The DWP will confirmed the reforms will have clearer standards around workplace support
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing mounting pressure to help neurodivergent and disabled people in the workforce ahead of the Timms Review being published in just a few months and could completely change the landscape of disability benefits and work in the UK.
Labour MP Dr Zubir Ahmed questioned what steps ministers are currently taking to strip away barriers that autistic workers in particular face during recruitment and employment. The DWP responded with three workplace schemes, but one of which could be changing very soon.
Dame Diana Johnson assured in a written response: “The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to helping autistic and neurodivergent people to enter and remain in work.”
Disability Confident Scheme
This GB-wide scheme is meant to help employers create workplaces that are inclusive and support disabled workers. This includes highlighting the knowledge and skills needed to recruit and retain disabled people.
However, major reforms were announced for the scheme earlier this year. As Dame Johnson’s response highlighted: “Disability Confident reforms, announced in January 2026, will introduce clearer standards, improved verification mechanisms, and embed lived experience at the heart of the process.
“Test and learn activity has started, with a strengthened scheme launching later in the year and further enhancements to follow.”
Access to Work
The Access to Work scheme provides discretionary grants across Great Britain to disabled workers, providing them with necessities needed to enter and remain in the workplace, ranging from support worker assistance to adaptive technologies and transport costs.
Dame Johnson noted: “The scheme is available to people with disabilities or health conditions, including neurodivergent conditions, where these affect their ability to work.
“Since September 2013, Access to Work has provided funding for the in-work support needs of young disabled people participating in a Department for Education Supported Internship or the Scottish and Welsh equivalent programs.”
Connect to Work
This programme, available in England and Wales only, provides a dedicated specialist employment support adviser to help people understand their career goals and address the barriers stopping them from being employed.
Dame Johnson added: “Connect to Work has a specialist pathway for neurodivergent and learning-disabled participants, using the Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF).”
Additionally, the DWP launch an independent advisory panel in 2025 to advise the DWP on how to increase neurodiversity awareness and inclusion in the workplace. The panel is due to share their findings, and the Department’s response ‘in due course’.
