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<p>The information requested past March is intended for future release in the 2020/21
Official Statistics publication.</p><p> </p><p>The number of applications and beneficiaries
for the period April 2019 to March 2020 is available in the latest Access to Work
statistics publication but this is not broken down by month. Data on a monthly basis
would not be exact as the number of people applying to and benefitting from certain
Access to Work elements will not be captured within a month’s time frame. Hence, we
generally choose to aggregate at a yearly level to avoid data inconsistencies.</p><p>
</p><p>The latest Access to Work official statistics can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics</a></p><p>
</p><p> </p><p><strong>Background</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Access to Work</strong></p><p>Access
to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant to de-risk the recruitment and
retention of disabled people for employers. The grant contributes to the disability
related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition
that are beyond reasonable adjustment, but it does not replace an employer’s duty
under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. The grant provides personalised
support and can provide workplace assessments, travel to/in work, support workers,
specialist aids and equipment for individuals to enable disabled people and those
with a health condition to move into or retain employment. And can fund up to £60,700
worth of flexible, personalised support per person per year.</p><p> </p><p>During
the pandemic Access to Work has continued to provide support whether disabled people
were working in the workplace or working from home. Acknowledging the challenges Coronavirus
had for disabled people, Access to Work introduced a series of measures.</p><ul><li>Prioritising
new applications from key workers and those with jobs starting within the next 4 weeks;</li><li>Adapting
existing awards to meet new working environments. Such as, switching from face to
face British Sign Language Interpreting to Video Remote Interpreting services where
possible as well as making greater use of assistive technology and software;</li></ul><ul><li>Accepting
e mail claim forms from customers who request this as a reasonable adjustment</li></ul><ul><li>Extending
the timeframe customers have to submit payment claim forms to 9 months;</li><li>Accepting
employer and support worker signatures via email;</li><li>Extending Support Worker
awards that are coming to an end by 6 months<strong>;</strong></li></ul><ul><li>Adapting
the way our <strong>a</strong>ssessments are undertaken to support customers who don’t
know what support they need and/or where coping strategies are required as part of
the Mental Health Support Service;</li><li>Supporting furloughed employees who need
mental health support, by flexing access to the Mental Health Support Service;</li><li>Providing
support for deaf Access to Work customers to maintain work readiness whilst on furlough;
and</li><li>Funding Personal Protective Equipment for Access to Work customers who
employ their own support workers.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Recognising the challenges Covid-19
has for employers and disabled people, Access to Work has introduced a new more flexible
offer to support disabled people to move into and retain employment. The new offer
complements support provided by employers and contains a flexible mix of support that
can be adapted to meet the needs of new Covid-19 working arrangements. The offer includes:</p><ul><li>support
to work from more than one location,</li><li>a package of home working support which
can be blended with workplace support,</li><li>mental health wellbeing support for
people returning to work after a period of furlough or shielding,</li><li>travel-to-work
support for those who may no longer be able to safely travel by public transport due
to the nature of their disability, and</li><li>prioritising Access to Work applications
from disabled people in the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable Group.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The
2019/20 AtW statistics illustrate the increase in support provided by Access to Work,
with over 43,000, the highest ever number of people with disabilities and health conditions
receiving tailored and flexible support to do their job.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work
has continued reaching out to underrepresented groups including those with Mental
Health conditions, seeing the highest ever number of people approved for Access to
Work, 8,710 people, almost double the number of people compared to the previous year.</p><p>
</p><p><strong>AtW is helping more people:</strong></p><p>– In 2019/20 the highest
ever number of people received payments – 43,400 up 20% on 18/19.</p><p>– In 2019/20
over 37,000 people received an award for an Access to Work grant up 25% on 2018/19</p><p>Expenditure
increased to £141.7 million, a new record amount, equating to an 8% increase in real
terms expenditure on 18/19.</p><p> </p><p>Further information can be found in the
link below.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2020/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2020"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2020/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2020</a></p><p>
</p><p> </p><p>–</p>
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