7. How is the Welsh Government supporting businesses to extend their occupational health offering? OQ59105

Thank you. In conjunction with the Healthy Working Wales programme, a new in-work support service will commence in April 2023. This will provide occupational and therapeutical support for employees to remain in or return to employment who are absent from work or at risk of becoming absent due to their physical or mental ill health.

I thank you, Trefnydd, for your response there. And, of course, Trefnydd, you may be aware that there are hundreds of thousands of people who have left the workforce since 2019, and there are big efforts in terms of keeping older people in their jobs for longer to support the economy. An early reported conclusion of a review from the Department for Work and Pensions is that companies that provide employees with extensive occupational health support have a better retention rate because they lose fewer staff to ill health or related problems. And I'm aware, of course, we have over 50,000 people currently waiting for over two years for treatment on the Welsh NHS. I'm aware that organisations such as the Senedd Commission or the Welsh Government will offer good occupational health support to their employees. I'm aware also of the tens of thousands of small businesses across Wales that won't have that same ability to offer that occupational health support. So, can I ask, Minister, what specifically the Welsh Government is doing to help very small businesses—maybe just one or two staff employed in each business—how are they supporting those businesses to offer better occupational health support to their staff?

Thank you. I did note the Chancellor’s recent comments urging older people to return to the labour market. Some of us have never left. And I think there is a concern, a genuine concern, about the number of people over the age of 50 who have left the labour market relatively early. You make a very important point around occupational health provision and, certainly, the Welsh Government do support businesses in Wales to create healthier workplaces by making improvements to their well-being and health practices. We've also got a new in-work support service. That's completely funded by the Welsh Government, and that provides occupational and therapeutical support for employees. And there is also dedicated information and guidance on how businesses can extend their occupational health offering. That's available on the Business Wales website, so I'd encourage any businesses to have a look at that. There are also relevant links on Public Health Wales’s Twitter page.