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 impact of the 10% decrease in the number of Access to Work claims approved between March 2024 and March 2025 on the number of disabled people being supported into work.

While the number of people who were approved for any Access to Work provision was 61,670 in 2024/25, the number of customers in receipt of payment in 2024/25 increased to 74,190. As Access to Work awards are approved for up to three years, customers receiving payments in 2024/25 may have been approved for support at any point between 2021/22 and 2024/25.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme. We also considered the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.