HUNDREDS of disabled Scots' jobs and careers are either being lost or at risk as the numbers waiting for decisions on UK government grant support has risen over five-fold in just under two years while approvals are taking up to eight months.

Concerns have been raised that the UK government's 30-year-old Access to Work scheme which funds office adaptations and travel assistance so people can do their jobs is in crisis with the number of outstanding applications soaring from 4,890 in March, 2021 to 25,103 in December. It is estimated the number of Scots currently affected is at nearly 1800.

Some 7250 Scots got Access to Work provisions were approved in a three year period between 2018 and 2021 - around one in 15 of all those that were granted in the UK.

But according to official analysis seen by the Herald, which lays bare the depth of the Access to Work crisis,  the average length of time it is taking to approve applications has more than quadrupled from 13.2 days in 2018/19 to 63.1 days in October, 2022. It doubled in the previous year when there was a 32.5 day wait in November, 2021.  And as of November, last year, the longest wait for approval was 254 days.

Nearly one in three approved applicants have a disabling mental health condition while 11% are either deaf or hard of hearing.

Leading sight loss charity Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has called for drastic improvements to the scheme saying it is aware of job offers being withdrawn or careers in limbo due to the delays.

It says blind and partially sighted people attempting to secure work were facing delays averaging five to six months in getting support from the UK government scheme that helps with the additional costs to themselves and their employers.

 Access to Work  is a publicly funded employment support grant  that aims to support disabled people start or stay in work.

The social enterpise scheme Disability and Diversity, Disability Rights UK and Evenbreak produced a video to guide people through the process of applying to Access to Work.

It is administered by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which can pay for a range of support, including support workers, adaptations to work premises and specialised equipment. The scheme also pays for travel to work where there are no practical public transport alternatives as well as awareness training for colleagues.

UK government officials say that new staff have been recruited to meet increased demand and to try and cut the time it takes to make decision.

This was in response to the scheme receiving a "significant increase" in applications over the last year.

They say customers making new applications where they are starting work within four weeks or have a grant coming to an end that requires renewal, are prioritised to ensure customers are able to enter and remain in the labour market.

But the RNIB says that the delays in applications and claims are putting jobs at risk for people with disabilities or long-term health conditions. They say many blind and partially sighted people are having job offers withdrawn or are unable to start work.

David Clarke, RNIB chief operating officer, said: “We are calling on the Department of Work and Pensions to take decisive and comprehensive action to cut the backlog urgently. RNIB has repeatedly raised concerns about their ongoing inability to administer the scheme since December 2021. Six months is far too long for people with sight loss to be without support with many having job offers withdrawn or finding their careers in limbo due to the delays. “We have met with the DWP on numerous occasions to discuss the delays, but little progress has been made and the situation is rapidly worsening."

The waiting-list has risen from 9,280 in August, 2021 to about 15,000 in December, and then to nearly 21,000 by 22 March.

“The DWP needs to provide adequate resources to Access to Work so that support is put in place within four weeks of any application, and claims are promptly processed. "

“At the same time, the DWP could make efficiency savings by stopping their practice of making people go through an unnecessary renewal process if their needs haven’t changed. They could also extend support packages while people are seeking a renewal, rather than suddenly cutting off support altogether, as sometimes happens at present when a renewal is delayed by their own system.

"The steps taken so far to address the problem are clearly inadequate."

The Access to Work programme to provide practical help for disabled people to get into work was introduced in 1994 and had been supported with an advertising campaign to help businesses become more confident about recruiting disabled people.

The Herald: The Department for Work and Pensions have released new figures which show that the number of universal credit claimants increased hugely between March and April. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/PA.

The process to get a grant starts with a telephone/online application and is then followed by an assessment.

One teacher with a visual impairment was unable to take up a role they secured because they havd been waiting 20 weeks for an Access to Work assessment.

Melinda Hanvey, 63, from Irvine who has the sight loss condition Riegers Anomaly, with secondary glaucoma fears about her future because of delays to Access to Work approval.

Due to the deterioration in her sight she was placed on the severely sight impaired register last summer. To retain her job as an income management officer with a local housing association she asked the Access to Work scheme for help last September and she is still waiting four months later.

"I applied to the scheme as I obviously needed help to stay in my current job," she said. "But the I first heard from them was two weeks ago, so basically four months had elapsed during which I have been unable to work. My employers, understandably, are becoming impatient as they want a resolution to this.

"I have provided my phone number and am awaiting a call from them to discuss my options. It has been a difficult few months losing most of my sight and getting anxious about my future at work."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "Our priority is to ensure everyone entitled to support through Access to Work has their claim progressed as soon as possible.

The Herald:

"We have recruited additional staff to meet customer demand, which has already improved processing times, and a new digital claims process is being tested to help customers better track progress of their claims going forward.”

The UK Government also said they have seen recent improvements in the length of time customers have been waiting for a decision since the recruitment of additional people onto Access to Work.