Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what update his department can provide on (a) waiting times for access to work and (b) the steps being taken to reduce the backlog of applications.

a) From April 2026 to July 2026 it took an average of 125.6 days from the initial date of contact to an Access to Work decision being made. To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise the small minority of AtW applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks. In 2025, we allocated c. 96% of applications starting work within 4 weeks in 28 days.

b) We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why, in May 2026, we committed to recruiting and training an additional 360 case managers, and 120 case workers to process the higher volume of applications. That is a 72.5% increase to the existing 658 staff already working on Access to Work. We expect to have cleared the backlog by the end of September 2027.

Recruitment has already begun, and new case managers will undertake a comprehensive and robust learning routeway that lasts for 6 months to enable them to handle complex applications with confidence. All Case Managers need to successfully pass a detailed and robust assessment before they are deemed to have reached the standard required to make application decisions. Onboarding will be phased, with the first candidates starting from 1 September 2026. Management grades have already been recruited across August 2026 and September 2026, to manage and support the new starters.

We are keen to ensure Access to Work remains fair and sustainable. Access to Work is critical for the people it supports, so it is important we take the time to get reforms right so we can deliver real improvements.