The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) funds and administers the Access to Work scheme. Introduced in 1994, it is designed to help disabled people and those with health conditions. Support can take the form of an assessment exploring barriers to employment in a workplace and making recommendations to overcoming them, and can fund practical support to supplement employers’ legally-mandated reasonable adjustments. Grants can also pay for specialist aids and equipment, costs of travel to work, and support workers. Government published proposals to reform Access to Work in March 2025.
Demand for and spending on Access to Work has recently significantly increased. The number of people approved by DWP for support or a workplace assessment, or both, rose by 83% to 67,720 in 2023-24. Spending on the scheme increased over the same period by 72% from £149.9m to £257.8m in cash terms. This has resulted in significant backlogs in the scheme. Separately, in July 2025 the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) highlighted DWP’s seeming complacency in the face of a work coach shortage. In January of the same year, the PAC warned that disability benefits claimants were receiving an unacceptably poor level of service from DWP, with underpayment rates highest for those on these benefits.
In 2026, the National Audit Office (NAO) publishes its report looking at challenges in the operation of Access to Work. Proceeding from the NAO’s findings, the PAC will take evidence from senior DWP officials on how the Department is addressing these challenges, with likely topics including what impact backlogs have had on claimants and employers.
If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Thursday 26 February 2026.
Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The Committee decides what information to publish and how. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is for the Committee to say whether it will agree.It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this.
Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues.