Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will amend the access to work scheme to enable deaf people to employ a full-time salaried support worker.

The Access to Work programme currently allows for support to be organised in this way if it offers the most cost effective and practical solution and there is clear customer need for that level of support. We are taking a close look at the Access to Work programme over the next three months, focussing on how we can assist the largest number of disabled paople in work. We will incude in that process a consideration of how best to address the needs of customers requiring support for a large number of hours each week on an on-going basis.