Written questions by Beavers.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure access to services for disabled people with assistance dogs.

The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people, including people with assistance dogs, access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It has published guidance - ‘Assistance Dogs: a guide for businesses and service providers’ - to help businesses and service providers understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners.Duties and protections under the Equality Act are ultimately enforceable through the courts, and anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to seek to resolve the issue. The EHRC will support people who have experienced discrimination through that process.This Government supports Guide Dogs UK’s ‘Open Doors’ campaign which aims to achieve the fullest possible access for owners of guide dogs and assistance dogs and has met Guide Dogs UK several times over the last 18 months. I have also met with other MPs and continued discussions with stakeholders on how to improve access to public spaces for disabled people with assistance dogs. This Government will continue to reinforce the message that assistance dogs should be allowed access to businesses and services, except in the most exceptional circumstances.

How many people with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) other progressive neurological conditions received Access to Work support in 2024-25 by provision type.

Although the Department collects information on the medical condition(s) of Access to Work customers, readily available primary medical condition categories do not allow for the disaggregation of people with multiple sclerosis or other progressive neurological conditions. Where this information is recorded it may be stored as descriptive free-text and extracting it would require manual review of individual records therefore incurring a disproportionate cost. Statistics on the number of people in receipt of payment for Access to Work by readily available primary medical condition categories are published annually in Table PAY03a-d of the Access to Work official statistics: Access to Work statistics - GOV.UK.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that digital projects, such as OneLogin, are accessible for deaf people and people with hearing loss who use his Department's services.

DWP is committed to providing accessible digital services for all our customers in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Within this legislation DWP is working to ensure that services conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA. DWP is continuing to onboard some services to the Government Digital Services One Login programme. The accessibility statement for this service is available at: https://signin.account.gov.uk/accessibiliity-statement For deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL), DWP has published a 5-year plan to improve BSL services. This includes reviewing digital channels and platforms to improve accessibility for BSL users. DWP is committed to providing suitable methods of communication for customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. The Video Relay Service allows DWP to communicate with customers via a BSL interpreter using a video connection. DWP also has a dedicated DWPSign channel containing many BSL videos on benefits and services. All published video and audio content has closed captions or a transcript.

How many users of Access to Work who receive funding for British Sign Language interpreters have had their awards expire before their renewal is processed.

We do not hold this information in a way that can be extracted. Identifying such cases would require a manual review of individual awards, which would incur disproportionate cost. Please find the Official statistics on payments and approvals which are published annually and can be accessed here: Access to Work statistics - GOV.UK

How his Department is using data to inform proposals for reform of Access to Work.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation. In addition, available administrative data and management information will be utilised in shaping any proposals. We have recently concluded (November) the Access to Work Collaboration Committees, in which we engaged with a range of stakeholders, including DPO representatives and lived experience users, to provide discussion, experience, and challenge to the design of the future Access to Work Scheme.

How many people received funding through an Access to Work grant to purchase hearing aids in the last 12 months.

Although the Department holds information on the specific types of support for which Access to Work payments are made, data which would allow payments for ‘hearing aids’ to be identified is not readily available. The data is recorded as descriptive free-text information and extracting it would require manual review of individual records, incurring disproportionate cost. Statistics on the number of people receiving Access to Work payments by readily available element and support worker categories are published annually in Table PAY02 of the Access to Work official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many people who use Access to Work for the provision of British Sign Language interpretation receive funding for an additional condition to difficulty in hearing.

Although the Department collects information on the medical condition(s) of Access to Work customers and the types of support they are awarded and claim payment for, we are unable to link awarded support elements to specific medical conditions without manually examining individual case notes. It would therefore incur a disproportionate cost to identify what support, if any, customers receiving a ‘BSL Interpreter’ have been awarded in relation to medical conditions other than ‘Difficulty in hearing’.

How many users of Access to Work received funding for a British Sign Language interpreter in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what was the average cost per person of those awards.

Statistics on the number of people in receipt of payment for Access to Work support and average annual payments per person, by support worker type which includes a category for ‘BSL Interpreter’ are published in tables PAY02 and AVG02 of the Access to Work official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2025 - GOV.UK. Table 1 summarises these figures: Table 1. Number of customers in receipt of payment and average annual payment received per customer for ‘BSL Interpreter between financial years 2020/21 and 2024/25 Financial YearNumber of customers in receipt of payment for a ‘BSL Interpreter’Average annual payment per customer for ‘BSL Interpreter’ (£ nominal)Average annual payment per customer for ‘BSL Interpreter’ (£ 2024/25 prices)2020/212,81012,70014,9002021/222,89015,20017,9002022/232,94016,60018,3002023/243,17017,20017,9002024/253,21018,20018,200 NotesNumbers of people have been rounded to nearest 10 and average annual payments to nearest £100.Real terms expenditure removes the effect of inflation to make year-on-year comparisons more informative, these figures are quoted in 2024/25 prices

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that constituents who are partnered with trained assistance dogs can access public spaces.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory definition for assistance dogs.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

If he will commission a review of the (a) clarity and (b) consistency of legislation relating to disabled people with assistance dogs.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

How many people were waiting for decisions on Access to Work scheme claims as of (a) February 2026, (b) October 2025 and (c) April 2025.

The number of Access to Work applications has risen significantly. We are committed to reducing waiting times. We also prioritise applications from customers who are due to start work within the next four weeks, as well as renewals for existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, launching a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of the programme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation. As of the 1st of February 2026, there were 66,218 applications awaiting a decision.As of the 1st of October 2025, please refer to the answer given on 22 October 2025 to Question UIN 80759. As of the 1st of April 2025, please refer to the answer given on 10 June 2025 to Question UIN 56299. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

How many outstanding Access to Work scheme payments there were in (a) February 2026, (b) October 2025 and (c) April 2025.

Access to Work (AtW) operates as a reimbursement grant, which means that the service or support must be provided before any payment can be made. Once AtW support has been approved, the customer can then submit their claim for payment. Customers have up to nine months to submit claims for their approved costs. As a result, on any individual day, there will always be claims awaiting review and payment. On average, we are currently processing and clearing claims within 13 days. We have plans in place to reduce this to 10 days.As of the 1st of February 2026, there were 16,389 payment claims being processed.As of the 1st of October 2025, there were 9,103 payment claims being processed.As of the 1st of April 2025, there were 28,499 payment claims being processed. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.