Access to Work cuts threaten disabled artists’ careers

Access to Work cuts threaten disabled artists’ careers

A leading disabled-led dance company has warned that cuts to Access to Work are putting disabled artists’ jobs at risk, after its own Artistic Director saw her funding slashed by 76%, even though neither her needs nor her job have changed.

Second Hand Dance creates accessible shows with and for children and families. Its Co-Director and Artistic Director, Rosie Heafford, has received Access to Work support since 2020. Following conversations with colleagues across the arts, the company fears her case is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

 

A job that can’t be done from home

Rosie’s role takes her into rehearsal studios, schools, nurseries, outdoor spaces, festivals and conferences, across the UK and abroad. She needs to be there in person to lead rehearsals and develop new work, so the job simply can’t be converted into home-based working.

The company points out that the previous rate of £30 an hour sits within Access to Work’s own published guidance, and was set at a level that allowed Rosie to secure the skilled support she needs to do her job.

Rosie Heafford, Co-Director and Artistic Director of Second Hand Dance, said:

“The new award drastically reduces Support Worker capacity and pay, along with all of my travel support and creates a situation where I could not continue working, not because I am unable to do my job, but because the support that enables me to do it has been removed or significantly reduced. I am not asking for enhanced support or support beyond what is required to do my job. I am asking for the minimum disability-related support that allows me to remain in my existing role.

“I have spent years building my career as an artist and Artistic Director, and I want to continue creating work, touring and leading my company. I should be able to do that with the support I need to work. I simply cannot convert it into home-based working. The message is that disabled people should only do work that doesn’t need travel assistance and shouldn’t be doing work that connects them with artists and communities across the UK and the world.

“Second Hand Dance goes above and beyond to put in as many reasonable adjustments as possible for myself and other disabled staff to work accessibly. Access to Work’s purpose is to support beyond reasonable adjustments, so that disabled people can access and thrive in the workplace.”

A full programme already booked

The cut comes at a busy time for the company. Its new production, Water, is being developed with families of early-years and SEND children, working with partners including Sadler’s Wells East, The Egg, South East Dance and Polka Theatre. Its 2027 tour already has 40 confirmed performances, with further UK and international touring under discussion for 2028 onwards.

Since it was founded more than ten years ago, Second Hand Dance’s work has reached thousands of children and families around the world.

Not an isolated case

Second Hand Dance says Rosie’s experience reflects a much wider problem for disabled people working in the arts. Other cases it highlights include:

• Nadenh Poan, Senior Dance Artist and choreographer with Surrey-based Stopgap Dance Company, who has relied on Access to Work for over eight years. His June 2025 renewal resulted in a 58% cut to his funding, including a 62.5% cut to his support worker hours.
• Rylan Gleave, a Scotland-based freelance composer and Assistant Music Director with the inclusive orchestra Paraorchestra, whose grant was cut by 100%. His request for reconsideration was rejected.
• Graeae Theatre Company, which set out similar problems in a 2026 statement, documenting delays, reduced awards and attempts to fund skilled support workers at rates below the real cost of the support. Graeae warned this could mean fewer projects, fewer jobs for disabled people and smaller audiences for disabled-led work.

Graeae has raised concerns about the scheme before: see our earlier coverage, Graeae: we are working.

• Disability Arts Online’s Decode programme, whose data shows that 91% of the Access to Work customers it has supported in the last 12 months have had their support reduced at renewal.

The company warns that if essential support keeps being cut at renewal, the effects will reach well beyond individual artists, to disabled-led organisations, employers, collaborators, audiences and the UK’s wider cultural life.

 

At odds with the government’s message on work?

At the recent Labour Party conference, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden described a shift in the welfare system towards work and support, and away from a culture of economic “inactivity”. He said work was “about pride and purpose”, and about knowing “you went out there and you worked for it.”

Second Hand Dance argues that current Access to Work decisions directly contradict this. It is calling for awards to be based on disabled people’s actual needs in the workplace, and to follow the scheme’s own published policy, the recommendations of properly qualified assessors, and the genuine cost of the skilled support required.

 

Lucy Glover, Executive Producer at Stopgap Dance Company, said:

“Access to Work is a fundamental human right. This government is advocating for more people to get into and stay in work. The onerous administrative burden and long wait times will put employers off recruiting Disabled people. The restricting of vital support needed is in detriment to this government’s agenda. It is deeply concerning to read that the system itself does not believe Disabled people have an entitlement to get the support they need in order to work in an inaccessible world. Access to Work when it is operating effectively is envied by the world, yet right now it is failing the very people it is designed to serve. We ask for the reform of this programme to be looked at urgently and with the consultation of Disabled people.”

Access to Work has faced long-running problems with delays and backlogs, and earlier this year the government announced a recruitment drive to tackle waiting times. If you’re applying for or renewing an award, our Access to Work guide explains how the scheme works, and full details are on GOV.UK (external link will open in a new browser tab or window).

 

Article ends – click to return to top or check out related resources below

Further reading and resources

Access to Work: our guide to the scheme
Tackling Access to Work backlog
AtW – delays and backlog
Britain’s first Workplace Health System
Why Flexible Working Still Matters
More news and guides on work and employment

Make sure you don’t miss out on news from Independent Living

return to top