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Access to Work Programme: Musculoskeletal Disorders

Asked by Ben ColemanLabourDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled Answered 14 January 2026UIN 104412

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 1 December to Question 94595, how many current Access to Work applications which have been allocated for an assessment are there for people identified as living with a (a) form of arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition.

Answered by Sir Stephen Timms

The Department does not hold data on the number of Access to Work applications allocated for assessment for people identified as living with (a) a form of arthritis or (b) a musculoskeletal condition. While the health condition is recorded on the customer’s record to ensure appropriate support is awarded this information is not collated for reporting purposes. Determining these figures would require a manual review of individual applications, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

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