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1172389

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people with epilepsy they have supported into employment since October 2016.
	tabling member printed	Lord Browne of Belmont
	uin	HL613
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2020 answer text <p>No assessment has been made of the number of people with epilepsy who have been supported into work by the Government since October 2016.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap and seeing a million more disabled people in work by 2027. We support disabled people, including people with epilepsy, to return to work through programmes such as the Work and Health Programme, Access to Work and the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme. We will publish a National Strategy for Disabled People before the end of 2020. This will look at ways to improve the benefits system, opportunities and access for disabled people in terms of housing, education, transport and jobs.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 27/01/2020 16:36:14 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	3801 label Biography information for Lord Browne of Belmont

1142724

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether changes to Access to Work support are planned for staff employed by non-ministerial government departments.
	tabling member constituency	Hayes and Harlington
	tabling member printed	John McDonnell
	uin	284252
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>Since 2006, employees of ministerial government departments have had their support funded directly by their Departments rather than through Access to Work, with the exception of Ministry of Defence employees working outside of London.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work is an important enabler in the delivery of the Government’s pledge to see a million more disabled people into work. As leaders in disability employment, and Disability Confident Level 3 Leaders, government departments should not be reliant on external grants to provide the necessary support for their employees.</p><p> </p><p>We have consulted with Ministerial and Non-Ministerial government departments, as well as their arms lengths bodies, to understand what any change could mean. We are currently reviewing this information and considering options for the future.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 06/09/2019 11:17:13 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	178 label Biography information for John McDonnell

1145895

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish details of Access to Work spending by region.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	291067
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/10/2019 answer text <p>Please see attached excel file.</p><p> </p><p>Here you will find Access to Work spending by region consistent with the published Access to Work statistics.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/10/2019 11:03:45 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson attachment 1 file name AtW expenditure regional breakdowns.xlsx title AtW Expenditure Regional Breakdown
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1146001

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of disabled adults of working age in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland received support from the Access to Work grant scheme in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Stephen Lloyd
	uin	290897
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/10/2019 answer text <p>When considering your questions, it should be noted that those that use the Access to Work scheme are not a direct subset of the disabled adults of working age. Robust proportions cannot be estimated by simply dividing figures for Access to Work by figures for number of disabled adults of working age. This is because the data would come from different data sources and are different data types.</p><p> </p><p>To be eligible for Access to Work a person must be 16 or older, there is no upper age limit to eligibility therefore some people who receive Access to Work will not be considered working age (16-64 years old). Also Access to Work is available to those that have a disability or health condition (physical or mental) that makes it hard for them to do parts of their job or get to and from work therefore covers a broad range of people not just those who identify themselves as ‘disabled’.</p><p> </p><p>When answering your question, we have interpreted ‘received support’ as received a payment.</p><p> </p><p>The number of people who received a payment from Access to Work for each financial year can be found in Table 8 of the annual Access to Work Statistics publication. Table 8 shows the number of people who received a payment for any Access to Work provision by various customer characteristics including by region.</p><p> </p><p>The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>Please note, number of people for each region is based on residency of the beneficiary as opposed to place of work. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/10/2019 10:53:39 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3968 label Biography information for Stephen Lloyd

1147008

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has for Access to Work to fund communication support for disabled people who are required to undertake work-related activity as a condition for receiving employment and support allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	292299
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>I have no plans to expand the eligibility criteria for Access to Work.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work is a grant that provides practical and financial support for individuals whose health or disability affects the way that they do their job. The type of support is tailored to an individual’s needs and can include travel to work, support workers, communication support and specialist aids and equipment for the individual, as well as advice for employers and awareness raising sessions for their staff.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work does not replace the duty an employer has under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. Instead it provides support that is over and above that which is a reasonable adjustment.</p><p> </p><p>To be eligible for this grant, the person must be in work or about to enter work. This can include disabled people who are undertaking employment and support allowance permitted work, support permitted work and permitted work Personal Capability assessment as a work-related activity.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/10/2019 13:37:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1147009

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what standards are in place to ensure that disabled people are effectively supported when making a claim to the Access to Work scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	292300
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>Access to Work (ATW) applicants can apply for the scheme in a number of ways including telephony, on-line and by text-phone. The on-line service is continually being improved to ensure it meets accessibility and user needs. There is also information about how to make an application and a range of supporting material on Gov.uk. This includes use of British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service and alternative formats such as braille, large print and audio CDs.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/10/2019 14:53:17 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1147079

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training on the Access to Work scheme is provided to work coaches or advisors who support disabled young people receiving employment and support allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	292168
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>Work Coaches are supported by Disability Employment Advisers (DEA’s) who provide coaching and mentoring to Work Coaches on disability issues. Technical learning for DEA’s includes a workshop on Provision and Support for claimants with a disability, this learning covers the Access to Work Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>The topic of the Access to Work scheme is covered in a number of learning products for Access to Work advisors who support applicants, some of whom may be in receipt of ESA, through the Access to Work process. This learning includes an Access to Work Workshop. There is also an Access to Work Disability Awareness Workbook which details how Access to Work can help a disabled person.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, each member of staff in the DWP, including work coaches, has regular performance conversations with their line manager. These conversations include identifying any learning needs particular to their role, including Access to Work if appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/10/2019 10:50:21 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1149471

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Access To Work grants have been awarded in (a) Birkenhead and (b) the UK; and what the total value of those grants was in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	451
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2019 answer text <p>To get help from Access to Work you must live in England, Scotland or Wales – there is a different system in Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p><strong>England, Scotland or Wales: </strong></p><p> </p><p>Number of people who receive an Access to Work payment and total Access to Work expenditure are published annually as part of the Access to Work statistics which can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>Please see specifically:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Table 6: The number of people who received a payment for any Access to Work provision of each type, 2009/10 - 2018/19</li><li>Table 11: Expenditure on Access to Work provision, 2009/10 - 2018/19 (Nominal Terms)</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p>The tables below show the number of people in Birkenhead who received an Access to Work grant payment in the last five financial years and the total value of those grants.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Birkenhead:</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015/16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016/17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017/18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018/19</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number of people who received an Access to Work payment</strong></p></td><td><p>50</p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>60</p></td><td><p>80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Access to Work Expenditure</strong></p></td><td><p>£97,000</p></td><td><p>£90,000</p></td><td><p>£98,000</p></td><td><p>£110,000</p></td><td><p>£153,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Please note:</p><p> </p><ol><li>In some cases, Access to Work provision is approved however a DWP payment is not required, for example because provision can be provided at no cost or the employer covers the relevant costs. These cases are not captured above.</li><li>The same person can receive payment for more than one grant of Access to Work of the same type or of different types in a given financial year or in different financial years. The table above shows the number of people who received a payment for one or more Elements in each financial year.</li><li>Expenditure figures have been calculated using a methodology consistent with that used in the published Access to Work statistics. Please see the background information and methodology note for more information, in particular the “Weighting” section on pages 8-9.</li></ol><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-statistics-background-information-and-methodology" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-statistics-background-information-and-methodology</a></p><ol start="4"><li>Access to Work expenditure for Birkenhead is based on residency of the beneficiary as opposed to place of work.</li><li>Expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 due to the weighting methodology used (see Note 3).</li><li>Number of people who received an Access to Work payment are rounded to the nearest 10 (in line with the published statistics).</li></ol><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 21/10/2019 13:48:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1167120

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to enable Access to Work (a) advisors and (b) assessors to follow-up with claimants to ensure that recommended support has been implemented effectively.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	7036
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>Access to Work advisers work with customers and their employers where there are difficulties in procuring the support awarded under the grant. Where there is a dispute about whether a piece of equipment should be procured, Access to Work has no legal power to intervene in the dispute. Where there is a dispute between the customer and the employer Access to Work will signpost the customer and their employer to the Government Equalities Office who will advise on matters relating to disputes over reasonable adjustments.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/11/2019 17:23:13 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1167121

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will undertake a review of section 4.05 of the Access to Work Holistic Assessments Provider Guidance, published on 7 August 2019 which states that a report may be deemed not to meet the specified standard (and therefore rejected) if it is evident that the Assessor has been influenced by customer preference and has not considered the minimum requirements.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	7037
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>DWP is not looking to review paragraph 4.05 of the Access to Work Holistic Assessment Provider Guidance.</p><p> </p><p>AtW recognises the importance of the holistic assessment for customers and as a result introduced a measure for quality as part of these new holistic assessments contracts that went live in June 2017.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work advisers and the holistic assessment suppliers will always consider customer preference in determining if similar support is available to the same specification providing a more cost effective solution.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/11/2019 13:45:06 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms