Sep. 22 2025
Source Page: Ramped up job support for people on sickness benefitsAsked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support disabled households with the cost of living in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Extra costs disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), are individual benefits paid to all qualifying members of a household. They provide a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. These benefits are non-contributory, non-means-tested, can be worth up to £9,747.40 a year, tax free and are paid in addition to any other benefits or income received. Receiving a qualifying rate of an extra costs disability benefit could also act as a ‘passport’ to extra money or higher amounts of other means-tested benefits, such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. It can also provide access to council tax reductions and a Disabled Person's Railcard.
We know for those who can, work is the best route out of poverty. The Government is investing in the biggest employment support package for disabled people and those with a health condition in a generation. Our Pathways to Work Guarantee will ensure there is an offer of work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions claiming out of work benefits.
Disabled people may also benefit from the wide range of measures we have announced to support those in low-income families and households, including an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this parliament, a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact), and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We have increased the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and introduced a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions, helping around 1.2 million UC households retain more of their award, 700,000 of these households include children. We are also expanding the Warm Home Discount Scheme to give more eligible households £150 off their winter energy bills. All households on a qualifying means tested benefit will be eligible for the Discount, bringing around 2.7 million households into the scheme and pushing the total number of households that will receive the discount this winter up to around 6 million.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people on the top level of incapacity benefit have joined a coaching scheme to help get them back into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
There are several schemes for individuals in the Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Related Activity group (UC LCWRA) or Employment Support Allowance Support Group which may use some coaching to support individuals back to work. Examples include Additional Work Coach Support, Work and Health Programme, WorkWell, Connect to Work and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies. However, these schemes are personalised to the needs of the individual and therefore coaching is only one of many ways to help get them back to work.
The published report “The impact of additional Jobcentre Plus support on the employment outcomes of disabled people” March 2025 includes some of the most recent relevant analysis on employment support for those on UC LCWRA.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to monitor the effectiveness of employment support programmes for young people.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave 16 September to PQ 75889, referencing DWP evaluations which demonstrate the effectiveness of support programmes for young people.
The department will continue to build on the existing evidence base as we test, learn and improve the support available to help young people to find, stay in, and progress in work.
Our current evaluation plans include a dedicated evaluation of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. Preparatory research is already underway to map activities, identify outcome pathways, and understand the supporting systems. As part of this research, we will also assess the feasibility of different methods to evaluate the impact of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers.
A process and theory-based evaluation will also be commissioned as part of a wider Get Britain Working Trailblazer evaluation, scheduled to begin in early 2026.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to review how the Child Maintenance Service processes cases involving domestic abuse allegations.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely.
CMS domestic abuse training has been reviewed to ensure it reflects the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour, published in April 2023, to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately.
The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, and a Domestic Abuse plan which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. The list of resources and Domestic Abuse Plan is regularly reviewed.
As well as the domestic abuse plan, the CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced.
The Department has introduced a domestic abuse specialist caseworker team which provides a discrete and tactful service. The CMS determines which cases are referred to the team and offer, if required, a ‘named caseworker’ to prevent customers having to retell their story at each interaction.
The CMS reviews its domestic abuse training regularly to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations and the Department will continue to meet stakeholders regularly to maintain an open dialogue on how to improve the service.
We believe planned reforms to the direct pay service, where all payments are collected and transferred on behalf of parents will allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster, and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse who use the CMS, reducing contact with the other parent and reducing the paying parent’s ability to financially control the receiving parent by paying too little or too late, as is currently the case on Direct Pay.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that jobseekers receive prompt CV support.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 September to PQ 73218