Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department is putting in place to support people currently in receipt of Access to Work awards over the annual cap and their employers to prepare them for the end of the transition phase of the annual cap for existing scheme users.

The upper limit (annual cap) was announced in March 2015 and came into effect, for new customers only, in October 2015. New applications made between October 2015 and March 2016 were capped at an annual limit of £40,800, meaning that new customers could still potentially receive an award of £122,400 over a three year period. The annual cap was increased to £41,400 with effect from April 2016 and will continue to be reviewed annually.

Those existing customers whose awards are or were above the annual cap have been notified that they will retain their current award, subject to usual annual reviews, until April 2018, provided their needs remain the same.

In the meantime, Access to Work specialist teams are conducting annual reviews with customers and employers to establish the level of support required and determine whether there are any reasonable adjustments or other changes, such as greater use of technology, that could assist the customer overcome the barriers they face. Where appropriate, Access to Work will also commission a holistic workplace assessment of an individual’s support needs.

We will monitor the application of the cap and consider whether any further flexibilities might be required in practice.