天美影院

Research background

This report presents the findings from the work aspirations research. The report is based on 3,401 survey responses, 88 in-depth qualitative interviews and 9 focus groups which explored the employment aspirations, attitudes to work and support needs of health and disability customers. This research was commissioned to develop a robust evidence base in understanding the needs and barriers of health and disability customers. A key area of focus for the government is supporting health and disability customers into work and design of a reformed health and disability system.

Contribution to the evidence base

This interim report follows previous research carried out by DWP in 2019. The previous research explored the same themes as the present project but solely focused on those in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group (ESA SG) and Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (UC LCWRA). This research expands on 2019 by broadening the population base to include Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NS ESA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) Health Journey customers in a post-COVID world. Interim findings for this research were published in February 2025 based off the survey responses and roughly two-thirds of the interviews. This final report expands on the interim findings by including the rest of the qualitative results, along with a segmentation analysis of the survey responses.

Research value

The findings from this report will inform policy on the attitudes to work, barriers to employment and support needs experienced by health and disability customers.