Commission on Work and Wellbeing welcomed by Minister Lyons

Date published: 26 May 2026

The establishment of a Commission on Work and Wellbeing has been welcomed by Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, whose department is leading on the initiative.

Chaired by the Rt Hon Alan Milburn, the Commission is part of a wider initiative to support more people with ill health and disabilities to enter and remain in employment. Funded through a £16million award from the Northern Ireland Public Sector Transformation Fund, the initiative will be delivered in partnership with the Department of Health and Department for the Economy.

Northern Ireland has the highest rate of economic inactivity in the UK, with over a quarter of working-age people currently out of the workforce. Of those, disability and ill-health is cited as the main factor for economic inactivity in over a third of cases.

The Commission will act as an independent body, examining the impact of disability and ill health on people who are out of work or struggling to remain in employment. An outcome report will make recommendations on how local health, employment, skills and community supports can be better integrated and responsive to people’s unique circumstances. It is scheduled to be published during the first year of the project.

Minister Lyons said: “Economic inactivity is a long-standing issue for Northern Ireland and is linked to poverty, poor health and social exclusion.

“The establishment of the Commission reflects my commitment to tackling these issues, and the Executive’s shared commitment to improving work, health and societal outcomes for our people.

“In partnership with the Department of Health and Department for the Economy, I have tasked the Commission with producing recommendations that would see our system better support people to progress towards and into work.

“It is essential that we work closely with our partners across the voluntary and community, local government, health and employment sectors in delivering these recommendations.”

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: “Challenges of this scale and complexity require the whole system to work together. This Commission demonstrates how we can work across boundaries to better support people. By aligning skills, employment and health services, we are taking a more joined up approach that puts people first and helps ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, our economy.”

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “I want more people to thrive and find satisfaction in the workplace, so I welcome the funding being allocated to establish the Commission, which will provide strong cross-government cooperation to tackle issues related to disability and ill health-linked economic inactivity. It will explore stronger integration between local employment, skills, health and community supports, targeting system redesign and opportunities for new ways to deliver more effective services, and to support people to access and remain in employment.”

Rt Hon Alan Milburn said: "Poor health is holding back too many people in Northern Ireland and it is dampening economic growth. Employers are short of skilled labour but there is a pool of talent locked out of the labour market. By working independently with employers, educators and local services, the Commission will identify new ways of bridging that gap."

Commissioners are drawn from across the business, health, local government, academic and voluntary and community sectors.