Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the Access to Work cap for people who require BSL interpreters to remain in full time work.

The cap was introduced in 2015 to enable Access to Work to continue to provide tailored support for those with the most significant needs and at the same time grow the overall number of customers receiving support from the scheme. The cap was introduced that year, set at 1.5 times the national average salary. This was revised upwards to twice the national average salary in 2018, based in part on the recognition of needs of deaf customers, particularly British Sign Language users.

Since its introduction in 2015 the cap has been increased annually in line with average earnings. The cap was originally introduced at £40,800 in 2015/16, and it now stands at £69,620.