Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue updated guidance to caseworkers about the administration of the Access to Work scheme to ensure consistency across the UK; and if so, when they plan to issue that updated guidance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To improve consistency, we have introduced training focused on embedding the Access to Work scheme’s principles more clearly. This includes a stronger emphasis on employers’ responsibilities under the Equality Act, ensuring support is awarded in a fair and balanced way.
We have also increased the number of staff working in Access to Work by c.29% and streamlined some processes to improve the service.
We are committed to improving the service and will utilise the outcomes of the Green Paper consultation, the Collaboration Committees, and upcoming work of the Independent Disability Advisory Panel to inform the future direction of Access to Work. Once established we will consider timelines and work closely with stakeholders to ensure an appropriate transition. We continue to review our operational practices and resources, to drive improvements across the service to reduce processing times and the overall experience of our customers.