Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to reduce waiting times for Access to Work applications.

Demand for the Access to Work Scheme has been growing. In 2023-2024, 67,720 people were approved for Access to Work provision. This is around a 32% increase compared to the previous year. Alongside this, there is a significant delay in processing Access to Work applications. As of February 2025, there were 62,000 applications outstanding.

We are committed to reducing waiting times for Access to Work. We have streamlined delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. We will also consider further changes within the existing policy framework to reduce waiting times.

In March 2025, the department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which consults on the future of Access to Work. The backlog, coupled with significant increases in expenditure in recent years requires us to consider how resources should be best directed to ensure the service is sustainable.