Recommendation 2

The Department’s expectation that it will take at least 18 months to clear the applications backlog means hardship for individuals and businesses will continue for some time. The backlog of applications for Access to Work support has built up over a number of years, with the number of cases awaiting a decision growing from 21,700 in March 2022 to around 66,000 in March 2026. We received a large number of evidence submissions highlighting the impact of the backlogs and processing delays, such as individuals losing jobs and employers hiring fewer disabled people. In response to the backlogs, the Department more than doubled the number of staff administering the scheme from 247 in 2021–22 to 648 by the end of 2025–26. It plans to recruit another few hundred case managers 3 and to continue efforts to improve productivity. Despite these measures, the Department expects it will still take 18 months to two years to get the applications backlog down to an acceptable level. It expects to meet its target of processing applications within 25 working days after it has cleared the backlog, but would not commit to when it would achieve the target. Following the evidence session, the Department announced that it is recruiting an additional 480 staff as part of a plan to clear the applications backlog by September 2027. While increased staffing may aid the work to lessen the backlog, it is not clear that delays are entirely the result of low staff numbers rather than inappropriate IT, poor administrative process and a lack of grip. recommendation The Department should urgently develop and publish the plan not only to clear the Access to Work backlog but also to reduce significantly the time taken to process applications.