK has been stubborn for decades. Lots of schemes have been tried. The gap narrows slowly and then widens again. This fund takes a different tack: rather than funding more of what already exists, it is explicitly asking for things that have not been tried, and accepting that some will not work. That is what an innovation fund is for. The reason to pay attention if you work in this field is that the window is genuinely short. From opening on 28 September to closing on 26 October is under a month. Funds of this size do not usually come round often, and a strong bid takes time to assemble. There is also a reason for individuals to care. Several of the organisations showcased at the launch are working on things with direct practical use: Koalaa makes comfortable, affordable prosthetics; Big Health works on digital therapies for insomnia, anxiety and depression; Ufi VocTech Trust funds platforms making vocational training accessible to neurodivergent people and those with learning or health conditions; and Beam runs an AI caseworker platform that the government says has supported over 7,000 people with health conditions into work. Whether or not any particular project succeeds, the direction is towards practical tools rather than more paperwork.

What the evidence actually says

A fair reading separates the money from the claims. The money and the process are documented: £60 million, bids open from 28 September, closing 26 October 2026, with a named expert panel and a published applicant bid pack. The £212 billion figure for economic inactivity caused by health conditions comes from Sir Charlie Mayfield's Keep Britain Working Review. It is a serious piece of work by the former John Lewis chairman, but figures of this type are modelled estimates that depend heavily on assumptions about what counts as a cost. Treat it as an indication of scale rather than a precise number. The 2.8 million people out of work due to sickness figure is from official labour market statistics and is more directly measured. What has not been established is that any of the technologies named will work at scale. AI job-matching, digital therapies and improved prosthetics are all plausible and all have early supporting evidence, but 'plausible with early evidence' is exactly the stage at which an innovation fund is appropriate and also the stage at which many projects fail. That is not a criticism; it is the design. The honest risk is a familiar one with innovation funding: short projects that produce an encouraging report and then stop when the money does. The structures that matter are whether results are independently evaluated and whether anything that works gets adopted more widely. Neither is guaranteed by the announcement. One genuine strength is the involvement of disabled people in choosing what gets funded, through the expert panel. Schemes designed without that input have a poor track record.

Practical advice

If your organisation might bid, act this week. Read the applicant bid pack on GOV.UK. It sets out eligibility and what a strong application needs. Note the deadline: 26 October 2026. Check you are eligible. The fund is open to public, private and voluntary sector organisations across the UK, not just England. Be specific about what you would test and how you would know whether it worked. Funds like this are usually won by clear, measurable proposals rather than ambitious language. Involve disabled people in designing your bid, not just in delivering it. The panel includes people who will notice the difference. If you are an individual looking for work with a disability or health condition, you do not need to wait for this fund. Access to Work can pay for equipment, support workers and travel to help you start or stay in a job. Disability Employment Advisers at Jobcentres can help, and many charities run free employment support. If you are an employer, you can ask for advice on reasonable adjustments. Organisations such as the Business Disability Forum exist for exactly that, and small changes often make the difference. If a health condition is making work difficult, speak to your GP or occupational health before it reaches crisis point. Staying in work with adjustments is usually easier than returning after a long absence.

What to know

The Pathways to Work Innovation Fund is offering £60 million for new approaches to helping disabled people and people with health conditions enter, stay in and progress at work. Bids opened on 28 September 2026 and close on 26 October 2026, and the fund is open to public, private and voluntary sector organisations across the UK. An expert panel including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson will shortlist ideas, which may range from AI job-matching and digital mental health therapies to prosthetics. It sits within a £3.5 billion programme aimed at 2.8 million people out of work due to sickness. The ideas are promising rather than proven, which is the point of an innovation fund; the things to watch are independent evaluation and whether anything that works is actually adopted. Sources: GOV.UK (Department for Work and Pensions), 'Call for bold new ideas to support disabled people and those with health conditions into work', 1 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/call-for-bold-new-ideas-to-support-disabled-people-and-those-with-health-conditions-into-work; GOV.UK, 'Pathways to Work Innovation Fund: applicant bid pack', https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pathways-to-work-innovation-fund-applicant-bid-pack. This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.

#disability#employment#skills#innovation funding#DWP#workplace

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