The number of disabled people being helped by Access to Work is up by over 10% on last year, according to the DWP.
The Department says that new figures show that nearly 10,000 new disabled people claimed support from the scheme last year, which provides financial help towards the extra costs faced by disabled people at work, such as support workers, specialist aids and equipment and travel to work support.
It takes the total receiving help to 31,230.
The Minister of State for Disabled People Mike Penning, who is responsible for the scheme, urged more people to make use of the fund:
“This is about supporting disabled people to fulfil their aspirations and potential in the workplace. I would urge disabled people who are looking for work, or need more support to stay in their job, to find out how this scheme can help them.”
Responding to new Government figures on numbers of people using Access to Work Disability Rights UK’s CEO Liz Sayce said:
“Disability Rights UK has campaigned strenuously for an expansion of the Access to Work programme and it is good that for the second year running the numbers of people benefiting are going up. We also welcome the fact that our campaign to get Access to Work coverage for supported internships and work experience were successful - giving young disabled people a bit more of a chance in the labour market.
However, the numbers are still below the peak in 2010, and the 31,000 helped (in 9 months) is a drop in the ocean compared to more than 2 million disabled people out of work - in many cases for lack of the appropriate support. Access to Work must be promoted better to Small and Medium Sized enterprises, which is where most new jobs are, where there should be opportunities for disabled people - but also where typically no one has ever heard of Access to Work.
Our members also tell us the system is too slow and bureaucratic. This programme brings net benefits to the Treasury (£1.48 for every £1 invested) and clear opportunities to disabled people - so the aim should be to serve as many customers as possible, as well as possible - not to penny pinch by making people jump through lots of hoops.
Finally we want assurances that promised new investment has actually gone into Access to Work, as agreed by DWP Ministers in 2011. Only through investment can this programme make a significant impact on the numbers of disabled people able to pursue our careers”.
The latest Access to Work figures for the period between April and December 2013 are available @ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-official-statistics-april-2014