The Innovation Fund: new ideas on disability at work
By Diane Lightfoot, CEO at Business Disability Forum
Last week, the Government announced the creation of its Pathways to Work Innovation Fund. The fund is an initiative that invites all types and sizes of organisations to pitch ambitious, creative ideas to help disabled people and those with health conditions get into and on at work. A wide range of ideas is expected to be funded. Projects can be about using technology, joining up support, or something completely different.
Business Disability Forum (BDF) is excited by the announcement of this fund. It is something I have been calling for over the years through my former role as co-chair of the Disability Charities Consortium (DCC). In 2022, the DCC submitted a request to the Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review for this type of fund, and we have been calling for it repeatedly ever since.
The disability employment gap
The disability employment gap has lingered at around 30 percentage points for over two decades. Around a million disabled people want to work and are able to work, but they don’t currently have the opportunity. But getting disabled people into work is just one part of closing the disability employment gap; ensuring disabled people have everything they need to stay in the labour market is also crucial. Some 420,000 disabled people leave the labour market every year. In 2024, the number of disabled people entering employment was almost the same as the number of disabled people who left employment that same year. With such eye-watering numbers, it’s clear work isn’t working for very many disabled people.
Understanding and building on what works
We are pleased that the Innovation Fund has multi-year investment. This is crucial, enabling Government to understand what works and why before building up these approaches into formal pilots and rolling out to employers nationally.
The disability employment gap is not going to shift without new approaches. The fund will offer opportunities for Government to work with a wide range of organisations and individuals to hear what works and to use these ideas to develop future policy. The aim is to deliver a more inclusive workplace experience where disabled people can use and develop their skills working for employers who value their contribution and recognise their needs.
Open for ideas soon
The Innovation Fund will be open for ideas and bids from September 2026 (date to be confirmed) and we hope as many organisations as possible will apply, informed by the experiences of their disabled staff.
In the meantime, we continue to call for a properly resourced and responsive Access to Work scheme, recognising that the Innovation Fund is only one part of the support needed to make work a reality for many disabled people.
The Innovation Fund will be open for bids in September 2026 (date to be confirmed) with organisations across the UK invited to compete for grant funding to test genuinely new approaches to supporting people to move towards, into, and to progress at work.