Access to Work: over 17,000 people sign letter urging government to reform the scheme

The Access to Work Collective has delivered an open letter with over 17,000 signatures to the Government, urging it to urgently reform the Access to Work scheme so that no disabled person, whether employed or self-employed, is forced out of work due to preventable barriers within the system.

Access to Work has historically been a lifeline for thousands of disabled people, enabling employment or self-employment through grants for communication interpreters, specialist equipment, and more. However, the Collective says that it has become apparent that stealth cuts are being made, leaving people without the support they need to remain in employment.

The 2025 Access to Work figures show that the number of people with any Access to Work provision approved decreased from 68,730 in the financial year ending March 2024 to 61,670 in the financial year ending March 2025.

In addition, all four of the most commonly approved element types (i.e. Support Workers, Special Aids and Equipment, Mental Health Support Services, and Travel to Work) have seen a decrease in approvals in the financial year ending March 2025 by an average of 9.5%.

The group were joined by Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling and Green Party MP Carla Denyer, who are supporting the campaign #AccessToNowhere, which launched earlier this year.

Breakdown in the function of Access to Work

A recent national survey by the group revealed widespread breakdowns in how Access to Work is functioning. People are waiting months, sometimes years, for assessments, approvals, and payments. Many have already lost jobs, contracts, or income due to delays. Others are being forced to reduce working hours, decline paid work, or give up employment entirely.

The open letter says that slashing welfare support while Access to Work is already in chaos is pulling the rug out from under disabled people who are doing everything they can to stay in work. These combined cuts are dangerous. They risk forcing even more disabled people out of employment and into poverty.

The letter added: “Access to Work should be a flagship example of how the UK supports disabled talent. Instead, it’s a broken system that undermines the very goals it claims to support. The situation is particularly urgent given the government’s growing emphasis on disabled people moving into employment.

“Disabled people told us that Access to Work has been life-changing and even life-saving when it works. But when it does not, the impact is devastating. People’s livelihoods, independence, and well-being are on the line.

“Access to Work must be reformed with urgency and integrity. Many disabled people want to work, and employers want to support them. However, the system designed to make this possible is no longer fit for the purpose.”

Stop cuts and let people work

The Collective is now calling on the Government to:

• Stop all planned and unofficial cuts to Access to Work budgets and services.
• Take immediate action to clear the backlog and fast-track urgent cases.
• A fully co-designed overhaul of Access to Work processes with disabled people and key stakeholders, built around the realities of modern work (including freelance, hybrid, and across all industries).

Access to Work Collective’s Co-Founder, Dr Shani Dhanda, said: “We’ve delivered this letter because disabled people are being pushed out of work by a system that’s meant to help us stay in it. It’s a false economy to spend public money forcing people out of work only to pay more in benefits. Investing in Access to Work keeps disabled people in jobs, supports businesses and strengthens the economy. We’re asking the Prime Minister to work with us to fix what’s gone wrong so disabled people can get on with their jobs and lives.”

Co-Founder, Jacqueline Winstanley added: “Every pound invested in Access to Work goes straight back into the economy, through the disabled people it supports and the suppliers who deliver that support. It’s the only Treasury-funded programme that has consistently reduced the disability employment gap since its launch in 1994. The current and proposed changes are already harming people’s health, wellbeing and livelihoods, while undermining the government’s own goal of getting more disabled people into work.”

The Access to Work Collective is a community of more than 5,000 people, including disabled people, researchers, service providers, policymakers, and allies.

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today.

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