PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Access to Work Programme: Self-employed (16 May 2019)

We have undertaken significant reform of Access to Work, but there are still further opportunities for improvements and we are committed to listening to our customers and stakeholders.

For example, to address points raised about the Access to Work self-employment customer journey in the DWP research report ‘Access to Work: Qualitative research with applicants, employers and delivery staff’, published in November 2018, we worked closely with customers and stakeholders to identify the issues and develop a new self-employment customer journey for freelancers and contractors.

To support this work, we are also developing an Access to Work ‘Workplace Adjustments Passport’, comprising a current record of an Access to Work customer’s support needs. This ‘passport’ is designed to be shared with new employers and commissioners, so that Access to Work customers who change jobs or move between contracts can be sure that their support needs are known in advance and adjustments may be put in place swiftly.

We will be announcing the detail of these new reforms later in the year.