Access to Work Programme
(asked on 7th February 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was (1) Spending Review 2021 allocation, (2) the forecast spending, (3) the full year outturn, (4) the caseload, and (5) the average award, for Access to Work in the (a) 2021–22, (b) 2022–23, (c) 2023–24, and (d) 2024–25, financial years.
1) The Departmental spending review settlement for SR 21 did not provide a specific funding allocation for Access to Work, only a baseline funding of £140m was quantified. The Access to Work funding was included in the overall Departmental funding settlement.
2) The forecast expenditure for Access to Work grants for 2024-25 is £290m. The forecast for Access to Work grant expenditure in prior years would have been updated throughout the year for internal Departmental use. The full year outturn figures for prior years are provided below.
3) Expenditure on Access to Work elements in nominal terms, by financial year.
Financial Year | Expenditure on Access to Work elements in nominal terms (£ nominal) |
2021/22 | 147,717,000 |
2022/23 | 179,679,000 |
2023/24 | 255,171,000 |
Source: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2024 - GOV.UK.
Figures are rounded to nearest £1000 and data for 2024/25 is not yet available. Figures relate to element expenditure only, therefore expenditure on Holistic Assessments is not included. These figures also include expenditure on the Mental Health Support service but do not include expenditure on the Transitional Employer Support Grant (TESG), therefore are not directly comparable with figures presented in part 2 of this response.
4) Number of people in receipt of payment for any Access to Work element, by financial year.
Financial Year | Number of people in receipt of a payment for any Access to Work element within each financial year |
2021/22 | 29,370 |
2022/23 | 34,800 |
2023/24 | 49,920 |
Source: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2024 - GOV.UK. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and data for 2024/25 is not yet available.
5) Average annual amount received per person for Access to Work elements, by financial year (nominal terms).
Financial Year | Average amount received per person for Access to Work elements (£ nominal) |
2021/22 | 5,030 |
2022/23 | 5,160 |
2023/24 | 5,110 |
Figures have been derived by using nominal expenditure for Access to Work elements and the number of individuals in receipt of a payment for an Access to Work element from the Access to Work Official Statistics Publication. Figures relate to element expenditure and recipients only; therefore Holistic Assessments are not included. These figures also include expenditure on the Mental Health Support service but do not include expenditure on the Transitional Employer Support Grant (TESG).
Source: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2024 - GOV.UK. Figures are rounded to nearest £10 and data for 2024/25 is not yet available.