Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the average time taken to process applications to Access to Work from applicants in employment.

We are committed to reducing waiting times for new applications for Access to Work and are considering the best way to deliver that for customers. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims, applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing claims are prioritised.

The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to get Britain Working’ Green Paper was published on 18 March. Alongside the Access to Work reform proposals introduced in the Green Paper, we are considering further options to reduce the waiting time for customers.

From April 2024 to February 2025, the average waiting time from initial date of contact to a decision being made stands at 56.9 days.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.