Work and Health Programme statistics
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-28)

Official statistics on the Work and Health Programme.

The publication of statistical datasets for the Work and Health Programme Official Statistics is currently not available on Stat-Xplore. This is out of our control as it is due to an unexpected automated software update causing technical problems when uploading the data to the live site. A fix has been identified and is being tested by the Tech Support team, however it is unlikely the data will go live on Stat Xplore until Friday 28 November at the earliest. The routine publication of the Official Statistics release on GOV.UK is unaffected. We will provide any further updates on the issues affecting Stat-Xplore via the GOV.UK site.

The Work and Health Programme (WHP) predominantly helps disabled people, as well as the long-term unemployed and certain other priority groups (known as early access groups) to enter into and stay in work.

From November 2018, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has released official statistics about WHP. These provide information on a regular basis about the number of:
- referrals to WHP
- starts to WHP
- job outcomes (added in May 2019)
- first earnings from employment (added in February 2020)
- provider performance levels (added in November 2020)
In September 2023, WHP was expanded to include a new element called WHP Pioneer, which targets economically inactive claimants in the disability and early access groups. As of May 2024, statistics have also been released to provide information on:
- referrals to WHP Pioneer
- starts to WHP Pioneer
- first earnings from employment (added in August 2024)
- job outcomes (headline figure added in August 2024, additional figures added in November 2024)
Further information about the WHP and WHP Pioneer can be found in the background information note (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-and-health-programme-statistics-background-information-and-methodology).

Referrals to the WHP and WHP Pioneer ended on 30 September 2024 as planned. Data for referrals and starts is now static and will not change in future releases. This impacts all measures: referrals, starts, first earnings and job outcomes. Data for referrals and starts is now static and will not change in future releases but is retained within the quarterly statistical bulletins to provide context for outcome measures.

Publication frequency

WHP closed to new referrals on 30 September 2024, and increasingly statistics will become static over time. We have engaged with users and, following the release on 27 November 2025, there will be a reduction in the frequency of this publication with the next releases taking place in May 2026 and February 2027. February 2027 will be the last release and will cover the final outcomes from the programme.

Statistics covered in this publication include data collected during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The measures taken during the pandemic have had an impact on the delivery of the WHP and on its performance. During the first wave of the pandemic – in March 2020 – DWP deployed a number of measures to deal with the unprecedented levels of demand on the department and therefore there were lower numbers of referrals to the WHP during this time.

DWP’s priority continues to be ensuring people get their benefit payments and to provide support for those who need it the most. As face-to-face meetings were also suspended, DWP provided additional online signposting to the WHP, and enabled self-referrals from individuals who were eligible. Providers took alternative routes to service delivery including digital options and providing a telephony service to ensure support continued. Additionally, some employment sectors were unable to recruit and others saw substantial reductions in job opportunities.

This context should be considered when assessing the success or timeliness of outcomes from the programme in relation to this period.

Further breakdowns of these statistics are available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk), an online tool for exploring some of the main DWP statistics.

Find announcements on the future releases of WHP statistics in the statistics calendar (https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?parent=department-for-work-pensions&content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&organisations%5B%5D=department-for-work-pensions&order=updated-newest).