DWP Access to Work Scheme Changes
Analysis based on 6 articles · First reported Feb 11, 2026 · Last updated Feb 15, 2026
The United Kingdom — Department for Work and Pensions's changes to the Access to Work scheme, leading to reduced approvals and funding, could negatively impact the labor market participation of disabled individuals. This may increase social welfare costs and potentially reduce productivity in sectors employing disabled workers, as exemplified by the United Kingdom — National Health Service employee's resignation.
The United Kingdom — Department for Work and Pensions has implemented changes to its Access to Work scheme, which provides grants to disabled individuals for workplace support. These changes, aimed at ensuring more consistent policy application, have led to a 12% decrease in approved applications in the 2024/2025 financial year and anecdotal reports of reduced grant awards. Employment minister Johnson & Johnson explained the rationale to the United Kingdom — Work and Pensions Select Committee. Organizations like the Federation of Small Businesses, Scope, and Mind (charity) have raised concerns about low employer awareness, application waiting times, and the negative impact of funding cuts on disabled individuals' ability to remain employed, with one United Kingdom — National Health Service employee reportedly resigning due to reduced support.
Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.
Open Dashboard