Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to improve the Access to Work scheme for people with mental health problems (a) overall and (b) for work interviews; and what plans his Department has to guarantee equal access to the scheme for people with mental and physical health problems.

Access to Work now supports over 35,000 disabled people with support in work, including people with mental health conditions, either through the bespoke Mental Health Support Service (MHSS) or the main Access to Work scheme. Access to Work and the MHSS is a demand led scheme, open to all disabled people who are in paid employment, self-employed or participating in a Jobcentre Plus agreed Work Trial, irrespective of their disability. The largest increase in numbers of people being supported through Access to Work are those who have listed a mental health condition as their primary disability, with 910 people supported in 2012/13 and 1410 in 2013/14.

Specifically regarding interview support, Access to Work offers a wide range of support for customers including those people with mental health conditions. For example, communication support should a person feel unable to communicate effectively.

The primary route for accessing the Access to Work programme is by telephone; should a person be unable to communicate using the telephone because of mental health problems, they can use the alternative e-mail address or ask for a third party to act on their behalf to allow equal access. There are no reported difficulties with access to our services from people with a mental health condition.