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Fears over Access to Work scheme

A2W_mainTHE GOVERNMENT has been urged to publicly reject a document released by Department for Work and Pensions hours after last week’s election result, which suggested that the Access to Work programme – the only programme with a 100% success rate in enabling disabled people to work – may be axed.

The Business Disability Forum says more than 110,000 disabled people have been assisted to get and stay in jobs since 2007 through the ATW programme, with more than 35,500 people assisted in the last 12 months.

BDF director of policy, services and communications George Selvanera said:

“The Government should immediately restate its commitment to Access to Work, reject DWP’s document and ensure continued partnership with business to deliver real jobs for disabled people. While it is right that the Government makes savings, saving pennies to lose pounds is obviously enough not the way to do it.

“DWP seems to misunderstand the purpose of this programme and isn’t publishing any analysis to demonstrate the gains to the taxpayer.
“Access to Work is not a benefit but a successful partnership with employers that has a 100% success rate in helping disabled people work and stay in work.”

The programme meets the extraordinary costs that would otherwise prevent an employer hiring a person with particular disabilities. These include costs of support workers and transport.

In March, Minister for Disabled People Mark Harper MP told the House of Commons that ‘AtW plays a key part in building a Disability Confident Britain’ and the average award per individual is about £3,000, with half of all awards being less than £1,000.

The bipartisan Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry in December 2014 was highly critical of DWP’s administration of the programme.

The Committee recommended DWP make substantial improvements in transparency of process and decision making, customer service, cons
istency in the way guidance was applied and to undertake substantially more robust analysis to evidence the costs and benefits of the programme.

www.businessdisabilityforum.org.uk

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