The morning after Rishi Sunak told us his plan was working, damning new figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show things are just getting worse.

Employment is DOWN.

Economic Activity is UP.

Unemployment is RISING.

Only Labour has a plan to get Britain working. We will:

• NHS waiting lists: Stop people being stuck out of work due to sickness by bringing down NHS waiting lists and ensuring patients treated on time with 2 million more weekend and evening appointments – paid for by cracking down on tax dodgers.
• Mental health: Tackle one of the key drivers of economic inactivity before it takes hold by providing specialist mental health support in every school and walk in access in every community – paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.Reform Jobcentres: so that they have a new focus on tackling the barriers to good employment; devolving new powers over employment support and changing their duties to require collaboration with other support agencies, including the NHS.
• Access to work: Overhauling Access to Work for disabled people, so they know what equipment, adaptations or personal support they’ll get before they start work – giving them the confidence to take the plunge.
• Into work guarantee: Introduce changes to incapacity benefits to encourage disabled people and people with ill health – who are currently not required to seek work by the benefits system – to try work without fear of losing their income or having to be reassessed if the job doesn’t work out.

The Tories have let down millions of people who are out of work due to sickness. Labour will support them.

We need a Labour UK Government, which will be committed to delivering an employment support system that meets the needs of workers, those who want to get back into work, and businesses across Wales.