Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people with autism they estimate have found work in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the number of disabled people with autism who have found work in the past 12 months is published by the Department at: The employment of disabled people - GOV.UK.
There were an estimated 90,000 people with Autism who moved into employment between 2023 and 2024 (the latest data available).
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they accepted the recommendation in the Buckland Review of Autism Employment to set up a task group to review progress on expanding employment opportunities for people with autism.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), we committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity (including autism) in the workplace.
In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. This is building on the work of the Buckland Review, which was published under the previous Government, and focused more narrowly on autism employment. The evidence review concluded in late summer 2025 and the panel will be reporting their findings and recommendations shortly.
Although this Government has not made a formal response to the Buckland Review, the Ministers for Employment and Social Security and Disability met Sir Robert Buckland in October 2024 to talk about his findings and key drivers for change in the workplace. In addition, Professor Amanda Kirby, Chair of the Academic Panel, has subsequently met Sir Robert to discuss the panel's terms of reference, scope, and timelines, and in June they jointly gave evidence to this House’s Autism Act 2009 Committee.
The Government will decide next steps in the light of the panel’s recommendations, and other relevant reviews such as Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with Sir Robert Buckland concerning his review on employing people with autism.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), we committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity (including autism) in the workplace.
In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. This is building on the work of the Buckland Review, which was published under the previous Government, and focused more narrowly on autism employment. The evidence review concluded in late summer 2025 and the panel will be reporting their findings and recommendations shortly.
Although this Government has not made a formal response to the Buckland Review, the Ministers for Employment and Social Security and Disability met Sir Robert Buckland in October 2024 to talk about his findings and key drivers for change in the workplace. In addition, Professor Amanda Kirby, Chair of the Academic Panel, has subsequently met Sir Robert to discuss the panel's terms of reference, scope, and timelines, and in June they jointly gave evidence to this House’s Autism Act 2009 Committee.
The Government will decide next steps in the light of the panel’s recommendations, and other relevant reviews such as Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to resuming recruitment for a task group to implement the recommendations of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, published on 28 February.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our plan to Make Work Pay, we committed to raising awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace.
Our forthcoming employment White Paper considers how to improve employment outcomes and experiences for disabled people and people with health conditions. We are exploring how we can build on the earlier, independent, Buckland Review which was focused more narrowly on autism and employment, to improve understanding and support for all neurodivergent people at work.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to expanding the recommendations of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, published on 28 February, across neurodiversity more widely.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our plan to Make Work Pay, we committed to raising awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace.
Our forthcoming employment White Paper considers how to improve employment outcomes and experiences for disabled people and people with health conditions. We are exploring how we can build on the earlier, independent, Buckland Review which was focused more narrowly on autism and employment, to improve understanding and support for all neurodivergent people at work.
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 - Shadow Minister (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 - Shadow Minister (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 - Shadow Minister (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 - Shadow Minister (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 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 - Shadow Minister (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.