The government has revealed a ten-year plan to provide better support for people suffering from mental illness.

The strategy, entitled New Horizons: A Shared Vision for Mental Health, sets out ways to increase job opportunities for victims of mental health.

Work and pensions secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The vast majority of people with mental health conditions work, but for some people it can be very hard to stay in a job.

"We know that work is good for people and that's why we want to give everyone the support they need to stay in a job, or get back to work."

This support includes a work programme to aid those suffering from mental health to get into work and retain their jobs.

Nine advice lines linking employers to occupational health professionals, and plans to recruit mental health coordinators in Jobcentre Plus districts also aim to improve the chances of mental health sufferers gaining employment.

Health secretary Andy Burnham added that the new measures tackle depression, which is often "simply forgotten" by society.

Meanwhile, Dr Rachel Perkins, who has supported the government by leading a review into how unemployed people with mental health problems should be supported, agreed sufferers were "excluded within our society".

Mental health charity Mind's chief executive Paul Farmer praised the government's plans but admitted concerns over "how the vision will become a reality".

Mental illness is the reason cited most regularly for claiming health-related benefits with one in six people being sufferers.

The government currently allocates 13 per cent of its NHS budget to mental health. £35 billion is spent on mental illness every year.
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