The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed three workplace support schemes aimed at helping autistic and neurodivergent people enter and remain in work. The announcement comes amid mounting pressure ahead of the Timms Review, which is expected to be published in a few months and could reshape disability benefits and employment in the UK.
Disability Confident Scheme
This Great Britain-wide scheme helps employers create inclusive workplaces and support disabled workers, including highlighting skills for recruiting and retaining disabled people. Major reforms were announced in January 2026, with Dame Diana Johnson stating: “Disability Confident reforms… will introduce clearer standards, improved verification mechanisms, and embed lived experience at the heart of the process.” Test and learn activity has started, with a strengthened scheme launching later this year and further enhancements to follow.
Access to Work
Access to Work provides discretionary grants across Great Britain to disabled workers for necessities like support worker assistance, adaptive technologies, and transport costs. The scheme is available to people with disabilities or health conditions, including neurodivergent conditions, that affect their ability to work. Since September 2013, it has also funded in-work support for young disabled people in Department for Education Supported Internships or equivalent programs in Scotland and Wales.
Connect to Work
Available in England and Wales only, this program provides a dedicated specialist employment support adviser to help people understand career goals and address barriers to employment. Dame Diana Johnson noted: “Connect to Work has a specialist pathway for neurodivergent and learning-disabled participants, using the Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF).”
Additionally, the DWP launched an independent advisory panel in 2025 to advise on increasing neurodiversity awareness and inclusion in the workplace. The panel is due to share its findings and the Department’s response ‘in due course’.
