Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the budget for the Access to Work scheme has been underspent, and if so, by how much, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work grant expenditure has been underspent against budget in three of the past five years.
£m | 18/19 | 19/20 | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 |
Budget (mid-year adjusted) | 117.1 | 145.3 | 108.6 | 151.9 | 178.3 |
Full year outturn | 124.5 | 146.8 | 104.5 | 146.5 | 177.3 |
(Over) / Underspend | (7.4) | (1.4) | 4.1 | 5.5 | 1.0 |
Other than years impacted by the Pandemic, the grant expenditure has increased year on year.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any delays, and the reasons for such delays, in paying funds to employment support providers who have successfully applied for help from the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not routinely collect data on the funding provided directly to employment support providers. Access to Work funding is, in most cases, paid directly to the customer, unless the customer requests that the funding is paid directly to an employment support provider.
Access to work has recruited additional staff to ensure a high level of customer service. The digital payments portal was introduced in June 2023 and is available for all customers that choose to claim online.
Access to Work has received significant increase in payment claims over the last year and have recruited new staff to meet the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make payments.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the estimated average time span from application to payment for employment support providers seeking help from the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not routinely collect data on the funding provided directly to employment support providers. Access to Work funding is, in most cases, paid directly to the customer, unless the customer requests that the funding is paid directly to an employment support provider.
Access to work has recruited additional staff to ensure a high level of customer service. The digital payments portal was introduced in June 2023 and is available for all customers that choose to claim online.
Access to Work has received significant increase in payment claims over the last year and have recruited new staff to meet the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make payments.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many employment support providers have received support from the Access to Work scheme in each of the past five years.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not routinely collect data on the funding provided directly to employment support providers. Access to Work funding is, in most cases, paid directly to the customer, unless the customer requests that the funding is paid directly to an employment support provider.
Access to work has recruited additional staff to ensure a high level of customer service. The digital payments portal was introduced in June 2023 and is available for all customers that choose to claim online.
Access to Work has received significant increase in payment claims over the last year and have recruited new staff to meet the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make payments.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect that the number of people with autism detained in mental health hospitals will have reduced by 50 per cent by March 2024.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have made significant progress towards reducing the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in inpatient mental health settings.
For people who have a learning disability and who do not have an autism diagnosis, the data shows that has been a 57% reduction in the number of people in hospital since March 2015. For people who have both a learning disability and autism diagnosis, there has been a 33% reduction in the number of people in hospital since March 2015.
However, the number of people with an autism diagnosis, who do not have a learning disability, in hospital inpatient settings has increased significantly over the same period. As such, we know there is more to do. This is why we are investing an additional £121 million in 2023/24 to improve community support as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, including funding for Children and Young People’s keyworkers. In addition to this, all Integrated Care Boards should have an executive lead on learning disability and autism to increase local oversight and expertise in commissioning, and NHS England has published updated policy and guidance on Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews and Dynamic Support Registers to help ensure people get the right support to stay well in their communities.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government why autism is defined as a disability in some application forms for help from the Access to Work scheme and not in other cases.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To apply for Access to Work customers must complete an application either online or over the phone. The application is the same no matter how they complete it. Customers are asked to describe their condition in their own words and how it impacts their work. The application form does not list or ask about any specific conditions. This supports the principle that Access to Work is tailored to each customer’s disability and support need.