A new scheme launched to empower disabled people across Wales to access and sustain employment has received £20,000 in National Lottery funding.

The Work Without Barriers initiative aims to support disabled people who are facing significant delays with their Access to Work (AtW) applications by providing immediate access to essential workplace equipment.

A report by the National Audit Office, published in February, found that delays and backlogs for the AtW scheme have more than doubled in the last four years, with 62,100 applications awaiting a decision from the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) in March 2025.

The average time the DWP takes to process applications has also increased dramatically, from 66 working days in 2021-22 to 109 in 2024-25, preventing thousands of disabled people from starting employment.

Work Without Barriers, devised by Reeves Disability Consultancy, a Community Interest Company, aims to create pathways for disabled people to thrive in the workplace by arranging suitable equipment to be borrowed or rented within 72 hours.

This equipment could include assistive software, adapted chairs, screen-reading and magnification tools, laptops, dual screens, and ergonomic keyboards.

The consultancy also provides free assistance with an AtW claim and support with invoicing and managing communication barriers.

Joshua, founder of Reeves Disability Consultancy, said the funding from the National Lottery will allow his team to move from “identifying the problem” to “delivering the solution at scale”.

The funding covers all 22 Welsh local authority areas, but Joshua’s longer-term aim is to grow the model beyond Wales as demand and resources grow.

“I want the WWB model to become a nationwide standard. My ambition is to eliminate equipment delays as a barrier to work,” he told Naidex.