Giving people better opportunities to participate actively in the labour market improves well-being. It also helps countries to cope with rapid population ageing by mobilising more fully each country’s potential labour resources. However, weak labour market attachment of some groups in society reflects a range of barriers to working or moving up the jobs ladder. Therefore, the OECD is carrying out a new review of activation policies to encourage greater labour market participation of all groups in society with a special focus on the most disadvantaged groups who face the greatest barriers and disincentives to finding work. This will include a series of country studies, Connecting People with Jobs, which will provide an analysis and assessment of how well activation policies in selected OECD countries are performing in fostering more inclusive labour markets that help all groups in society to move into productive and rewarding jobs. This report for the United Kingdom is the first country study to be published in this series.