A new Commission on Work and Wellbeing has been established to tackle Northern Ireland’s persistently high economic inactivity rate, with £16 million in funding from the Public Sector Transformation Fund. The initiative, announced by the Department for Communities, brings together three government departments and will be chaired by former UK Health Secretary Alan Milburn, tasked with examining how disability and ill-health lock people out of the labour market.
The Commission represents one of the most significant recent attempts to address a structural weakness in Northern Ireland’s economy. While unemployment sits at just 2.2 per cent—the lowest of any UK nation—more than a quarter of working-age adults (26.5 per cent, or roughly 315,000 people) are economically inactive, meaning they are neither working nor seeking work. Disability and ill-health account for over a third of these cases.
The Commission’s Mandate and Funding
The £16 million award comes from the Northern Ireland Public Sector Transformation Fund, a £235 million package pledged by the UK Government to support public service reform following the restoration of devolution in 2024. The Commission will operate as an independent body, examining the impact of disability and ill-health on employment and producing recommendations on how health, employment, skills and community supports can be better integrated.
An outcome report is scheduled for publication during the first year of the project. The initiative is a partnership between the Department for Communities, the Department of Health, and the Department for the Economy.
The Scale of Economic Inactivity
Northern Ireland’s economic inactivity rate has remained stubbornly higher than the UK average for over a decade. According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the region’s rate stood at 26.5 per cent for May to July 2025, compared to a UK rate of 21.1 per cent. Analysis by Invest NI attributes this gap partly to a larger proportion of people out of the workforce due to sickness and disability—38 per cent of economically inactive people in Northern Ireland, compared with 31 per cent UK-wide.
The Commission’s establishment comes as the UK Government separately launches a major review into rising inactivity among young people, also led by Mr Milburn, highlighting the growing political priority attached to labour market exclusion.
Ministerial Commitments to Cross-Government Working
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, whose department is leading the initiative, framed the Commission as essential to breaking long-standing cycles of poverty and exclusion:
“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 emphasised the need for systemic collaboration:
“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 added:
“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.”
Commission Membership and Leadership
The Commission held its first meeting on 30 April 2026. Chaired by Mr Milburn, the panel includes representatives from business, health, local government, academia and the voluntary sector:
- Denise Hampson, behavioural economics and experienced design expert
- Colum Boyle, former senior civil servant
- Dr Adrian Johnston MBE, Belfast Innovation Commissioner
- Suzanne Wylie OBE, CEO of the NI Chamber of Commerce
- Liam Devine, CEO of Clanrye Group
- Michael Smyth, HR Group Director, Graham Construction
- Dr Joanne McClean, Director of Public Health
- Amanda Stewart, Interim CEO, NI Youth Forum
- Karen McFarland, Director of Health and Communities at Derry City and Strabane District Council
- Eleanor Hudson, Director of Contract Management at BT Group
- Maureen O’Reilly, independent economist
- Jacqueline Dixon MBE, Chair of Belfast Met Governing Body
Mr Milburn said the Commission would focus on unlocking talent currently excluded from the labour market:
“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.”
Context and Unanswered Questions
While the Commission has drawn cross-party support, several contextual factors merit attention. Northern Ireland’s labour market presents a paradox: record-low unemployment alongside the UK’s highest inactivity rate. This suggests the challenge is not a lack of jobs, but barriers preventing people from accessing them—particularly health-related barriers.
The appointment of Mr Milburn also raises questions about potential conflicts of interest. The former Health Secretary, who served under Tony Blair from 1999 to 2003, has since built a lucrative consultancy career in the private healthcare sector. According to investigative journalism outlet Democracy for Sale, a company owned by Mr Milburn has paid out more than £8 million to him and his family since 2016, primarily from private healthcare consultancy roles. He chairs PricewaterhouseCoopers’ health industries oversight board and has advised private equity groups with significant healthcare investments. While there is no suggestion of impropriety in his new role, the Commission’s recommendations on health-employment integration could theoretically affect service delivery models where his private sector clients operate. The Department for Communities has not indicated whether specific recusal protocols will apply.
Additionally, the announcement leaves several implementation details unclear. The £16 million allocation covers the Commission’s work and the broader “Pathway to Work and Wellbeing” programme, but specific budgets for each department’s responsibilities have not been published. With the Executive operating under single-year budgets for over a decade—and facing a “funding cliff edge” in 2026-27 when short-term Treasury support expires—the long-term resourcing of any recommendations remains uncertain.
Questions for Stakeholders
- How will the Commission ensure its recommendations translate into binding policy given the Executive’s history of single-year budgeting and upcoming fiscal pressures?
- What specific safeguards will govern the Chair’s engagement with private healthcare providers to ensure recommendations serve public rather than commercial interests?
- Will the Commission publish interim findings before the scheduled first-year report, particularly regarding urgent mental health-related employment barriers?
- How will the £16 million be divided between the three partner departments, and what proportion will directly fund frontline services versus administrative restructuring?
- Given that economic inactivity disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities, how will the Commission ensure representation from those currently out of work, rather than just employers and service providers?
The Commission’s success will ultimately be measured not by the publication of its report, but by whether Northern Ireland’s economic inactivity rate—stubbornly stuck above 26 per cent—begins to converge with UK averages. With employers reporting labour shortages and over 300,000 working-age adults sidelined by health barriers, the economic and social imperative for action is clear. Whether the £16 million investment and cross-departmental collaboration can overcome structural barriers that have persisted for decades will become apparent when the Commission publishes its findings next year.