Inclusion London Letter About Access To Work

Read more about the Access to Work campaign: https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/campaigns-and-policy/act-now/protect-access-to-work-act-now/ If your DDPO supports the open letter, please sign below, by 26th March 2026. We will list your DDPO as a signatory. --- To: Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, Department for Work & Pensions Dear Minister, We write to you as Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs), to raise our serious concerns about the current state of the Access to Work (AtW) programme, the shift in operational delivery which has resulted in significant cuts to support this year, and the possible direction on future reforms. Not only do we represent thousands of Deaf and Disabled people who use the AtW programme, but we ourselves also employ many AtW users. From this unique position, we are writing to ask you to press the Government to increase funding and protect this vital support. The value of the programme Access to Work is the best scheme currently in operation to support Disabled people’s employment. The key principle of the scheme is to provide support to remove the barriers that people face in doing their jobs, using the financial and convening power of government to go beyond the ‘reasonable adjustments’ employers are required to provide. Without this scheme, many of us would not be able to perform our jobs or remain in work, and, as organisations predominantly employing Deaf and Disabled people, we would find it difficult to employ and support many of our staff. We appreciate your concern about the significant increase in spending on Access to Work in the last few years, however we believe this could be viewed as a measure of success for the programme: more people know about and value it as a key way of getting and staying in work, and therefore the demand is growing. We believe money spent on Access to work is a strong strategic investment. The scheme equalises opportunities for all, playing a key role in achieving the government’s aim of increasing employment for Disabled people. It also creates jobs for additional support staff and suppliers, boosting the economy – including in areas with limited job opportunities. Both groups of people contribute additional taxes and savings on social security. In addition, the government itself recognises the benefit of good, well supported work for healthy lives and communities, and therefore the impact goes well beyond the purely financial. We are disappointed the DWP has not accepted the existing evidence base for Access to Work’s positive return on investment, nor has the department yet done its own research to assess it. Despite the difficulties, we believe the Department must find a way to do this before implementing any reforms that might result in reductions to support. Concerns about current operational changes and cuts We share the view that current AtW delivery is unsatisfactory and the programme needs reform. However, we believe the core principle of individual support that equalises opportunities for Disabled people in work is vital and any reform needs to be built on that. One of the programme’s most important contributions comes in the form of providing person-to-person support workers, and we believe that current attempts to limit this kind of support undermine its effectiveness. We have experienced and witnessed the following key problems with how AtW operates today: Our staff are experiencing arbitrary cuts to their support packages, particularly since spring last year. Unrealistic limits are being applied to the cost of support workers, driving down the quality of support that is possible and frequently making it impossible to find support workers willing to take up the positions funded. In one case, the pay rate initially awarded by AtW caseworkers actually fell below minimum wage. Inconsistent interpretations of the responsibilities of employers under AtW policy mean we routinely have to argue the case that it is not reasonable for us to meet the additional needs of staff. This makes the system less efficient, particularly for small organisations like ours. It also appears to us that applications from staff with mental health support needs, staff with learning difficulties, and neurodivergent individuals are facing a lot more scrutiny than other groups of Disabled people. New interpretations of the arbitrary “20% rule” are leading to system-wide cuts to essential support hours, immediately reducing staff effectiveness and causing measurable losses of employment, as Action on Disability, a small DDPO, recently reported to the National Audit Office’s inquiry into AtW. Long delays in putting support in place, sometimes up to a year from application, directly compromise our service delivery and people’s ability to do their job and remain in work. This situation is not sustainable from employers’ perspective, and it causes enormous stress for Disabled employees. It could also have a lasting impact on the willingness of employers to employ Disabled people and for Disabled people to gain employment. The ‘pay first, get refunded later’ nature of Access to Work grants, combined with poor processing and extreme delays, creates cash flow problems for organisations, especially those who, like us, employ many Disabled people. This acts as a strong deterrent to employing Disabled people. The current system is overly bureaucratic and does not account for the access needs of applicants, nor is it flexible enough to function well for non-traditional work patterns including seasonal or contract-based work. Decision-making is not transparent, and staff appear to lack expertise in the range of ways support needs could be met. This puts an additional burden on us as organisations and our employees. Poor links with other support programmes run by the NHS or local authorities mean that in order to get the right equipment and support our staff are required to obtain evidence from services which have already declined their requests, just to prove to Access to Work that this support cannot be obtained from other sources. This problem is particularly acute for wheelchairs or other mobility aids. If the Government is serious about supporting Disabled people into work and to thrive while in work, it must take action to reform and increase funding for the best programme – Access to Work. We ask you to urgently raise this issue with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Treasury, and to commit to the following: Increase funding for Access to Work, or increase its priority within the DWP budget, so the scheme can meet demand instead of pushing people out of work through stealth cuts or future cost-saving reforms. Pause the current operational changes and cuts (including the 20% rule) that are leading to catastrophic loss of employment and financial harm to organisations and individuals. Co-design improvements with Disabled people and DDPOs, ensuring the scheme stays accessible and based on the social model of disability, and upholds core principle of removing barriers for all Disabled people, including those who require higher-cost packages. Any reforms also need to take into account the changing nature of work, building in flexibility so it can perform well for people whose work is seasonal, contract-based, or otherwise variable. Analyse and publish an assessment of the return on investment of Access to Work, including the wider economic and social benefits. Address the lack of transparency, inconsistency, and accountability that currently plagues the complaints process. This should be done before any significant changes affecting the level of support people get are introduced.