Charlotte Cane

Absolutely. It needs to be much faster in doing the assessments and delivering the payments. One of Mona’s staff experienced a traumatic event that made it difficult to manage work without more regular therapy, so they applied to Access to Work. They were told that they could not be supported because they were already accessing one monthly therapy session, albeit they are paying for that privately and they cannot afford to pay for any more. They face the prospect of having to cancel their vital therapy to apply on the basis that they might get help, and in their own words: “The message seem to be stop getting the help you need, wait months for a decision, and then maybe we’ll support you.” Another local business, Red2Green, said the payments are so slow that it is difficult for small organisations to claim the money back, and it gives them huge cashflow problems. I have talked to individuals who have withdrawn from doing this work because they cannot afford to wait over three months before they get paid. Red2Green also told me that some neurodivergent people cannot make phone calls or advocate for themselves, but under the Access to Work scheme, it has to be them who applies, not the employer.