Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to encourage employers to improve support for applicants and employees with complex disabilities.

My officials regularly engage with BEIS on work that will improve employer support for applicants and employees with complex disabilities.

This follows on from the Health Is Everyone's Business Consultation Response, which DWP and DHSC published jointly last year. The response set out the measures we will take to protect and maintain progress made to reduce ill-health related job loss and see 1 million more disabled people in work from 2017 to 2027. The measures in the Response provide greater clarity around employer and employee rights and responsibilities; address the need for employers to have access to clear and compelling information and advice; and encourage more employers to provide access to expert support services such as Occupational Health.

DWP is currently developing a new digital service to provide employers with better-tailored and integrated information, and BEIS is involved in the development of this service.

A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to live independent lives and start, stay and succeed in employment. These include the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Supported Internships, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.

In particular, Access to Work is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme that helps to remove the risks of the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers by contributing towards covering the costs of employment –related support above the level of reasonable adjustment. Access to Work provides employees with grants of up to £62,900 per year to cover workplace adaptations such as special equipment, support workers, and help getting to and from work. In 2020/21 35,990 disabled people and people with health conditions received tailored and flexible support to do their job from Access to Work.