Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the efficacy of the system whereby people in receipt of support through Access to Work have to reapply for that support if they change job, even in cases where their need for support has not changed; and if she will make a statement.

Access to Work (AtW) is committed to transforming the service, disabled people receive and improving customer experience. The AtW Transformation Programme is progressively digitising the AtW service to enable customers to apply for and claim AtW payments more conveniently online. As part of this we are exploring streamlining current processes including reviewing the circumstances and frequency where new applications are required.

A flexible application has been introduced to support disabled people to access freelancer and contractor opportunities and remove the need for them to re-apply for Access to Work every time a new period of employment begins. The flexible application offers greater flexibility for disabled people to move between jobs and helps to reduce the need for repeated holistic assessments where their needs remain the same.