The UK Government’s Access to Work scheme is “no longer delivering” for disabled people and risks becoming a barrier to employment rather than a route into it, David Chadwick has warned.

Leading a Westminster Hall debate on the issue this week, the Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe said the system, designed to support disabled people into and in work, was being undermined by long delays, growing backlogs and administrative problems.

The Access to Work scheme provides practical support such as specialist equipment, travel assistance, job coaches and support workers. It currently helps more than 74,000 people remain in employment or enter the workforce.

MPs were told demand for the scheme has risen sharply, but the system has “not kept up”.

Mr Chadwick said waiting lists have reached around 66,000 people, with tens of thousands of payments still outstanding. Some applicants are waiting up to 37 weeks for a decision, while others - particularly self-employed people - can wait more than a year.

The MP said the delays were having direct consequences on people’s working lives.

“It means that someone offered a job cannot take it, that someone already in work cannot do the job properly and, in too many cases, that jobs are being lost unnecessarily,” he told the debate.

He argued that the scheme, which has been shown to generate an estimated £1.48 for every £1 spent, represented strong value for money but was being undermined by administration problems.

He also raised concerns about people being required to reapply from scratch when renewing applications, long reconsideration processes, and difficulties contacting caseworkers.

During the debate, Mr Chadwick also reflected on his own experience of Guillain-Barré syndrome and its impact on his ability to work. He said he was fully paralysed at the age of 22, unable to walk for five months, and that it took him more than two years to walk steadily again. He told MPs he remembered feeling “utterly exhausted” and worrying about how he would ever work again. While he said he has since made a near full recovery, he added that not everyone does.

“For many disabled people, the greatest barrier to work is whether the right support will be in place to make work possible and sustainable for them,” he said.

Speaking after the debate, he said: “I know first-hand how frightening it is to wonder if you will ever be able to work again. For many disabled people today, that fear is being made worse by a system that is supposed to support them.

“Access to Work should be a gateway into employment, but right now it is becoming a barrier.

“The consequences are serious. People are losing job opportunities, businesses are losing talented staff, and more individuals are being pushed out of the workforce altogether.

“We should be strengthening this scheme, not allowing it to fall behind. That means urgently tackling the backlog, speeding up decisions and making sure support reflects the real cost of what people need.”