The last time the State Pension age went up there was a jump in the number of pre-pensioners (people aged 60+ but below pension age) in poverty. This group are the joint poorest among working age adults.

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 (a) highly skilled and (b) experienced jobseekers are able to access suitable employment opportunities; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of perceptions of being overqualified on those jobseekers.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is committed to supporting customers into secure employment, including highly skilled and experienced jobseekers.

DWP currently offers tailored, flexible advice and employment support through its network of Jobcentres across the UK. Work Coaches offer all customers a comprehensive menu of help, including referral into skills provision and job search support.

In addition, the National Careers Service provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the Labour Market in England. Further information about the National Careers Service can be found online by visiting https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk.

As part of our plans to Get Britain Working, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new, more personalised, Jobs and Careers Service. This will enable everyone, including experienced and skilled jobseekers, to access support to find good, meaningful work. It will support people to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.

We are also transforming DWP’s employer commitment and working with a broader range of employers, including those requiring skilled and specialist talent, to offer customers jobs that match their skillset and qualifications.

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 reduce the number of families with children relying on emergency food parcels.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels. We are expanding Free School Meals to every pupil whose household is in receipt of Universal Credit, which will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament, and introducing a new £1 billion package (including Barnett impact) to reform crisis support, including funding to ensure the poorest children do not go hungry outside of term time.

This comes alongside £600 million for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme across the next three financial years as well as expanding free breakfast clubs, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

The Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Strategy will tackle overall child poverty as well as going beyond that to focus on children in deepest poverty lacking essentials, and what is needed to give every child the best start in life.

We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty. Our Get Britain Working White Paper, backed by an initial £240 million investment in 2025/26, will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help remove barriers to work faced by young disabled people with complex needs in Birmingham Perry Barr constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group. Access to the right support, in the right place, at the right time, is crucial.

Jobcentre Plus provides tailored, person-centred support to young disabled people, focusing on their individual needs. Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) provide personalise support for people with health conditions and disabilities to enable them to achieve appropriate and sustainable employment. DEAs work closely with Youth Employability Coaches (YECs), who deliver longer-term support, specifically for young people facing with complex to work. Both DEAs and YECs work with partner organisations to ensure access to expert advice.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education continue to work closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) on the design and delivery of their Youth Guarantee Trailblazer. WMCA has actively engaged its seven Local Authorities, which includes Birmingham, to co-develop and test place-based solutions aimed at tackling high youth unemployment, economic inactivity, and declining apprenticeship opportunities. Examples of programmes being delivered through the Trailblazer include work experience placements, pre-apprenticeship training, and NEET prevention. This locally tailored support is also accessible to young people with health conditions and disabilities. Insights from the Trailblazer will inform future national policy and delivery.

In addition, young people with health conditions and disabilities can benefit from other locally delivered programmes such as Connect to Work and Workwell. Connect to Work, is a voluntary, high-fidelity programme, connecting work, health and skills support for people with challenges to employment, including health and disability. Workwell, provides a light touch intervention which focuses on prevention and support for people in work to sustain employment. It also supports people who have fallen out of work due to health and disability to return to the workplace.

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 (a) monitor and (b) evaluate how the target of 80 percent employment will be supported via the co-ordination of (i) employment support and (ii) skills services.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Our Get Britain Working strategy set out plans to increase participation and progression in the workforce by transforming Jobcentre Plus into the Jobs & Careers Service, introducing a new Youth Guarantee, and increasing activity to tackle health and disability related inactivity, including through the new Pathways to Work guarantee set out in the March Green Paper.

Coordination of employment support and skills services is key to delivering these plans and meeting the Government’s long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. The Get Britain Working White Paper set the blueprint for joined up work, health and skills services to tackle inactivity at a local level and built on national models such as the Sector Based Work Academy Programmes, which help employers with their workforce needs by upskilling benefit claimants to fill local job vacancies, and Skills Bootcamps for sector-specific training.

We have published our Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper which includes plans to address priority skills gaps and reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training through joined up employment and skills support. We have also brought adult skills into the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to maximise the opportunities of aligning employment and skills support, with the Minister for Skills retaining oversight of skills across DWP and DfE.

We will report on our progress towards reaching our 80% employment rate ambition through a range of metrics annually. Our first report was released in April 2025 with the first update planned for next year. We will measure our success through the following metrics:

• Regional employment rate
• Health-related inactivity
• Disability employment rate gap
• Female employment rate
• Parental employment

DWP published its Evidence and Evaluation Strategy in July 2025 Evidence and Evaluation Strategy 2025 - GOV.UK', with Goal 1 covering how DWP will evaluate its labour market agenda. The strategy details both current and planned research and evaluation activities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of benefits claimants who require translation support during appointments; and at what cost to the public purse.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold data on the number of individual claimants who require interpreter support.

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 help support women affected by increases in State Pension age in South Shropshire constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government believes the best way to support women who will be affected by the rise in State Pension Age is to help them to retrain, return to or progress in work.

DWP currently offers employment support for eligible women of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. A dedicated offer for older customers seeks to provide tailored support for those affected by low confidence, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications.

Through initiatives like Midlife MOT reviews, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK, and online, we support older women to assess their health, finances and skills to support effective later life planning. As part of the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Government is also committed to supporting women experiencing menopause to stay in work.

In South Shropshire, Employer and Partnership Teams in Jobcentres work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers including women.

The Government is reforming employment support to ensure it helps everyone who needs it, including women affected by the increase in State Pension age. By bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service in England, there is an opportunity to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of foundation apprenticeships on levels of sectoral skills in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

New foundation apprenticeships will give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills.

Foundation apprenticeships will also support employers in key sectors to meet their current and future skills needs by developing new opportunities to engage with younger employees and build pipelines of talent.

The first seven foundation apprenticeships, which launched in August, focused on industrial strategy and priority areas - construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing, health and social care, and digital.

The department is working with Skills England to explore which other sectors and occupations would be most suitable for foundation apprenticeships. Further detail will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the freeze on local housing allowance on levels of homelessness in Wales.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex; they interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. Responsibility for housing and homelessness is devolved to the Welsh Government, while social security is reserved to the UK Government.

In April 2024, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was increased to the 30^th percentile of local market rents, including across Wales, costing an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25 and approximately £7bn over 5 years.

The Secretary of State reviews LHA rates annually in the Autumn, this includes consideration of latest rental data, stakeholder evidence from organisations across GB, including in Wales, homelessness levels and the current challenging fiscal environment. Future funding decisions will be taken in the context of Government priorities.

For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of public information campaigns on levels of benefit-related fraud.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP will be launching a new campaign at the end of January 2026. This campaign will focus on the three greatest key loss areas for the Department – living together, self-employed, and capital & savings. It will run across a range of channels, including on demand video, out-of-home, digital display, paid search and paid social.

The campaign’s communications objectives are to increase awareness of the consequences of not reporting changes of circumstances to DWP and to increase understanding of the types of changes of circumstances that need to be reported amongst Universal Credit customers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department is having with relevant stakeholders to support small and medium businesses in rural areas provide apprenticeship schemes in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.

The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) is a group of nearly 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provides buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices. The North-East Region of the AAN is actively engaging with SMEs across the region and is working closely with regional stakeholders to provide support to small businesses.

In addition, through Skills England the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provide the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working closely with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure provision reflects real labour market demand.

To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England holds regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It has a dedicated SME sponsor on its Board, and the Skills England executive team is committed to meeting SMEs across the country to ensure smaller firms have a permanent voice in the design of the skills system.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussion his Department is having with relevant stakeholders to support small and medium businesses in providing apprenticeship schemes in rural areas.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.

The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) is a group of nearly 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provides buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices. The North-East Region of the AAN is actively engaging with SMEs across the region and is working closely with regional stakeholders to provide support to small businesses.

In addition, through Skills England the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provide the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working closely with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure provision reflects real labour market demand.

To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England holds regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It has a dedicated SME sponsor on its Board, and the Skills England executive team is committed to meeting SMEs across the country to ensure smaller firms have a permanent voice in the design of the skills system.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as mixed anxiety and depressive disorder in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as ADHD in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on monitoring the misuse of Motability vehicles identified by police forces.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Motability Foundation is a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Motability Scheme. The Scheme is delivered by Motability Operations which is an independent commercial company under contract to the charity. Only those claimants in receipt of an eligible benefit can choose to join the Motability Scheme. Any misuse of a scheme vehicle is a matter for Motability, and they will take action as appropriate.

DWP and Motability work closely to ensure that Scheme vehicles are used to meet the needs of disabled people. Where misuse of a Scheme vehicle is identified, including for criminal activity, appropriate action is taken to inform the police and recover the vehicle

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as agoraphobia in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made of its proposals to replace expiry dates for biocidal active substance approvals with a mechanism to ‘call in’ these substances for review on (a) the safety of active substances on the market and (b) their impact on (i) health and (ii) the environment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) legislative reforms aim to provide greater flexibility to the regulator while maintaining the current high standards offered by chemicals regulatory regimes, including the Great Britain Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR), to human health and the environment.

The proposal to remove fixed expiry dates and introduce a risk-based 'call-in' system for active substance reviews would permit HSE to focus evaluation work where it would have the greatest impact particularly on addressing initial assessments that are required as part of the GB Active Substance Review Programme. Active substances requiring initial evaluation will as yet have had no evaluation, consequently risks are much less well understood than active substances (biocidal approvals) that have already been thoroughly evaluated and deemed acceptable.

This proposed change of approach will enable HSE to continue to make efficient and effective regulatory decisions to address risks to people’s safety, health and the environment.

All decisions on these proposals are subject to an analysis of the consultation responses, which is currently underway, and all final decisions are subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help ensure that entering employment does not result in a net financial loss for young people living in supported housing.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers residing in supported and temporary accommodation.

Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on changing the housing benefit taper rate for individuals living in supported accommodation.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers residing in supported and temporary accommodation.

Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how income earned by Northern Ireland residents in the Republic of Ireland is treated for (a) Universal Credit and (b) contributory pension entitlements.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Universal Credit in Northern Ireland is administered by the Department for Communities (DfC). DfC is responsible for how income earned by Northern Ireland residents in the Republic of Ireland is treated for the purposes of Universal Credit and contributory pensions entitlements.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to give the same protections to people awaiting migration from the Disability Living Allowance to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provided to existing PIP claimants during his review of the PIP system.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, parliamentarians and other stakeholders to ensure a wide range of views and voices are heard.

Given that the review will be co-produced it will be for the chairs and the steering group to set out its recommendations to Government. The Government will consider these recommendations, including any relating to the protections set out in the question once the review has completed.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training on employment law do Access to Work case managers receive in order to determine whether a requested adjustment is reasonable.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work case managers do not receive training in employment law. Instead, they are trained to apply the Principles of Access to Work, which are designed to ensure that support provided:

• Goes above and beyond what is considered a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010; and
• Complements but does not replace or subsidise an employer’s legal duty to make reasonable adjustments.

Access to Work support is therefore not intended to determine legal obligations, but to provide additional assistance where appropriate, once an employer’s responsibilities have been met.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Health and Safety Executive will take steps to align with (a) EU mandatory hazard classifications (under EU Classification, Labelling & Packaging Regulation) and (b) EU decisions to (i) approve, (ii) not to approve, (iii) restrict and (iv) ban biocide active substances.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In Great Britain (GB) chemicals are regulated under a framework that was largely inherited from the EU system including the GB Classification, Labelling and Packing Regulation (GB CLP) and the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB BPR).

GB CLP like EU CLP adopts the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals (‘the UN GHS’); a voluntary internationally agreed system, upon which the classification and labelling provisions of GB CLP are based. Divergence between mandatory hazard classifications for chemicals (GB mandatory classification and labelling (GB MCLs)) and EU mandatory hazard classifications has been minimal to-date.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted a public consultation between 23 June and 18 August 2025 on proposals for reforming both GB CLP and GB BPR. The GB BPR proposals included a proposal to adopt approvals from recognised jurisdictions. It is anticipated that the EU would be a recognised jurisdiction which would make it easier to adopt EU decisions where appropriate for GB. The analysis of the consultation responses is underway, and all final decisions including any decisions to align with the EU on GB CLP and GB BPR are subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as generalised anxiety disorder in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as bipolar affective disorder in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as depressive disorder in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of the Access to Work scheme for deaf people.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There is a variety of contact methods which customers with hearing loss can utilise. These include textphone, Video Relay Service and email as a reasonable adjustment. Where a customer would like to use email as a method of contact, they should inform the Access to Work team or Case Manager. Details can be found at Access to Work: factsheet for customers - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as an anxiety disorder where the type was not known in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount spent on Universal Credit payments to people with refugee status in each region of the UK in each of the last ten years; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that spending on departmental (a) planning and (b) resource allocation.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The expenditure information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff left his Department in each of the last five years by grade.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the number of civil servants leaving each government department and organisation by responsibility level for the years 2021 to 2025 is published annually through the ‘Civil Service data browser’ as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. Information can be accessed through the Civil Service data browser for 2021 through 2025 at the following web address:

https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to increase the number of (a) training and (b) apprenticeship positions in areas where construction represents a substantial share of local employment.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to expanding access to high-quality construction training and apprenticeship opportunities across England, particularly in areas where the sector plays a significant role in the local economy.

A wide range of government-funded programmes are available to support construction employers in hiring new staff, offering work experience, and upskilling existing employees. These include Apprenticeships, including foundation apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps, and Free Courses for Jobs.

Through the Construction Support Package, the Government is investing £625 million to train up to 60,000 additional construction workers by 2029.

To ensure strategic delivery and alignment with workforce needs, the Construction Skills Mission Board has been established.

This coordinated approach is helping to increase the number of training and apprenticeship positions in local areas, ensuring that communities benefit from secure, well-paid jobs in construction and that the sector has the skilled workforce it needs to deliver vital infrastructure and housing projects.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the potential impact of the time taken for his Department to make decisions on the finances of applicants.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department endeavours to process new claims for benefits and changes of circumstances as quickly as possible after customers have provided all relevant information and evidence relating to their claim.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the level of readability of the correspondence sent by his Department when setting out how a constituent's New State Retirement Pension has been calculated (a) when considering contracted-out National Insurance contributions and (b) in general.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Individuals enrolling in a private pension scheme should receive clear and accessible information from their pension provider or employer about how the scheme may affect their State Pension entitlement. They can forecast their State Pension entitlement using the 'Check Your State Pension' service on GOV.UK, the HMRC app, or by requesting a paper statement with form BR19.

The Department is committed to making communications clear, understandable and accessible for all customers. DWP Customer Communications are tested regularly to ensure they continue to meet customers’ needs. For example, Easy Read products are specifically created to help and support disabled customers. MENCAP test our Easy Read products before publication.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will review eligibility criteria for Carer’s Allowance in cases where unpaid carers support individuals with severe epilepsy.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government keeps eligibility criteria under review to ensure they are meeting the needs of carers. Entitlement to Carer's Allowance depends on certain conditions relating to the circumstances of both the disabled person and the carer being satisfied. A carer must care for a severely disabled person for a minimum of 35 hours per week. The disabled person (including those with severe epilepsy) must be in receipt of a gateway benefit:

• Attendance Allowance.
• The middle or highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance.
• The middle or highest rate care component of Child Disability Payment.
• The daily living component of Personal Independence Payment.
• The daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.
• The equivalent rate of a Constant Attendance Allowance.
• Armed Forces Independence Payment.
• Pension Age Disability Payment.
• Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress the Government has made in implementing the British Sign Language Act 2022.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Everyone in our country should have access to important information from the government and should be able to engage with the government on issues that will affect them. That is why it is crucial to make sure that government communications are as inclusive and accessible as possible, including for the Deaf community and British Sign Language (BSL) users.

The British Sign Language Act 2022 supports this by creating a greater recognition and understanding of BSL, and requires the government to report on what departments listed in the Act have done to promote or facilitate the use of British Sign Language in their communications with the public.

The third BSL report was published on Monday 21 July 2025 and demonstrates an increase in the usage of BSL by government departments in public-facing communications since reporting started in 2023. We will continue to publish a report every year on an annual basis up to 2027, going further than the frequency required by the Act. The next report will be published in July 2026.

In addition to overall reporting, each ministerial department has produced a 5 year BSL Plan, setting out how they plan to improve the use of BSL within their departments. These were published alongside the third BSL report in July 2025.

Following the passage of the BSL Act, the BSL Advisory board was created to advise the Government on key issues impacting the Deaf community in their everyday life. It is the first dual language board advising the UK Government, and it meets regularly. We will continue to work with the BSL Advisory Board, Deaf people and their representative organisations, and with Ministers across government, including our Lead Ministers for Disability, to continue to make tangible improvements for the Deaf community

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the Access to Work cap for people who require BSL interpreters to remain in full time work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The cap was introduced in 2015 to enable Access to Work to continue to provide tailored support for those with the most significant needs and at the same time grow the overall number of customers receiving support from the scheme. The cap was introduced that year, set at 1.5 times the national average salary. This was revised upwards to twice the national average salary in 2018, based in part on the recognition of needs of deaf customers, particularly British Sign Language users.

Since its introduction in 2015 the cap has been increased annually in line with average earnings. The cap was originally introduced at £40,800 in 2015/16, and it now stands at £69,620.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to provide improved guidance to (a) employers and (b) employees on lone working.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 9 September 2025 to Question UIN 75301.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on reducing the time taken for Access to Work applications to be allocated to a case manager.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As set out in the Green Paper, we are reforming Access to Work to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people into and on in work.

We are committed to reducing waiting times for claims to the Access to Work Scheme. We also prioritise customers starting a job in four weeks. To support our customers several measures have already been put in place, including streamlining our delivery processes and recruiting additional staff.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Poverty Strategy will end the two-child limit on Universal Credit.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity.

The Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.

The Strategy will look at all available levers, including social security changes, across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years.

The commitments we have made at the 2025 Spending Review and since are a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, which will build on the expansion of free breakfast clubs, extension of free school meals to all households claiming Universal Credit, national minimum wage boost and the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to consult with (a) disabled and (b) chronically ill people as part of the Timms Review of the PIP Assessment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.

I have announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest process.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what funding has been committed up to 2030 to provide a guaranteed job to young people on Universal Credit who are unemployed for over 18 months, as set out in 1.4.2 of their Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper (CP 1412).

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government has announced that the Youth Guarantee will include a targeted backstop, where every eligible unemployed young person on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be provided guaranteed paid work. The scheme forms part of the government’s aim to provide targeted support for young people at risk of long-term unemployment.

The jobs guarantee will be funded from within existing budgets, and we will set out further details at Budget 2025.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to restricting the supply of Motability vehicles to good-quality second-hand vehicles only.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.

The department does however work closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability scheme. We will continue to work with Motability Foundation to ensure the scheme provides value for money and meets the needs of disabled people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of the Access to Work application process for people with (a) learning disabilities, (b) mental health conditions and (c) neurodivergent needs; and what steps his Department is taking to simplify the process.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of the application process for Access to Work, we encourage individuals to provide as much information about their circumstances as possible, to help us understand how best to offer support which is tailored to their needs.

There is a variety of accessible contact methods which customers can utilise when making applications. These include telephone, textphone, Video Relay Service and email as a reasonable adjustment. Where a customer would like to use email to contact the department as a reasonable adjustment, they should let the Access to Work team know so the Case Manager can follow the appropriate procedure to ensure we can try to accommodate the request. Details can be found at Access to Work: factsheet for customers - GOV.UK

We will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the consultation has closed.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to stop illegal gas installation in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) forms the basis of the Health and Safety Executive’s approach to ensuring the safety of gas appliances and systems within England (a) and Romford (b). This includes taking enforcement action against those who do not comply with their legal obligations, including unsafe gas work or carrying out gas work whilst unregistered.

GSIUR also allows for the establishment of the Gas Safe Register (GSR). GSR aims to protect the public from unsafe gas work through:

• A national investigations team tracking down un-registered gas workers;

• Regular inspections of registered engineers, to ensure they are applying gas competence and complying with GSIUR;

• Investigating reports of unsafe gas work; and

• Educating consumers and raising awareness of gas safety.

GSR will apply appropriate sanctions on those businesses found carrying out unsafe gas work as per their Sanctions Policy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, hat steps his Department is taking to ensure timely payments to Access to Work support providers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are continuing to streamline delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. Since May 2024, 118 additional staff have been redeployed to support Access to Work. We also prioritise customers starting a job in four weeks. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on the availability of apprenticeship schemes for 16-24 year olds in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle and (d) the North East.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government wants to rebalance the programme back towards young people beginning their careers.

In August we introduced new foundation apprenticeships, which are jobs with training that give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. This new offer will help more young people learn high-quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country, including in the North-East.

The department recently ran a workshop with the North-East Combined Authority, exploring how employers and providers in the region could access foundation apprenticeships.

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 SMEs to access skills funding in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government provides a range of financial support to help Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in England access apprenticeships. To support non-levy paying employers, which are likely to be SMEs, to access apprenticeships, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16-21, and for apprentices aged 22-24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy are required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs. For all employers, government also pays £1,000 to both employers and training providers for apprentices aged 16-18, or apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week (£50,270 a year).

In addition we are investing in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF). The ASF fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.

As of August 2025, 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers. For learners in Hexham, Northumberland, and Newcastle, the North East Combined Authority (NECA) decides how to make best use of their ASF to meet their local needs beyond four statutory entitlements, including which courses are funded and the eligibility criteria. By honouring our commitments to combine and further devolve adult skills funding, we give those with local knowledge the power they need to make decisions that are best for their areas.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of government-funded skills programmes on staffing levels in hospitality.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The hospitality industry has a need for skilled workers to support growth in the economy and opportunity for all, as we have identified through IfATE’s (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education) 2024 report into the future of skills training for the catering and hospitality sectors.

We have a comprehensive skills programme to support employers in growing their business, and to support learners to develop better skills for better jobs. Training products are based on the skills, knowledge and behaviours that employers themselves have identified. These programmes, covering technical qualifications and apprenticeships, will support the industry to access the skills they need. Skills England meets regularly with representatives of the hospitality industry to understand skills challenges in that sector and how current technical qualifications and apprenticeships are meeting their needs.

The government is funding a number of Sector-based Work Academy Programmes – or SWAPs. These are short-term training programmes designed to support jobseekers to get back into work. SWAPs bring together employers, Jobcentre Plus, and training providers, matching people to jobs and providing job-specific training, preparation and support. In May of this year the Department for Work and Pensions announced a partnership with UKHospitality to rollout hospitality SWAPs to 26 new areas providing real opportunities for individuals and employers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his letter to the joint chief executives of Skills England entitled Skills England priorities for 2025 to 2026, dated 27 October 2025, what estimate he has made of the number of learners who will enter (a) level 4 and (b) level 5 education or training by age 25 in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency in the next three years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

On 20 October, we published the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, which outlines our reforms to develop a world-class skills system that supports young people into education and training, meets learner and employer needs, and drives innovation and economic growth. This includes our bold new target of two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning - whether academic, technical or an apprenticeship - by age 25. This includes a sub-target of 10% of young people participating in higher technical education or training - at levels 4 or 5 - by age 25, by 2040.

We do not hold forecasts of the numbers of learners who will enter level 4 or level 5 study by age 25. The number of entrants that entered level 4 and level 5 study in previous academic years, broken down by local authority level, can be found in the Higher Level Learners publication here: Higher Level Learners.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there has been a change in guidance for decision makers looking at Attendance Allowance applications in the last 12 months.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Attendance Allowance guidance is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it reflects current policy and operational processes.

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 ensure (a) consistency and (b) transparency in Access to Work funding decisions in different types of (i) disability and (ii) employment sectors.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

For the last year, we have worked to improve decision-making throughout the Scheme by ensuring that guidance is applied with greater consistency, helping to provide a fairer process.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to question 82834 on Social Security Benefits: English Language, how many claimants have been required to attend English language courses as a work preparation activity in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of raising statutory maternity and paternity pay to match the National Living Wage.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government has committed to review the parental leave and pay system. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements are in scope of the Parental Leave and Pay Review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October to Question 80160 on Apprentices: Special Educational Needs, whether it is his Department's intention to expand this flexibility further.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Where an apprentice has a learning difficulty or disability which is a barrier to them achieving the standard English and maths requirements, there is the flexibility for them to achieve the lower Entry Level 3 qualification in the adjusted subject. In August 2024, this was extended to apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities but no Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what priority his Department gives to responding to MPs' enquiries.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department treats enquiries from Members of Parliament as a high priority and has issued clear guidance to staff members.

We are committed to improving response times and have taken a number of steps, such as deploying additional resource, to improve the timeliness of responses to MP enquiries. The Department has also published guidance on the W4MP website to ensure MP offices have clear visibility of appropriate contact numbers for each DWP benefit product line.

Data on responses to correspondence from MPs is regularly published and can be found here: Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has issued guidance to staff on the timeframe in which they should respond to MP enquiries.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department treats enquiries from Members of Parliament as a high priority and has issued clear guidance to staff members.

We are committed to improving response times and have taken a number of steps, such as deploying additional resource, to improve the timeliness of responses to MP enquiries. The Department has also published guidance on the W4MP website to ensure MP offices have clear visibility of appropriate contact numbers for each DWP benefit product line.

Data on responses to correspondence from MPs is regularly published and can be found here: Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Access to Work scheme in supporting disabled people to (a) enter and (b) remain in employment; and what steps he is taking to (i) reduce delays, (ii) improve administrative efficiency, and (iii) ensure adequate funding of the scheme.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work (AtW) is a demand-led, personalised discretionary grant which supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people in employment. The Scheme has been providing support for over 30 years.

In 2024-2025, 61,670 people were approved for Access to Work provision. This is around a 10% increase when compared to 2023/24. Expenditure on Access to Work provision was around £320.7 million, which supported around 60,000 disabled people in employment.

We recognise that Access to Work is providing a poor experience for some applicants with processing delays affecting employees’ ability to start or continue in employment, and employers’ ability to support them.

That is why in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households receiving Universal Credit have been impacted by the benefit caps for (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to 12 months, (d) 12-24 months and (e) more than 24 months in each February since 2019.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information is not part of our routinely released statistical series.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households receiving housing benefit have been impacted by the benefit caps for (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to 12 months, (d) 12-24 months and (e) more than 24 months in each February since 2019.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information is not part of our routinely released statistical series.

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 (a) number of, (b) time taken to respond to and (c) urgency of MPs' enquiries to his Department.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department treats enquiries from Members of Parliament as a high priority and has issued clear guidance to staff members.

We are committed to improving response times and have taken a number of steps, such as deploying additional resource, to improve the timeliness of responses to MP enquiries. The Department has also published guidance on the W4MP website to ensure MP offices have clear visibility of appropriate contact numbers for each DWP benefit product line.

Data on responses to correspondence from MPs is regularly published and can be found here: Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the length of time taken by his Department to resolve MPs' enquiries.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department treats enquiries from Members of Parliament as a high priority and has issued clear guidance to staff members.

We are committed to improving response times and have taken a number of steps, such as deploying additional resource, to improve the timeliness of responses to MP enquiries. The Department has also published guidance on the W4MP website to ensure MP offices have clear visibility of appropriate contact numbers for each DWP benefit product line.

Data on responses to correspondence from MPs is regularly published and can be found here: Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was for his Department to resolve MPs' enquiries in the last year.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department treats enquiries from Members of Parliament as a high priority and has issued clear guidance to staff members.

We are committed to improving response times and have taken a number of steps, such as deploying additional resource, to improve the timeliness of responses to MP enquiries. The Department has also published guidance on the W4MP website to ensure MP offices have clear visibility of appropriate contact numbers for each DWP benefit product line.

Data on responses to correspondence from MPs is regularly published and can be found here: Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many performance reviews were undertaken for staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years; in how many such cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a result of such a rating; and what proportion of full-time equivalent staff this represented.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWPs performance management policy utilises a team-based approach. The policy requires the performance of every employee to be robustly assessed on an ongoing basis. However, the approach, and these reviews do not involve employees below the Senior Civil Service being assigned a rating. Consequently, we are unable to provide data on employees rated as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory performers, nor how many staff left as a result of such a rating.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has recently made an assessment of the adequacy of the approach to child maintenance for parents without custody arrangements.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in. Issues relating to access and contact are managed by family courts.

Reductions can be made for the extra cost of care where it is shared by the paying parent. The paying parent must have overnight care of any qualifying children for at least 52 nights a year, equivalent of 1 night per week. The amount payable is reduced by a maximum of fifty per cent within bands based on the number of nights overnight care is provided over a 12-month period. The bands are used to give greater stability to maintenance payments and as a result there is greater reliability of payments, which contributes towards the welfare of the children in the case.

If evidence shows that both parties are providing equal day-to-day care of a qualifying child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78297 on Department for Work and Pensions: Social Media, which campaigns influencers were used on.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

For privacy and confidentiality reasons, we do not disclose our influencer database.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to enter into alternative dispute resolution with WASPI Ltd.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We have no plans to do so.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of raising Statutory Sick Pay for the parents and carers of children with severe health conditions.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Statutory Sick Pay provides financial support to individual employees who are sick or incapable of work. It is not designed to provide financial support for parents or carers who are not able to work because their child is sick or has a health condition.

Parents who cannot work because their child is sick, rather than being directly incapable of work due to sickness themselves, have a number of options open to them such as asking their employer if they can work flexibly or requesting to take emergency leave. Parents may also be eligible to apply for welfare benefits, such as Carer's allowance or Universal Credit, depending on their circumstances.

The Department for Business and Trade is currently developing a consultation on employment rights for carers, including specific measures for the parents and carers of seriously ill children. This will consider what employment rights may help families in such distressing situations. The consultation will take place in 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of lone working practices introduced under the Co-op’s Project Lunar scheme on employee (a) safety and (b) wellbeing.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 September 2025 to Question UIN 71094.

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 improve safety standards in the construction industry.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In line with its published Strategy 2022 to 2032, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) focuses on the most effective and efficient ways to improve the health and safety performance of all industries in Great Britain, including construction. HSE uses a variety of approaches in the construction industry.

HSE visits construction sites where they have intelligence to suggest risk is not being managed adequately and investigates incidents in line with their published selection criteria. Planned inspection visits target work related health risks, the biggest cause of lost time and longer-term worker injury and address safety risks where present.

As well as site visits, HSE engages with construction through a variety of channels including delivering industry talks, stakeholder events and engaging with the media and publishing targeted articles. HSE works with and through stakeholders that represent a cross section of the industry including the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) and Working Well Together (WWT).

There are dedicated HSE webpages and a range of freely available guidance to enable the construction industry to comply with health and safety law and keep themselves and others safe. HSE circulate a monthly construction e-bulletin which has 140,000 subscribers and, where needed, addresses specific safety risks.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of people Connect to Work is expected to support into work and (b) expected cost of the scheme per person successfully employed at the end of the programme.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The £1 billion Connect to Work programme covers all of England and Wales and will support around 300,000 people over its lifetime.

The guidance for the programme published on Gov.uk in November 2024, makes clear the expectation that all local areas will aim for at least 50% of participants experiencing some work during the 15-month tracking period (up to 21 months if support extended) from starting on the programme. The cost per participant will vary by Delivery Area (reflecting area and individual characteristics), but overall, the average unit cost for the programme is £3,800 per participant supported.

We plan to undertake a robust and proportionate evaluation of the Connect to Work programme.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Timms Review into Personal Independence Payments will include assessments of the potential impact of proposed changes on levels of homelessness.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, parliamentarians and other stakeholders to ensure a wide range of views and voices are heard.

I have announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations and recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest process.

It will be for the Review’s steering group to determine how it runs and what it recommends. The Terms of Reference give the group a broad remit to set out its strategic direction, priorities and workplan.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the services available at job centres to (a) community organisations and (b) sports groups.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) supports customers through our job centre network and a range of venues within local communities such as community centres and sports venues. These services allow DWP to help harder to reach customers in an environment that suits their needs and will be a core principle of the jobs and careers service.

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 help ensure that vulnerable pensioners are protected from online benefit scams.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

DWP is taking a number of steps to protect our vulnerable customers from online benefit scams. This includes raising public awareness of benefit scam messages on the Gov.uk website. Our most recent press release relating to Winter Fuel Payment warned our customers to be alert to text message scams in advance of next month’s payments and urging them to forward any suspicious texts to 7726. This is free of charge and helps phone providers block the numbers involved. Customers are also encouraged to forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.

We are also working together with Action Fraud raising awareness on social media sites including Facebook and X formerly known as Twitter. This is alongside DWP’s continued work with trusted partners and charities such as Independent Age to ensure accurate and timely information is available. DWP has also developed a recorded message for our telephone lines to raise awareness of Winter Fuel Payment scams.

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 ensure that frontline call handling staff have (a) accurate and (b) up-to-date information on expected timelines for responses from (i) decision-making teams and (ii) complaints handling units (A) in general and (B) for Universal Credit queries; and if his Department will update call scripts to include standardised guidance on wait times.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

There is clear guidance available to all staff regarding complaint handling and the expected timeframe for responding to complaints, which is accessible via the Department’s intranet.

The Department aims to respond to complaints within 15 working days. Where this is not possible, such as in complex cases, the Department remains committed to providing a response at the earliest opportunity.

DWPs complaints procedure is available to the public on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure#guidance-on-how-to-complain).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with law enforcement agencies to help (a) identify and (b) prevent winter fuel payment scams.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

In partnership with Action Fraud, we are raising awareness of Winter Fuel Payment scams across Facebook and Twitter. This is alongside DWP’s continued work with trusted partners and charities such as Independent Age to ensure accurate and timely information is available. DWP has also developed a recorded message for our telephone lines and issued a press release via GOV.UK to raise awareness of Winter Fuel Payment scams.

To protect customers from fraudulent SMS messages, DWP has registered all official Sender IDs with the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF). UK mobile networks use this register to block messages claiming to be from DWP that are not sent through approved routes.

Scams that are reported to or discovered by the Department that use other channels, such as social media, are managed through existing security processes and referred to Action Fraud where appropriate. Significant trends are also shared with the National Cyber Security Centre.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of reported incidents of winter fuel payment-related scams in each of the past five years.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department does not hold a formal record of the number of reported winter fuel payment-related scams over the past five years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment tribunal claims have been lodged against his Department for (a) unfair dismissal and (b) claims under the Equality Act 2010 in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Notes: data for 2020 and 2021 is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2025 to PQ 81251.

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 ensure that people with uncontrolled epilepsy are adequately assessed for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ensures that all health professionals (HPs) receive comprehensive training in disability analysis, including how to assess the impacts of medical conditions on people’s day-to-day activities, as well as awareness training on epilepsy and uncontrolled seizures.

Assessment quality is assured by suppliers and through DWP’s independent audit function, which checks assessments against a set of guidelines to ensure the criteria is applied appropriately and consistently in all cases, including those involving epilepsy and uncontrolled seizures.

The Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide (PIPAG) provides detailed instructions for HPs, with Part 2, Section 2.3 covering guidance for HPs on applying the criteria for the daily living component. HPs also have access to Condition Insight Reports and Continuing Professional Development materials on epilepsy, offering clinical and functional information to support HP’s in delivering informed assessments.

Furthermore, if during the course of the assessment a HP identifies a deterioration in symptoms, or new symptoms that their usual health care professional is not aware of, DWP has a robust process in place to ensure this information is passed to the NHS, or if the individual if acutely unwell, they are transferred to an NHS service on the same day.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to PIP assessors on the (a) risks and (b) limitations for people with uncontrolled seizures.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ensures that all health professionals (HPs) receive comprehensive training in disability analysis, including how to assess the impacts of medical conditions on people’s day-to-day activities, as well as awareness training on epilepsy and uncontrolled seizures.

Assessment quality is assured by suppliers and through DWP’s independent audit function, which checks assessments against a set of guidelines to ensure the criteria is applied appropriately and consistently in all cases, including those involving epilepsy and uncontrolled seizures.

The Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide (PIPAG) provides detailed instructions for HPs, with Part 2, Section 2.3 covering guidance for HPs on applying the criteria for the daily living component. HPs also have access to Condition Insight Reports and Continuing Professional Development materials on epilepsy, offering clinical and functional information to support HP’s in delivering informed assessments.

Furthermore, if during the course of the assessment a HP identifies a deterioration in symptoms, or new symptoms that their usual health care professional is not aware of, DWP has a robust process in place to ensure this information is passed to the NHS, or if the individual if acutely unwell, they are transferred to an NHS service on the same day.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of high-quality apprenticeships for young people in the (a) digital and (b) STEM sectors.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners across the country, including those in the digital and STEM sectors, and support the industrial strategy.

As a first step, the government has introduced new foundation apprenticeships, which are an employment-based training offer that give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. The first seven foundation apprenticeships became available in August 2025 focussed on four industrial strategy and priority areas, including digital and engineering and manufacturing.

From April 2026, the government will enable employers to also use the growth and skills levy for new short courses in areas such as digital, artificial intelligence and engineering, to support Industrial Strategy sectors.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to help increase awareness amongst employers of the incentives available to hire apprentices, including National Insurance relief when hiring apprentices under 25.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government offers a range of financial support to help employers to take on apprentices. In addition to the National Insurance exemptions for apprentices under 25, the government pays £1,000 to employers that take on apprentices under 19 or eligible 19 to 24-year-olds.

An incentive payment of up to £2,000 has also been introduced to employers who take on foundation apprenticeships, on the seven apprenticeships that launched in August 2025.

Apprenticeships and the financial support available for employers are promoted through multiple channels, including social media and email and telephone marketing campaigns.

In addition, the government facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to The Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of moving double-paydays to subsequent assessment periods on (a) working Universal Credit recipients and (b) resourcing within her Department; and what steps she is taking to reduce the impact on (i) claimants and (ii) resources.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department recognised the impact that having double earnings in an assessment period can have on individual households and their ability to manage their finances and that is why we made the regulations changes. The amendment allows the Department to reallocate a payment of earnings reported via the Real Time Information (RTI) service to a different Universal Credit assessment period, either because it was reported in the wrong assessment period or (in the case of calendar monthly paid employees) it is necessary to maintain a regular payment cycle. This will also enable certain claimants to benefit from any applicable work allowance in each assessment period.

Those claimants who are paid two sets of monthly earnings in one assessment period are usually identified by an automated system that corrects the Universal Credit award. However, there are a small number of claimants who are not automatically identified and will need to be manually identified, this work has been absorbed by a multi-skilled centralised team and is resourced flexibly to meet demand. This only generally applies to a very small proportion of claimants and applies equally to all claimants.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish guidance on how businesses will be able to utilise the Growth and Skills Levy.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government publishes information for businesses on the Growth and Skills offer, available here; Find training and employment schemes for your business - The Growth and Skills Levy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on the design of the PIP review.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.

On 30 October, I announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming Personal Independence Payments had their award assessed through (a) a telephone consultation, (b) an in person assessment, (c) a paper based assessment and (d) a video assessment in each of the last ten years; and what the approval rate was for each method.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Management information on the number and proportion of Personal Independence Payments assessments by channel is published in Table 2.32 of the Pathways to Work: Evidence pack: Chapter 2 reforming the structure - GOV.UK. Telephone and video channels have only been available since 2020.

The information on approval rates requested is not readily available, and providing it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the importance of furniture provision as an element of the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We will be working closely with local authorities and external stakeholders on the detailed design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund and we will issue further information on our planned approach in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference disabled people migrating to Universal Credit from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), for what reason income that was disregarded for the purposes of ESA is considered to be income for the purposes of Universal Credit.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Universal Credit was not designed to replicate previous legacy benefits. Therefore, customers migrating to Universal Credit may be subject to different rules, including different treatment of income and how it is disregarded in assessing their benefit entitlement.

Those moving from Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA(IR)) through the managed migration process will be assessed for Transitional Protection. Where benefit entitlement on claiming Universal Credit is lower than previous entitlement to ESA(IR), a Transitional Protection element will be applied. This element is determined prior to the application of any deductions. This ensures customers do not experience a reduction in their overall entitlement at the point of migration. However, the calculation does not replicate all legacy benefit rules, so previous disregards such as the permitted earnings disregard in ESA(IR), will not be applied on claiming Universal Credit.

Instead, customers who have limited capability for work qualify for a work allowance – the amount they can earn before the UC award starts to be reduced. The current monthly work allowances are:

• £411 per month for those receiving support for housing costs; and
• £684 per month for those not receiving support for housing costs.

Beyond the work allowance, we apply a single taper rate of 55% to net earnings. This means that for every £1 earned, customers keep 45p, helping them see a clear financial benefit from working.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of the continuation of the two-child benefit cap on the (a) physical and (b) mental health of children in families affected by the cap.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government is determined to bring down child poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is a member of the Taskforce, which is co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. To date, Taskforce Ministers and their delegates have met nine times to discuss the critical issues that drive child poverty.

The Child Poverty Taskforce is hearing directly from families and children across the UK as part of its work to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, as well as front-line staff and leading campaigners, charities and organisations. The Taskforce is also working closely with local and devolved governments to hear how child poverty affects communities and what can be done to combat it.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of 30 hours free childcare on (a) Job Centre operations and (b) levels of returns to employment.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Education 30 hours free childcare is one of several government childcare offers, including the Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare.

DWP has not made an assessment of the impact of the Department for Education’s 30 hours free childcare on job centre operations or returns to employment. In March 2023, when the government announced the extension of 30 hours of free childcare for working age parents of nine-month to two-year-olds, the OBR assessed as a result they would expect around 60,000 parents of young children to enter employment by 2027/28.

Economic and fiscal outlook - March 2023

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the early release of prisoners on Job Centre operations.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

To date, Jobcentres have been supporting customers through the early release schemes. We will continue to monitor, liaising closely with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and the Ministry of Justice.

The Department deploys specialist resources to support individuals both in custody and upon release into employment. This includes around 200 Prison Work Coaches based in prisons, as well as additional specialist Work Coaches located in Jobcentres.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of uprating temporary accommodation subsidy rates to 90 per cent of 2024 Local Housing Allowance rates.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for Temporary Accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is the lowest of £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere, 90% of 2011 LHA rates, or the claimant’s Housing Benefit entitlement. This incentivises local authorities to ensure Temporary Accommodation is good value for money.

We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. This Government has invested £1bn in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year (2025/26), a £233m increase on the previous year.

We want to encourage better investment into Temporary Accommodation stock up-front to minimise costs to local authorities and £950m was announced in the latest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund. This coupled with measures to strengthen local authorities’ financial position such as a new £39 billion Affordable Homes Programme and a 10-year rental settlement at Consumer Price Index + 1, will support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality Temporary Accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.

We continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Inter Ministerial Group.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which active substances used in biocidal products are approved for use in the UK and not approved in the EU by (a) name of active substance, (b) product type (c) CAS Registry Number and (d) entity name.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The only active substance that is currently approved for use in biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR) in GB, and which is not approved in the EU under EU BPR, is sulfuryl fluoride, in product types 8 and 18, CAS 2699-79-8. The entity that supported the first approval of sulfuryl fluoride is Dow AgroSciences GmbH, and the company supporting the renewal of the approval in GB is Douglas BLG BVBA.

The EU BPR continues to apply in Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether careers in the armed forces will be included in the Youth Guarantee.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are developing a Youth Guarantee to ensure young people are either learning or earning. This includes access to high-quality training, apprenticeships, and personalised support to find work.

In PQ 38965 the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed its commitment to working closely alongside the Ministry of Defence to identify and support anyone in receipt of benefits with transferable skills to move into careers within the Armed Forces, with a particular focus on younger customers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding her Department has provided for the provision of English for Speakers of Other Language courses in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase skills and employment support for people receiving sickness benefits.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.

Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, WorkWell and NHS Health and Growth Accelerators.

It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025.

Additionally, the JWHD has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.

In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.

The NHS 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, stated our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.

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 migration from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit does not adversely impact disabled claimants financially.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is committed to ensuring that customers, including those with disabilities, are supported when moving from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit (UC). For those moved under managed migration, we provide transitional protection to their legacy benefit entitlement at the point of claiming UC.

In addition to transitional protection, customers receiving income-related ESA receive a two-week run-on of their legacy benefits to ensure the move to UC is as smooth as possible.

To support customers moving from ESA who require more support to claim the Department has developed the Enhanced Support Journey. The Enhanced Support Journey helps ESA claimants with potential barriers through proactive measures such as outbound calls, system checks, and home visits to ensure they are not left without support during migration. Key features include safeguards to prevent benefit termination before a UC claim, tailored adjustments like alternative communication channels, and national Complex Case Coaches for vulnerable claimants.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of family members claiming Carer’s Allowance on the finances of the disabled people that they care for.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Carer’s Allowance, paid to a family member providing care, can affect a disabled person’s own means-tested benefit award. Family members and disabled people should carefully consider what benefit support best meets their specific circumstances.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of the number of Personal Independence Payments claims by type of mental health condition for the last 3 years for which data is available.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The complete breakdown of PIP claims by type of mental health condition from April 2013 to July 2025 (the most recent available data) is available on Stats-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml). Guidance on how to use PIP data on Stat-Xplore is also available here: Personal Independence Payment data on Stat-Xplore: user guide - GOV.UK. An account is not required to use Stat-Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

The relevant information can be found in the ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset. To customise the reporting period, use the ‘Month’ filter to select the months you wish to include.

Next, under the ‘Disability’ category, click the arrow beside ‘Psychiatric disorders’ and select ‘Disability’. This will ensure all disabilities under psychiatric disorders are included in the output.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many users of the Motability scheme there are in Bassetlaw constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is unable to provide figures for the number of Motability Scheme users there are in Bassetlaw constituency, because only information related to PIP claimants with an active Motability Scheme contract is held centrally for analysis.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in each of the last five years by (a) primary disabling condition and (b) region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in each of the last five years by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.

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 ensure that the (a) application and (b) appeal processes for disability benefits are accessible to (i) blind and (ii) visually impaired people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The (a) initial new claims application process for disability benefits is either paper or telephony based. A range of alternative formats are available for paper-based correspondence and is therefore accessible to blind and visually impaired customers. Customers can also progress their claims digitally, however, customers who are blind or visually impaired would need appropriate software to do so. If not, paper-based correspondence supported with alternative formats is available.

In respect of (b) His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has a legal obligation under the Equality Act 2010 to provide reasonable adjustments for users with specific accessibility needs and to give equal access to our information. Users may ask for HMCTS leaflets, blank forms, and any documents relating to their case in an alternative format. Everyone has individual needs which we would discuss to meet their requirements.

There are many different types of alternative formats. The more common types requested by users are:

• audio translation

• braille

• coloured paper

• documents sent by email in a specific format, to be viewed using assistive technology

• easy read

• font type

• large print / font size

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) London, (b) the West Midlands Combined Authority, (c) Greater Manchester Combined Authority and (d) the Liverpool City Region in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Figures have been provided in the table below.

Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants in an active Motability contract

Notes:

- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.

- Figures include claims made under Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life

- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload within that calendar year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of young people who had dropped out of further education were trying to find work or training on 20 October 2025.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department does not hold data on the number of people who have dropped out of further education and are searching for work or training.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which chemical substances have received EU Harmonised Classification and GB Mandatory Classification since 1 January 2021 by (a) chemical name, (b) European Community number, (c) CAS Registry Number, (d) EU harmonised classification (i) hazard class and category code and (ii) hazard statement code and (e) GB Mandatory Classification (i) Hazard class and category code, (ii) Hazard statement code and (iii) date of entry into legal effect.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Since 1 January 2021, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as the regulator, has acted as the Agency for the assimilated Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures as amended in Great Britain (or the GB CLP Regulation).

HSE is responsible for the GB mandatory classification and labelling system (GB MCL) and for updating the GB MCL List on the HSE website with new/revised or deleted entries in accordance with a timetable set out in UK law. The GB MCL List entries provide information on chemical substances that have GB MCLs including: a) chemical name, (b) European Community number, (c) CAS Registry Number, (e) GB Mandatory Classification and Labelling (i) Hazard class and category code, (ii) Hazard statement code and (iii) date of entry into legal effect.

The GB MCL List does not include information on the EU harmonised classification and labelling, hazard class and category code and hazard statement code for these chemical substances. This information is available on the European Chemicals Agency website in the unofficial ‘Table of harmonised entries containing all updates to the harmonised classification and labelling of hazardous substances, available in Table 3 of Annex VI to the EU CLP Regulation’.

The GB MCL List includes 4430 entries. Since 1 January 2021, 206 chemical substances have received GB MCLs, following a recommendation by HSE as the Agency and a Ministerial Decision made with the consent of Scottish and Welsh Ministers. The GB MCL entries for the 206 entries, including the requested information, are published in the GB MCL List on the HSE website – please see https://www.hse.gov.uk/chemical-classification/classification/mcl-list.htm.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) Wales and (b) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is unable to provide data related to Northern Ireland, as Personal Independence Payment is administered by the Department for Communities in the Northern Ireland Executive. The figures for Wales are provided in the table below.

Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants with an active Motability contract

Notes:

- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.

- Figures include claims made under Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life

- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload within that calendar year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 84146 on Women against State Pension Inequality, whether he plans to meet with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign within the next six months.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are no plans to meet with any campaign groups.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the freeze in temporary accommodation subsidy rates since 2011 on (a) local authority budgets and (b) the financial sustainability of homelessness services.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for Temporary Accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is the lowest of £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere, 90% of 2011 LHA rates, or the claimant’s Housing Benefit entitlement. This incentivises local authorities to ensure Temporary Accommodation is good value for money.

We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. This Government has invested £1bn in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year (2025/26), a £233m increase on the previous year.

We want to encourage better investment into Temporary Accommodation stock up-front to minimise costs to local authorities and £950m was announced in the latest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund. This coupled with measures to strengthen local authorities’ financial position such as a new £39 billion Affordable Homes Programme and a 10-year rental settlement at Consumer Price Index + 1, will support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality Temporary Accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.

We continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Inter Ministerial Group.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold to Jobcentres was in the last year.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We cannot provide the data requested for this Parliamentary Question. Jobcentres span multiple benefit streams and business functions and therefore we do not retain telephony data specifically relating to Jobcentres.

Found: (LTE Group) Order 2025 Appendix 2: Memorandum from the Department for Work and Pensions 10 S.I. 2025

Found: of activity from trusted sources at these transition points for instance workplaces, pensions and DWP

Found: promotion of activity from trusted sources at these transition points for instance workplaces, pensions and DWP

Found: Alan Krikorian: I am the deputy director at the Department for Work and Pensions for the growth and

Found: Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office acquisition of former HMP Northeye HC 361 6th DWP

Found: In addition to the early education entitlements, the Department for Work and Pensions provides childcare

Found: Therefore, consumables can no longer be ‘included in the provider contract’ and no longer meet DWP eligibility

Found: important to ensure that the demands and policies of one department or unit (in the example here, the DWP

Found: The DWP and HMRC are very familiar with interacting with the OBR because they do that every time the

Found: ourselves, Skills England, equivalent skills bodies from the devolved nations, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: improved by involving the pensions industry at an earlier stage or at the very least utilising HMRC and DWP

Found: Alasdair Mayes is head of pensions and tax at LCP, whilst Sir Steve Webb is also a former DWP pensions

Found: Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Work and Pensions, and Department of Work and Pensions

Found: For example, in 2019, Privacy International uncovered how the DWP used an algorithm to identify and

Found: We have tried to run some training hubs with DWP, the Probation Service and Cardiff Council on the project

Found: For example, everybody gets written to about their state pension by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: This is where other Government Departments have a role to play—DWP and DFE as well as the Ministry

Found: This is where other Government Departments have a role to play—DWP and DFE as well as the Ministry

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent work the Children and Young People’s Cancer Taskforce has undertaken in relation to the national cancer plan; and how recommendations from the Taskforce will be reflected in that plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since its launch on 4 February 2025, the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas via a series of monthly taskforce meetings. To date, these meetings have focused specifically on developing a clear set of commitments for inclusion in the National Cancer Plan.

The Department is aware of the unique challenges that children aged up to 16 years old and young adults under 25 years old with cancer face and the work of the taskforce has focused on both of these patient groups.

The taskforce has considered opportunities for improving early detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience, which includes issues like travel. This is in recognition of the fact that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families.

NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of local communities are met, including providing support for travel. The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of United Kingdom charities who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

The National Cancer Plan, due for publication early next year, will set out further details on the work of the taskforce and Department’s plans to improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years, for all patient groups, including children and young people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policies on (a) children and (b) young people under 25 he plans to include within the national cancer plan for England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since its launch on 4 February 2025, the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas via a series of monthly taskforce meetings. To date, these meetings have focused specifically on developing a clear set of commitments for inclusion in the National Cancer Plan.

The Department is aware of the unique challenges that children aged up to 16 years old and young adults under 25 years old with cancer face and the work of the taskforce has focused on both of these patient groups.

The taskforce has considered opportunities for improving early detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience, which includes issues like travel. This is in recognition of the fact that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families.

NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of local communities are met, including providing support for travel. The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of United Kingdom charities who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

The National Cancer Plan, due for publication early next year, will set out further details on the work of the taskforce and Department’s plans to improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years, for all patient groups, including children and young people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle travel costs for (a) children and (b) young people under 25 with cancer; and whether he plans to include policies on this matter within the national cancer plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Since its launch on 4 February 2025, the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas via a series of monthly taskforce meetings. To date, these meetings have focused specifically on developing a clear set of commitments for inclusion in the National Cancer Plan.

The Department is aware of the unique challenges that children aged up to 16 years old and young adults under 25 years old with cancer face and the work of the taskforce has focused on both of these patient groups.

The taskforce has considered opportunities for improving early detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience, which includes issues like travel. This is in recognition of the fact that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families.

NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of local communities are met, including providing support for travel. The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of United Kingdom charities who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

The National Cancer Plan, due for publication early next year, will set out further details on the work of the taskforce and Department’s plans to improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next 10 years, for all patient groups, including children and young people.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to simplify the process by which disabled motorists in receipt of Personal Independence Payment are able to (a) apply for and (b) receive a vehicle tax reduction; and whether the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency plans to introduce an online system enabling eligible disabled drivers to (i) claim the 50 per cent vehicle tax discount and (ii) pay by direct debit.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Customers who receive the enhanced rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and whose vehicles are already licensed in the disabled taxation class can renew their vehicle excise duty (VED) exemption online.

Those customers who receive the standard rate mobility component of PIP which entitles them to a 50 per cent reduction in the rate of VED payable, must send their application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Facilitating online applications by disabled customers to claim reduced rates of VED requires the electronic exchange of data held by the Department for Work and Pensions with the DVLA. Officials are considering how to improve the ability for customers in receipt of PIP to transact with the DVLA.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to review its guidance on outsourcing contracts following the Capita data breach.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Sourcing Playbook, which provides policy and guidance on sourcing decisions, is published by the Cabinet Office and is reviewed and updated regularly. The last update was 26 February 2025.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64901fcc5f7bb700127fac5e/Sourcing_Playbook_Final.pdf

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department's Vaccine Damage Payment Unit is still in operation.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, in rare cases and on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled by certain vaccines for a disease listed in the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979.

Responsibility for the operation of the VDPS transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions to the Department of Health and Social Care on 1 November 2021. Since then, the NHS Business Services Authority has administered the VDPS on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care, which retains responsibility for the policy and legislation governing the scheme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83545 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, if he will publish a version of the table provided for the years prior to 2021-22.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information requested is not held by the Department of Health and Social Care as the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme was administered by the Department for Work and Pensions until 2021.

Found: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes an annual set of statistics on the employment of

Found: responsibility for apprenticeships, adult skills and Skills England would transfer to the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: as the Armed Forces Champions network within Jobcentre Plus and aligning with the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: as the Armed Forces Champions network within Jobcentre Plus and aligning with the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Sidecar Saving in Action (2023) MaPS, Using Behavioural Science to Help Employees Save (2022) 13 DWP

Found: (e) To evidence a pension: (i) Official documentation from: (1) The Department for Work and Pensions

Found: 676 E1031 E07000032 Amber Valley SD SD yes Household Support Fund Department for Work & Pensions - DWP

Found: Report AUTUMN 2025Keep Britain Working – Autumn 2025 1 Pat McFadden Secretary of State Department for Work and Pensions

Found: cccccccccccc Keep Britain Working – Autumn 2025 Pat McFadden Secretary of State Department for Work and Pensions

Found: gyda Llywodraeth y DU, o dan nawdd ar y cyd gan Ysgrifenyddion Gwladol yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau (DWP

Found: From DWP Employment of Disabled People publication, in 2024 this was estimated to be around 120,000.7

Found: From DWP Employment of Disabled People publication, in 2024 this was estimated to be around 120,000.[

Found: O gyhoeddiad DWP Employment of Disabled People, yn 2024 amcangyfrifwyd bod hyn tua 120,000. 7 Rydym

Found: From DWP Employment of Disabled People publication, in 2024 this was estimated to be around 120,000

Found: 2025 Keep Britain Working – Autumn 2025 1 Pat McFadden Secretary of State Department for Work and Pensions

Found: regulators are also taking forward important work involving AI, such as HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Executive • Leicestershire Police • National Crime Agency • Leicester City Council • Department for Work and Pensions

Found: The bilateral Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Welsh Government Interministerial Group on

Found: Department of Agriculture, Environmental and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland DRS Deposit Return Scheme DWP

Found: as the Armed Forces Champions network within Jobcentre Plus and aligning with the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: as the Armed Forces Champions network within Jobcentre Plus and aligning with the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: DWP complaints: Annual report by the Independent Case Examiner 2024 to 2025

Found: DWP complaints: Annual report by the Independent Case Examiner 2024 to 2025

Found: focus is on the provision of actuarial support to officials in HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: He is a former Partner with EY, and a highly experienced non-Executive Director (DWP, Ordnance Survey

Found: He is a former Partner with EY, and a highly experienced non-Executive Director (DWP, Ordnance Survey

Found: Using HMRC and DWP data, a sample of Users and Non-users were invited to take part in the survey.

Found: several excellent examples of early support from His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Department for Work and Pensions

Found: standards, such as those of the Public Services Network (PSN) and Department of Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: DWP .................................................................................................

Found: DWP .................................................................................................

Found: (DWP).

Found: been discussed at the Social Justice and Social Security Committee meeting and been released by the DWP