Pathways to Work

Mr. Harper
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will integrate Access to Work assessments more closely with Pathways to Work providers.

Jonathan Shaw
[holding answer 4 February 20010]: Access to Work is a form of ‘in work' support. As such there are no plans to integrate it more closely with Pathways providers. In those situations where the right type of support cannot be easily established Access to Work will use the services of contracted external assessors.

Access to Work is available to disabled people moving into paid work, including people who have been taking part in Pathways to Work and other employment programmes, as well as people already in work. Access to Work can provide practical advice and support to the disabled person and their employer to help them overcome work-related obstacles resulting from disability, for example by funding specialist equipment, a support worker or communication support at a job interview.

The White Paper “Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment” set out a range of improvements to Access to Work. As published, we are currently discussing these proposed improvements with stakeholders, for a staged implementation starting in April 2010.

The proposed improvements include better targeting at customers further from the labour market, including people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. The proposals also include targeting people working for smaller employers, who are currently under-represented on the programme, and to offer a ‘certificate of eligibility' so that a person can indicate their eligibility for Access to Work assistance to a prospective employer.