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Lack of understanding about the cost of communication support
Access to Work says communication professionals are too expensive. This oversimplifies the situation of a complex marketplace and a highly trained profession. The average freelance earnings of a sign language interpreter are around £25-30,000 a year, with an average hourly rate of £30. For a part time, freelance, highly qualified profession, that’s not unreasonable. In […]
Read MorePress Release
We are pleased to see that the Department of Work and Pensions has decided to significantly raise the Access to Work cap. This will help deaf people whose first language is British Sign Language (BSL) to access the communication support so vital to enabling them to thrive and succeed in the workplace. The increase in […]
Read MoreTHIS SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED
A SURVEY ON THE ATW (Access to Work) CAP IMPORTANT NOTE: The ATW CAP survey has been created to provide more information about the effects of capped ATW budgets on the working and professional lives of Deaf people. The survey is definitely for you if:- You have an ATW award and Your allocation has already been capped, […]
Read MoreDWP pilots Access to Work personal budgets
On Monday the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, announced a pilot of personal budgets for the Access to Work scheme. In a statement to Parliament he said: “We are trialling a new feature of the access to work scheme. From today we shall be testing the use of personal budgets, which […]
Read MoreDWP trials access by telephone for sign language users
People who use British Sign Language (BSL) can now contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) via telephone. DWP has begun a six month pilot of a service that allows people whose first or only language is BSL to contact DWP about Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance (65+), Disability Living Allowance (under 65) and […]
Read MoreDWP piloting online access to Access to Work
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is looking for new deaf and deafblind applicants to help it pilot its online application system for Access to Work DWP believes deaf and deafblind people will particularly benefit from the new online service. They will appreciate UK Council on Deafness members advising new deaf applicants to email ATW.DIGITALFIRSTCONTACT@DWP.GSI.GOV.UK saying they want to […]
Read MoreLack of understanding about the cost of communication support
Access to Work says communication professionals are too expensive. This oversimplifies the situation of a complex marketplace and a highly trained profession. The average freelance earnings of a sign language interpreter are around £25-30,000 a year, with an average hourly rate of £30. For a part time, freelance, highly qualified profession, that’s not unreasonable. In […]
Read MoreUK Council on Deafness welcomes Access to Work research but remains concerned about cap on awards
The UK Council on Deafness welcomes the Department for Work and Pensions’ desire to establish the return on investment delivered by Access to Work. The need for research was identified in the equality analysis for the future of Access to Work. It said, “establishing the return on investment delivered by Access to Work will build […]
Read MoreAccess to Work to change guidance on ‘additionality’
Access to Work is to rewrite its guidance on ‘additionality’ that has led to some deaf people losing all financial support for sign language interpreting. The decision came after the UK Council on Deafness and others brought it to the attention of officials at the Department of Work and Pensions. Last week they released a […]
Read MoreSelect committee concerned by government action on Access to Work
The chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, Dame Anne Begg MP, has expressed concern about government action on Access to Work. Dame Anne wrote to the Minister for Disabled People after he told her he wouldn’t be responding formally to their report on Access to Work until after the general election. Dame Anne was also concerned that […]
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