James Gray MP said at the Conservative Party conference (2006), “It is essential that employers don’t underestimate the value that disabled workers can bring to their businesses. Existing technology that is low cost and readily available makes a huge difference to people with disabilities, allowing them to work equally alongside their colleagues.  I look forward to seeing local businesses embrace technology to make the workplace more inclusive than ever. ”

Access to Work (AtW) is managed through Jobcentreplus under the auspices of the Department of Work and Pensions in England, Wales and Scotland and the Department of Employment and Learning in N. Ireland via the Disablement Advisory Service (DAS)

“It is available to help overcome the problems resulting from disability. It offers practical advice and help in a flexible way that can be tailored to suit the needs of an individual in a particular job. AtW does not replace the normal responsibilities of the employer to implement Health and Safety regulations or replace the responsibilities required by the Disability Discrimination Act.” JobCentre Plus

The assistance can include adaptations to premises and equipment. Support and provision of assistive technologies e.g. access software for computers or specialist seating arrangements in an office, along with other support such as an interpreter and help with transport costs.

When the Disability Rights Commission was an individual organisation it pointed out that, “the DDA provides disabled people with rights and it also places duties on employers. More importantly, it helps encourage employers and employees to work together to break away from rigid employment practices, identify what adjustments and support might be needed, and find flexible ways of working that may benefit the whole workforce.”

The Disability Rights Commission is now part of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

During a debate of The Equality Bill: how disability equality fits within a single Equality Act - Work and Pensions Committee (2008), "The Employers' Forum on Disability states that "barriers created by inaccessible technology are not acceptable. This includes inaccessible on-line recruitment, inaccessible and unusable IT systems, and inaccessible 'e-commerce' processes."

Ms Scott-Parker of the Employers Forum on Disability said: "We did some research about three or four years ago, at which point 85% of all the on-line sites that we looked at were inaccessible. It was preventing 1.3 million people from applying. It is not just the site itself. […] I guess one of the tests I have for the new legislation is that it would enable individuals and maybe groups - and it would give blind people not being able to apply en masse for this job - some redress in law. It has to somehow be drafted in such a way that it is clearly addressed."

However, the Minister, Maria Eagle, did not see any need for this to be addressed in the new Bill: "This is a big awareness and culture issue, as much as us having to change the law. I think the law is already in the right place."  She added that "There is a role here for the Equality and Human Rights Commission […]. That is something which I expect it would take an interest in and perhaps think about using some of its enforcement powers to look at more closely. I think that is an appropriate way."  The committee went on to note:

We are extremely concerned by the evidence from the Employers' Forum on Disability that 85% of online recruitment sites were inaccessible and that 1.3 million people were being prevented from applying for jobs. If the employment rate for disabled people is to be improved, this should be a priority for the Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to address.

We recommend that the Equality and Human Rights Commission conduct more research into the extent of the use of inaccessible technology in the recruitment process, with a view to taking further action in raising awareness of the problem amongst employers and launching its own investigations."