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The parliamentary ombudsman is dealing with more than 40 complaints about the management of the government’s Access to Work (AtW) scheme. It is just the latest evidence of serious failings within AtW, despite reassurance from ministers that administrative problems and delays […]
Ministers have failed to implement recommendations made nearly two years ago by their own advisers on how to improve the Access to Work (AtW) employment programme, including a vital call to double the number of people using the scheme. The recommendations […]
A minister has been accused of trying to cover up an embarrassing fall in the number of disabled people in work, after he issued a misleading press release about the government’s “jobs miracle”. Mark Harper, the Conservative minister for disabled people, […]
The prospect of a discredited US outsourcing giant achieving a near-monopoly of employment support and assessment services for disabled people has caused alarm, after it emerged that it is bidding to buy what remains of Remploy from the government. Only two […]
Nearly all of the disabled people whose Access to Work (AtW) entitlement is reviewed by the government are having their support cut, according to evidence being compiled by disability organisations. The evidence suggests that the government is only managing to increase […]
Disabled people are being threatened with legal action by a company exasperated by the government’s failure to pay invoices agreed through its Access to Work (AtW) scheme. One self-employed AtW claimant, Jane*, has told how ergonomic office furniture suppliers Back Care […]
The government has agreed to publish secret guidance that shows who is eligible for support under its under-fire Access to Work (AtW) scheme, after it was threatened with legal action by Deaf and disabled campaigners. Lawyers for the Stop Changes to […]
New moves to scrap the role of specialist disability employment advisers (DEAs) in some jobcentres risk “dismantling” the support available to help disabled people into work, campaigners fear. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed this week that a pilot […]
One of the companies at the heart of the government’s welfare-to-work programme is facing allegations that it introduced an “incredibly dangerous” cost-cutting move that could put the lives of many disabled benefit claimants at risk. Earlier this year A4E allegedly introduced […]
The Access to Work (AtW) scheme is only helping a minority of the disabled people it should be supporting in the workplace, according to a committee of MPs. The work and pensions select committee report also warns that a new rule […]