Project details
Portfolio: Education, skills and inclusion
Area: County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland
Funding amount: up to £50m
Funder: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Project status: Mobilising
Delivery partner: Various - please see below
Key contact: Work and Health Team
Key contact email: connecttowork@northeast-ca.gov.uk
Page last updated 05-09-2025
Supported by
By encouraging join-up between health systems and employment support, Connect to Work will support those, primarily, currently outside the workforce and facing greater labour market disadvantages, to stay in work and get back into work. In turn, supporting the Government’s ambition for a more inclusive economy, supporting local people to realise their potential and supporting local and national growth.
In England and Wales, Connect to Work funding will support around 100,000 disabled people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to get into work and stay in work. In the North East, Connect to Work will support over 13,500 residents between 1st October 2025 and 31st March 2030.
Connect to Work is a voluntary programme, providing a specific form of support targeted at the right people at the right time, based on their individual circumstances. The programme will deliver the evidence-based Supported Employment model, ‘place, train, and maintain’, via two different types of interventions - Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF), also referred to as Local Supported Employment (LSE).
As the Accountable Body, the North East CA is responsible for the commissioning, implementation and management of the Connect to Work programme.
Lead Delivery Organisations
Following robust commissioning processes, Lead Delivery Organisations have been appointed in each of our Local Authority Geographical Areas, as follows. Contact details and referral routes will be confirmed in due course.
| Geographical area | Intervention | Lead organisation |
| County Durham | IPS SEQF | Triage Central Ltd Durham County Council |
Gateshead | IPS SEQF | Triage Central Ltd Gateshead Council |
| Newcastle | IPS SEQF | Groundwork North East and Cumbria Newcastle City Council |
| North Tyneside | IPS SEQF | Groundwork North East and Cumbria North Tyneside Council |
| Northumberland | IPS SEQF | Northumberland County Council |
| South Tyneside | IPS SEQF | Northern Rights Social Enterprise Ltd South Tyneside Council |
| Sunderland | IPS SEQF | Triage Central Ltd Sunderland Council |
Go-live
Connect to Work delivery will go-live on 1st October 2025.
To prepare for delivery, the North East Combined Authority hosted webinar sessions to share information with referral and support organisations and local employers. You can access slides and Q&As from our Employer Readiness webinar and our Referral and Support Organisations Readiness webinar.
