Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason Access to Work funding is not provided for overtime.

Access to Work aims to support the recruitment and retention of disabled people in employment. The grant supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010.

To ensure that grants provide adequate support for customers in the majority of circumstances, grant awards for employed customers are based on the number of hours they are contracted to work.

We always encourage people to speak to their employer about any workplace adjustments in the first instance, including in instances where a customer requires additional support beyond their contracted hours.

As part of our Plan for Change, and as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published in March, we are consulting on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the programme to help more disabled people into work and support employers, ensuring value for money for taxpayers. We will review all aspects of the Scheme following the conclusion of the consultation, and carefully assess the impact of any proposed changes.

We encourage people to have their views and voices heard on how they think the programme and the welfare system could be improved.