Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of the time taken for those joining the Access to Work scheme on people with sight loss accessing employment.

Access to Work has received a significant increase in applications over the last year and we have recruited new staff to meet the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make decisions.

Customers making new applications where they are starting work within the next four weeks, or have a grant coming to an end that requires renewal, are prioritised to ensure customers can enter and remain in the labour market. The department is working hard to reduce the wait times for all disabled people. All processes are kept under review in the light of management information and feedback from stakeholders including, for example, the recommendations from the recent Royal National Institute of Blind People report.