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Postcode Concerns over Access to Work Benefits

By Chris Gape, Hearing Concern LINK

The Chief Executive of a leading charity for people with hearing loss has expressed deep concerns about the latest Access to Work reviews. Access to Work is a benefit introduced in 1994 to help people with disabilities overcome barriers to work. This includes advice and financial support to help with costs which may arise due to the particular needs of an individual.  This can be many things such as the purchase of speech to text support.

Every three years Access to Work assessors review the level of support and the circumstances under which the original application was agreed. In recent times it is these reviews that have caught the attention of decision makers in the hearing loss sector.

Chief Executive at Hearing Concern Link, Lorraine Gailey said, “We are receiving reports from different parts of the country that suggest a far more stringent and in some places, draconian approach to the reviews of Access to Work benefits.  I am extremely concerned by this and the perceived geographical anomalies.

‘Added to this, it is clear to me that the understanding of the needs of people with hearing loss varies significantly depending on where you live.  It is unacceptable that your opportunities to work may depend on your postcode and whether you get lucky with an assessor who really knows how to arrive at an informed judgement about hearing impairment.”

Hearing Concern Link wants to hear from anyone with similar experiences. The national charity actively campaigns and lobbies on behalf of people and their families coping with hearing loss and see this, at a time of well documented cuts in government spending, as a potential issue of great concern. Lorraine adds, “We need consistency, it’s that simple.  Access to Work eligibility should be applied fairly and evenly regardless of the region a person works in. Access to Work has helped thousands of people back into employment, but if increasing numbers of erroneous reviews lead to benefits being stopped, so much of that good work will be undone”.

Chris Gape, Hearing Concern LINK

www.hearingconcernlink.org / 0300 111 1113