Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expedite Access to Work applications from disabled people.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reducing waiting times for claims to the Access to Work Scheme. We have streamlined delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. We also prioritise customers starting a job in four weeks.
Despite deploying additional staff and streamlining our procedures, the number of Access to Work applications waiting to be processed is continuing to grow.
That’s why, as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the programme to help more disabled people into work and support employers.
Reforms are essential to ensure a better service for customers, to help disabled people start and stay in work, to provide clarity in what support should be provided and to ensure we are providing value for money for the taxpayer.
We will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the consultation has closed. We are continuing to work closely with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives, on all aspects of our proposals.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned local government reorganisation in Surrey on the implementation of the Connect to Work programme in that county.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP has agreed a delivery plan and grant funding agreement with Surrey County Council to provide specialist Connect to Work employment support to up to 2500 disabled people, those with health conditions, and people with complex barriers until March 2030.
The planned local government reorganisation in Surrey is not expected to impact on the delivery of Connect to Work. Should there need to be a change to the Lead Authority (Accountable Body) for the Connect to Work programme in Surrey, DWP will work with the affected authorities to determine the best transition that maintains successful delivery of the programme.
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
Asked 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: Lord Bishop of Lincoln (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Drowning in debt, published by Christians Against Poverty in July, and in particular its findings on the impact of debt cases and associated mental ill-health on social mobility.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms. The Department strives to set affordable, sustainable repayment plans, and encourages anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact DWP’s Debt Management at the earliest opportunity.
DWP has introduced several measures to support our most vulnerable customers including a Vulnerability Hub for DWP Debt Management colleagues to ensure that customers who are in challenging circumstances or have complex needs are supported to help them manage their debts effectively and a specially trained Advanced Customer Support team with access to a range of tools and guidance to support our most vulnerable customers. The Department can also enlist support from a DWP Visiting Officer who can visit the individual to offer tailored support and advice and where appropriate referrals can be made to external support providers. DWP also continues to work in partnership with the Money Adviser Network (MAN) who offer free professional independent and impartial money and debt advice, and customers are routinely offered a referral to this service with their consent. DWP also remains committed to HM Treasury’s Breathing Space policy, which provides those with problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a period of 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter an appropriate debt solution.
In addition, we have introduced our Universal Credit Act which legislates to rebalance Universal Credit by bringing in, for the first time ever, a sustained above inflation increase to the UC standard allowance for all claimants. We have also introduced a new Fair Repayment Rate, helping 1.2 million low-income households to keep more of their Universal Credit and we have extended Free School Meals to all pupils in households in receipt of Universal Credit - lifting 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the processing times of (a) applications for and (b) mandatory reconsiderations of Disability Living Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
From April 2025 to August 2025, the actual average clearance times (AACT) for new Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims is 77 days. Over the same period, the AACT for DLA Mandatory Reconsiderations (MR) is 125 days. These figures are averages, and are for child DLA claims only, as new claims for DLA are only open to children under the age of 16.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for the review of the child maintenance calculation.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and considering how to ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends.
Options for proposed reforms are currently being considered. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to an extensive public consultation, which we are planning to publish late in 2025, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny in the course of 2026.