Recommendation 17

Based on a work study it carried out in 2021, the Department expected its case managers to be able to process an average of 2.8 cases per day, but does not now consider this standard to be achievable.29 The Department told us that this was due to the increased complexity of the Access to Work caseload – there had been a dramatic change in the nature of claims and in the health conditions involved, with an increase in the number of applicants with mental health and neurodivergent conditions. The Department 24 Q 3 25 C&AG’s Report, para 3.8 26 Qq 1 and 6 27 Qq 1 and 3-4 28 HCWS34, Access to Work Backlog, 19 May 2026 29 C&AG’s Report, para 3.10 12 explained that there was no standard way of looking at what would be required in terms of reasonable adjustments and that conditions could fluctuate and affect people in different ways. It also noted that the nature of the workplace had changed dramatically. Therefore, to make the right decision about the support a worker needed was a complex piece of work.30