DeafATW resource to help you take part in the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation

Sorry. there is a problem with the SSL for this website. That means for some people the links and downloads won't work. Until I solve this problem, COPY this Dropbox link into your browser, and you will find all of the downloads and links..  ​https://tinyurl.com/5bu8jf2f 

What can I do?

You can do several things - before Sunday 29th June 2025. These include:
  • Take part in the consultation yourself, answering the questions online or by email.
  • Write to your MP. 
  • Ask your employer or manager to take part.
  • Feedback to Deaf Together and SignHealth's survey for their collective response.

​BSL translations will be added as soon as they are done.
This DeafATW resource will make this easier, and explain why it is important to respond.

​You can do one or all of these. You can do them on your own or with other people. E.g. your family, deaf club, deaf people and interpreters working together, etc.
​
This web page is written for deaf people and interpreters, lip speakers and note takers. but should also be useful to anyone who wants to respond to the ATW questions in the Green Paper.

​Interpreters, lip speakers and note takers. You may have the most impact if you encourage deaf colleagues, friends, family etc. to respond to the consultation, and work with them to achieve that. However it is worth you contributing as well.

You are free to share any of these resources and change the template as useful. If you change a template can you send me a copy as your changes as they may be useful to share with other people.
A big thank you to Sorenson for sponsoring and providing the BSL translations for the page so quickly.
Watch DeafATW's presentation on the Green Paper, and what you can do, in BSL. (20 minutes).

What is a Green Paper consultation, and why is it important I take part?

The Government has published a Green Paper consultation. In a Green Paper the government explains problems, gives ideas, and asks for feedback and your ideas. It doesn't say exactly what they are planning to do. After the consultation the government will write a White Paper, probably in the Autumn, that will say what they are planning to do.

This talks about possible changes to Universal Credit, PIP and ATW. This web resource is just about the ATW part of the consultation.

Some of the ideas that the government has about ATW might mean that ATW changes a lot. For example, they want to support more people without increasing ATW's budget. This means that they might want to reduce the maximum grant awarded (cap). This is likely to affect deaf people who use BSL interpreters or other types of communication support such as palantype. It is important if you receive ATW funded support that you take part in the consultation so that you can influence what the Government decide to do.

ATW is also struggling with very long waiting times for renewals and changes of circumstance requests. This is your chance to feedback on how they can improve their customer service.

If you would like to read more about the Green Paper, NUBSLI have written a summary and agreed that I can share it.
green_paper_summary_from_nubsli.pdf
File Size: 135 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

How can I take part in English?

The Green Paper consultation (in English):

​The Green Paper consultation has five questions. You can answer the consultation questions anonymously.  ​

You can answer them from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper
​
You will find the questions below.
 
Instead of answering the questions you can email a response. This may be easier if you feel the questions don't allow you to say what you want to say. If you email directly, this is not anonymous. If you want to email anonymously, you can send the email to DeafATW who will forward it in your behalf.  [email protected]

You can answers the questions and send an email.

How can I take part in BSL?

The consultation will only accept responses in English. So you have two choices if you want to take part in BSL. You can do both.

(1)  Ask an interpreter or translator to help you write a response in English. Many interpreters know about this Green Paper and want to work with Deaf people to they can take part. The next section has ideas to help you do this.

(2)  Deaf Together with SignHealth are writing a collective response to the Green Paper. They have a survey where the questions are in BSL and you can respond in BSL too. This survey finishes Friday 20th June.

Click here to go to the survey: https://www.videoask.com/fudrvhoq4

Green Paper summary and consultation response ideas

What ideas are in the Green Paper about ATW?  A really short summary.
  1. The government values ATW wants to improve it, and for ATW to support more people.
  2. They want to support employers directly to make workplaces more accessible and inclusive, consistent with their legal responsibilities.
  3. They want to provide targeted funds to individuals to pay for workplace adaptations, beyond what could be considered reasonable adjustments for employers to make.
  4. They want to shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption. 
  5. ATW could deliver some or all of its changed role by outsourcing through a third sector (charities, etc.)
The five questions in the Green Paper about ATW

Question 13:  How can we support and ensure employers, including Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, to know what workplace adjustments they can make to help employees with a disability or health condition?

Question 14: What should DWP directly fund for both employers and individuals to maximise the impact of a future Access to Work and reach as many people as possible?

Question 15: What do you think the future role and design of Access to Work should be?

Question 16: How can we better define and utilise the various roles of Access to Work, the Health and Safety Executive, Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to achieve a cultural shift in employer awareness and action on workplace adjustments?

Question 17: What should be the future delivery model for the future of Access to Work?
easy_read_and_deaf_together_questions.docx
File Size: 27 kb
File Type: docx
Download File
Some key issues / themes you may want to include in your response. You do not have to include all of them. Choose what is important to you.
  1. ​Government should not try to support more people by reducing to support with those with most need.
  2. Government should invest in ATW’s IT infrastructure so it can be more efficient and cost effective.
  3. (a)  There are no AI solutions for BSL users currently available. No AI products should be offered until tested and piloted with BSL users. (b)  ATW could support deaf people with cost effective English transcription (offered as well as BSL, not instead of).
  4. If ATW is trying to ensure that ATW provides support only beyond what is reasonable for an employer, there must be case examples showing what can be considered 'reasonable' in differing contexts.
  5. If ATW is to expect more of the cost of support to be paid by employers, this should only be after any proposed changes have been co-developed with employers and ATW customers, piloted and evaluated, and it has been found that there are sufficient resources within the DWP to monitor and take enforcement action. 
  6. No proposals should put the responsibility of enforcing reasonable adjustments on the deaf or disabled individual.  
  7. Bring in expertise and collaborate, don’t outsource.
  8. ​All proposals should be developed and tested with the BSL Board, stakeholder groups, representative organisations, deaf and disabled customers, and employers.
more_information_about_the_main_issues.docx
File Size: 29 kb
File Type: docx
Download File
NEW RESOURCE - NUBSLI (National Union of BSL Interpreters) have shared some ideas about what you can say in the consultation (English). Links below, they open on NUBSLI's page.

The ‘Cheat Sheet’ – Bullet point ideas for you to add your own comments and insights.

The ‘Member Guidance’ – More detailed ideas for you to copy, change, or add to.
Extra ideas: As well as these key themes we have suggestions for changes to increase ATW efficiency and to support more deaf and disabled people in work, e.g.:
​
  1. Reduce or remove the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) to make it easier for deaf and disabled people to work both employed and self employed at the same time.
  2. Explain that ATW should also support people to develop at work.
  3. Explain that Support Workers are usually employed freelance, so fee benchmarking should be done only on freelance rates, not salaried rates. 

Write to your MP - this is important, and we have made it easy to do 

Why should I write to my MP?

Letter or email?

Post it or email it to your MP or do both. Some MPs will pay more attention to a paper letter.

You can check who your MP is, and then email them through this website: https://www.writetothem.com

You can write to them at this address: (Your MPs name), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

What should I write?

DeafATW has written a template letter that you can use to help. It is very important MPs do not all get the same letter, because if they do they are likely to ignore it. You can download it below.

You must put your own information in the letter, and change it a little. I have made some suggestions and given examples to help you do that. Anything in red font is for you to delete and instead write your own words. Change the font to black font when you write your own words.

If you prefer to use BSL you can ask a deaf or hearing interpreter or translator that you know to help you write and change this.

Use AI to help you change the letter! This works really well.

The instructions for how to do this are at the top of the letter "Download Template letter with AI instructions" below.
template_letter_to_mp.docx
File Size: 22 kb
File Type: docx
Download File
template_letter_to_mp_to_change_with_deepseek_ai.docx
File Size: 99 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Encourage your employer or manager to take part

It is important that employers feedback back about the Government’s ideas, because changes to ATW could mean that employers need to pay for reasonable adjustments.
 
This is something to give to your employer to encourage them to take part in the consultation.
green_paper_atw_consultation_for_employers.docx
File Size: 28 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Top Tips for the consultation

(1)  If you feel overwhelmed by all the things you could say, or feel you should say, you may find it difficult to respond at all.

If you feel like that, then just choose one, two, or three things that you think are important.  

Or just answer one question or send one short email.

Everything you do could help make a difference, so something is much better than nothing.

(2)  ⁠Do not copy and paste answers.  It is better to change things into your own words.

(3)  ATW does need to improve (e.g. massive delays) - so make suggestions about how they can improve, e.g. be more cost effective.  

(4)  ATW say that they can’t meet the needs of everyone who could use ATW, so say what should they do instead.

(5)  You do not need to tell ATW about the current problems, delays etc., because they already know about these. But you may want to say how your suggestions in your consultation response could help reduce the current problems.

(6)  This is an opportunity (maybe) to feed back about other ways ATW can improve. You can include those in your response to the consultation.

Additional resources

DeafATW did a presentation about the Green Paper. This is the Powerpoint from that presentation.
slides_from_the_deafatw_green_paper_briefing.pptx
File Size: 1732 kb
File Type: pptx
Download File