Disabled people may find it more difficult to get in and stay in work because of government red tape.

A change to the rules used by Access to Work – a government employment support programme for disabled people – means that those successfully employing a personal assistant (PA) to support them travelling to and from work will be forced to give up this support for more expensive options.

The extra cost to just one member we worked with will be as much as £300 a week, or a one off cost of over £600.

ecdp has been contacted by a number of disabled people – including blind people who cannot drive themselves – who have already been affected by this change, which means it is more difficult for them to carry out their work.

Just last week, in recognition of the red tape being applied to those supporting disabled people to travel, the Department for Transport issued guidance for licensing authorities. However, Access to Work said to ecdp they will not be applying this guidance.

Mike Adams, ecdp’s Chief Executive said:

This red tape means that disabled people, and their staff, will have to jump through extra bureaucratic hoops just to carry on working.

The potential cost for disabled people and to the public purse could be significant.

Access to Work is designed to support disabled people so that they can have the same choice and control as non-disabled people when maintaining their work. Unfortunately, this change does not appear to be in line with that aim.

What’s more, the application of this law by Access to Work is inconsistent. It appears to directly contradict guidance issued by the Department for Transport issued just last week.”

ecdp is calling upon Access to Work to urgently reexamine and reverse their application of this policy, in light of the experiences of some of our members and in line with the guidance issued by the Department for Transport and the local application of licensing laws by Borough Councils.

To achieve this we are fully committed to working with Access to Work, the Department for Transport, local Borough Councils, our members and any other relevant stakeholders.

The full press release is available here: ecdp press release - Access to Work and Driver Support

The report is embedded below, or available here as a Word document: ecdp lived expereience report - Access to work and Driver Support

ecdp Lived Experience Report - Access to Work and Driver Support