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The government's flagship 'Access to Work' scheme is failing to properly meet the needs of disabled people, new research has revealed.

The scheme, run by the Jobcentre Plus agency on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, provides support for disabled people to help them get back into the workforce and maintain their job.

But research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 'Thriving and surviving at work: disabled people's employment strategies', shows that, while Access to Work has helped some people overcome practical difficulties in the workplace, many reported problems with it. These include delays in assessing need and providing appropriate services, lack of knowledge and skills on a range of impairments, limits on personal assistance provision and difficulties in establishing funding partnerships.

The report says there is "still a long way to go in understanding and responding systematically to disabled workers' needs". It recommends Jobcentre Plus should be better informed about the range of disabled workers' needs, consistent in the provision of services, and more responsive and flexible. It should also disseminate the experiences of users.

Margaret Lavery, senior campaigns manager at the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, called the basic lack of understanding of disabled people's needs at Jobcentre Plus "extremely worrying".

"People are having to wait forever for equipment which can affect the way a person does their job, which in turn can affect their confidence. And where the systems aren't at their best employers may also have a bad experience," she explained.

The study used a national screening survey of strategies and support, which included workers with physical and sensory impairments and people with mental health problems and learning difficulties.

www.jrf.org.uk