Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many graduates who graduated in the last five years are registered as claimants at jobcentres.

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

There has been no assessment made of the number of graduates who have graduated in the last five years and are claiming benefits.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit fraud prosecutions were (a) withdrawn by his Department and (b) dismissed by a judge before trial in each of the last three financial years; and if he will provide a breakdown of these cases by (i) region and (ii) the primary reason recorded for the withdrawal of the prosecution.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) do not make decisions on whether to prosecute individuals and cannot make the decision to withdraw a prosecution. The DWP will complete the investigation and when appropriate hand the case files to the Crown Prosecution Service (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for Scotland), who will make the decision on whether to prosecute.

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 potential merits of introducing legally-binding targets for reducing child poverty.

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

The Monitoring and Evaluation framework published alongside the Strategy set out that a baseline report will be published in Summer 2026 with annual reporting on progress thereafter and Government already has a statutory duty to publish poverty statistics annually. We have put these clear reporting arrangements in place so that the progress we make is transparent for all.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what performance metrics his Department will use to evaluate the employment outcomes of participants in construction training initiatives.

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

The Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) is a Department for Work and Pensions initiative designed to help unemployed people move into work. It offers sector-specific training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview, supporting claimants to develop the skills and behaviours that employers are looking for in key industries such as construction.

A SWAP is demand-led and generally run in sectors with high volumes of vacancies; this includes the construction sector. From April 2021 to December 2025, there have been 65,930 starts on construction SWAPs. This represents 15% of all SWAP starts in that timeframe. We publish management information on SWAPs quarterly (Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) Management Information - GOV.UK). This includes SWAP starts by sector, and the proportion of SWAP starts with earnings at 6 and 9 months following a SWAP start.

DWP also collect and publish information about Skills Bootcamps starts, completions and employment outcomes. Further information about the methodology can be found on the relevant Explore Education Statistics page: Skills bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes, Financial year 2023-24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK

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 effectiveness of data-sharing between the Child Maintenance Service and HM Revenue and Customs in detecting income manipulation.

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

As a principal part of the service design, the department uses data from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and its own benefits data to assess 91% of Paying Parents earned income and benefit status, which are key parts of the maintenance calculation. We also receive evidence of income directly from Universal Credit where a customer is in receipt of Universal Credit with earnings.

Primarily, calculations are based on historic income amounts from the latest available tax year, provided via interface by HMRC, where a complete tax year is available within the last 6 years. Where historic tax year information is unavailable, or a customer requests a supersession on the basis that PP income is 25% different from the historic amount, we have two routes based on the PP employment circumstances:

• Where a customer is employed, we directly interface with Real Time Information (RTI) to obtain real time evidence of a customer’s current income.

• Where a customer is self-employed, we require a fully complete and verified Self-Assessment Tax Return, of a more current tax year that that provided previously by HMRC. This negates mid-year changes for Self Employed customers as self-employed income can fluctuate from month to month.

Where a paying parent receives unearned income which can be legally considered in assessing child maintenance either parent can request a variation to the normal maintenance calculation. Cases involving suspected misrepresentation or fraudulent behaviour can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is given.

Where a change to current income is applied, CMS will further verify this against HMRC evidence at Annual Review, and again at a Periodic Current Income Check (+11 months from change to Current Income) to re-verify the income evidence with RTI. This provides comprehensive assurance as it is independent of the Paying Parent and directly interfaces with HMRC, reducing the opportunity for misrepresentation or inaccuracies. We have increased the proportion of changes where we automatically interface with RTI, including changes instigated by Receiving Parents.

In October 2023, the Government announced intentions to introduce legislation so that unearned income can be considered automatically when the maintenance calculation is made to ensure a paying parent’s maintenance calculation reflects their ability to pay. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on how best to implement this.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to increase (a) skills and (b) employment support for people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in receipt of sickness benefits.

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

The Get Britain Working White Paper, published in autumn 2024, and Pathways to Work Green Paper, published in spring 2025, set out the Government’s plan on skills and employment support, including for those in receipt of sickness benefits.

Our Pathways to Work guaranteed offer of personalised employment, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits is backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade. Once fully rolled out, we anticipate this will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.

In addition, Connect to Work is being made available across all of England and Wales. This is a voluntary, locally commissioned, Supported Employment programme for individuals that are disabled, have a health condition or experiencing non-health related barriers to work to find and sustain employment. There is no benefit-related requirement for this programme. Lincolnshire County Council is the Lead Authority for the Lincolnshire Delivery Area and we expect them to open their service in spring 2026.

WorkWell is a health and employment support service providing integrated holistic early help for health-related barriers to work. WorkWell is delivered in partnership with health systems and has so far supported approximately 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions to stay in and re-enter work. Following the success of the pilot, it will continue to be delivered in existing sites and expand across all of England including the Lincolnshire ICB. The expansion is backed by up to £259 million investment over three years.

Through the Adult Skills Fund in the 2025/26 academic year, we are spending £1.4 billion 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. In South Holland and the Deepings, the Adult Skills Fund fully funds learners who are unemployed or earn less than £25,750 (annual gross salary).

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 mitigating the impact of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit for pensioners with incomes just above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Pension Credit provides direct financial support to pensioner households on the lowest incomes, ensuring that they receive a guaranteed minimum level of income – the Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG). The Standard Minimum Guarantee is subject to the Secretary of State’s annual statutory review of State Pension and benefit rates, and it will increase by 4.8% from April.

Pensioners with incomes just above their Pension Credit level may still benefit from a range of wider support, depending on their circumstances, including help with housing costs, Council Tax, health related support, and other means tested assistance available across the welfare system.

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 effectiveness of its internal review process for fraud investigations in cases where a claimant provides evidence of (a) identity and (b) location that contradicts the Department's initial findings.

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

The Department has robust investigation processes in place to address allegations of identity and residency fraud. The Department is also bringing in additional inspection of our end-to-end investigations following the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 through His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in England and Wales and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMICS) in Scotland.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the role of the Ombudsman following the decision not to implement the recommendations of the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024; and when his Department will publish the action plan set out in his oral statement of 29 January 2026.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

I met with the Ombudsman on 25 February. Work has restarted on the Action Plan, which will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) longest recorded wait time was on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on changes to women's State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) economic; and (b) social impact on 1950s-born women in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government carefully considered the findings of the Ombudsman’s report on the communication of changes to women’s State Pension age, and a detailed response including an Equality Analysis has been deposited in the House library.

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 tailored, small-cohort employability programmes for care-experienced young people that include one-to-one career coaching, work experience opportunities and in-work mentoring.

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

The Department is committed to improving employment outcomes for care‑experienced young people and ensuring they can access the personalised support they need to move into and stay in work. Our new programme, Connect to Work is a £1 billion voluntary, locally commissioned, Supported Employment programme for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing complex non-health related barriers to work which includes care experienced young people. The programme will support around 300,000 people across England and Wales by the end of the decade.

Robust international evidence shows that Supported Employment, which provides a holistic approach to supporting individuals with more complex barriers to employment, can be effective in helping these people into sustained employment.

Participants are given a dedicated, specialist employment support adviser who works alongside them to understand their career goals and help them to address any specific barriers to employment. The adviser seeks good labour market matches for the participant. Participants are supported to have conversations with prospective employers, removing the need to go through complex application processes. The employment adviser works with both the employer and the participant to ensure that the transition into work is smooth and that the workplace is inclusive.

Out of Work participants receive one-to-one support from Connect to Work for up to 12 months to help identify and fulfil employment goals that are suitable for their circumstances. In work participants who are at risk of falling out of employment or self-employment due to their disability or complex barriers can receive up to 4 months support.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what key performance indicators are used to monitor private contractors providing PIP assessments.

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

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) hold Personal Independence Payment assessment suppliers to a robust set of contractual performance measures to ensure that assessments are delivered to a high standard.

Under the Functional Assessment Services (FAS) contract, suppliers are required to meet or exceed a series of Target Performance Levels (TPLs), which collectively determine overall contractual performance. In addition to TPLs, suppliers are also expected to meet a number of contractual obligations.

The TPLs and obligations that all assessment suppliers must adhere to can be found in part 1 of the FAS Contract available on contract finder.GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average processing time for Employment Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payments.

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

Information on average processing time for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) can be found on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/).

The requested data can be found in the ‘Clearance Times for Initial Claims’ dataset. Stat-Xplore will automatically select the latest completed assessment date. However, you can use the ‘Completed Assessment Date’ filter to produce completed assessment for a time period of your choice. You can expand ‘Measures’ and then ‘Clearance Time Breakdowns for Initial Claims’ to produce a breakdown of different types of clearance times. For average processing time covering claim registration date to DWP decision date, we suggest choosing the ‘Median of End-to-end Process (weekdays)’ measure. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) clearance times are available as part of the PIP Official Statistics quarterly release. The latest release, with data available to October 2025, is available here (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-april-2013-to-october-2025). Table 1A in the underlying Excel tables of this release shows median average clearance times for normal rules new claims.

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 check the compliance of PIP assessment facilities.

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

Where the department provides estate for the delivery of Personal Independence Payment assessments, we ensure that all assessment centres meet relevant legislative requirements, including full compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

For assessment centres sourced by our contracted suppliers, those suppliers are contractually required to provide the department with an annual assurance statement confirming that their estate meets all legislative requirements and, as a minimum, meets the same standards as department provided assessment centres.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what cross-departmental work is being undertaken to help ensure disabled people are not disadvantaged where one Government department requires telephone contact as the primary or sole method of progressing a case.

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

It is the responsibility of each government department to ensure that their communications meet the needs of the general population as appropriate.

The Public Sector Equality Duty is a general duty at Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. It requires public authorities, and private and voluntary organisations carrying out public functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people. This applies to their day-to-day work, including in delivering services.

In order to meet the Duty, Government departments routinely carry out equality assessments of policy and operational changes. These help policy makers to fully consider how decisions may affect different groups in different ways, and design their policies accordingly.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Access to Work reconsideration requests submitted by (a) blind and (b) partially sighted customers have resulted in the original decision being overturned in each of the last three years.

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

We do not hold this data in a way that can be extracted.
Determining this information would require a manual review of all individual reconsideration cases, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unannounced visits his Department conducted to PIP face-to-face assessment centres in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.

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

The department undertakes visits to Personal Independence Payment assessment centres for a range of reasons, including performance and operational oversight, contractual assurance activity, and estates‑related checks.

The department does not centrally record whether such visits are announced or unannounced. Therefore, the information requested on the number of unannounced visits undertaken in 2024 or 2025 is not available.

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 people that claim Carer's Allowance and do not live with the person they are caring for.

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

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

Published information on the number of people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance using DWP administrative data, and information on benefit receipt on a household and benefit unit basis is available through the Family Resources Survey (FRS), on Stat-Xplore, with various geographical breakdowns provided.

You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access

guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also Family Resources Survey data on Stat-Xplore: user guide available.

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 number of people in poverty as a result of the rule preventing mixed-age couples from claiming pension-age benefits until the youngest partner reaches State Pension age.

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

Ensuring that individuals can get into, progress and stay in work is important in helping them to continue saving for their own retirement and contribute to the wider economy.

The requirement for mixed age couples to seek financial support from the working-age social security system until both members of the couple reach State Pension Age ensures that, once in receipt of Universal Credit, the younger partner can access the same employment support that is available for customers below State Pension Age including dedicated employment support for customers over the age of 50. The pension-age partner is placed in the no-work related requirements group.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2026 to Written Question UIN 106823, if he will (a) collect and analyse data on the extent of refusal, increase and reduction of Access to Work awards at renewal and (b) make an assessment of the potential impact of that data on Disabled people’s ability to maintain work and careers.

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

The Department has a broad analytical programme of work on Access to Work which includes quantitative analysis of data, qualitative research, and production of official statistics. This programme is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains relevant and helps to build understanding of the functioning of the scheme.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how often Access to Work awards for blind and partially sighted customers are reviewed for compliance with the EHRC Code of Practice.

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

Access to Work (AtW) awards, including those made to blind and partially sighted customers, are managed through standard casework processes, which include appropriate Service Assurance checks to ensure decisions comply with AtW guidance and principles.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to increase the benefit cap.

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

There is a statutory obligation to review the levels of the benefit cap at least once every five years. They were last reviewed in November 2022 and, as such, a further review is required by November 2027. This will happen at the appropriate time as determined by the Secretary of State.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether eligible (a) prospective claimants not currently in receipt of Universal Credit and (b) existing Universal Credit claimants who do not receive the health element would be entitled to the rate of the health element of Universal Credit in force before 6 April 2026 where an application for that element is received by the Department for Work and Pensions on or before 5 April 2026, including in cases where eligibility is confirmed, a Work Capability Assessment is completed, or a decision on entitlement is made on or after 6 April 2026.

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

The Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance (Rates of Allowances) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 were laid in Parliament on 9 February 2026. The Regulations provide further detail on the application of the Universal Credit Act 2025 including the definition of a pre-6 April 2026 claimant confirming that claimants who declare a health condition or disability on or before 5 April 2026 and are found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) will receive the higher rate of LCWRA. This applies even if their decision on entitlement is made on or after 6 April 2026.

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 increase public awareness of the availability of free advice from independent providers on claiming welfare benefits; and if he will make an assessment on the potential merits of a public engagement campaign on this topic.

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

Free help and support in applying for Universal Credit is available from Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland. Free help and support for claiming other DWP benefits is widely available, including on GOV.UK, from the Department itself, and from organisations such as Age UK. There is no need for claimants to pay for advice and support with benefit applications.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when Section 25 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 will commence; whether the commencement of Section 25 will coincide with the coming into force of the relevant provisions of the Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 enabling the Child Maintenance Service to create Administrative Liability Orders; and what steps he is taking to ensure the timely implementation of these enforcement powers.

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

Work is ongoing to implement Administrative Liability Orders.

Section 25 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 will be commenced as part of the wider package of measures required to implement ALOs. We intend for its commencement to align with the relevant provisions of the Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023, which will enable the Child Maintenance Service to create Administrative Liability Orders.

While Child Maintenance is reserved, enforcement of CM arrears in Scotland requires using the Scottish judicial system, which is devolved.

We are working closely with HMCTS and the Scottish Government to ensure enforcement action resulting from ALOs operates effectively across the UK, and plan to introduce regulations to parliament to implement the measures across England, Scotland and Wales, as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of personal independence payment recipients do not receive other welfare benefits, excluding pensions.

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

At the end of August 2025 (latest available data) the percentage of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) recipients who do not receive any other welfare benefits aside from State Pension is 28%.

Notes:

- The percentage provided is calculated using the information of claimants under DWP Policy Ownership only. This includes claimants living in England and Wales, those who live abroad, and those with an unknown location, and excludes those living in Scotland and Northern Ireland where PIP has been devolved.

- The welfare benefits taken into account in this analysis are:

o Bereavement Benefit

o Bereavement Support Payment

o Widow’s Benefit

o Carer’s Allowance

o Employment and Support Allowance

o Incapacity Benefit

o Income Support

o Housing Benefit

o Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)

o Job Seeker’s Allowance

o Pension Credit

o Severe Disablement Allowance

o Universal Credit

- HMRC administered Child Benefit is not taken into account, so some claimants receiving Child Benefit will be included in the stated figure.

- The source IIDB data used for Benefit Combination statistics shows IIDB claimants at a point five months before the last day of the most recent month. To adjust for this lag, data from the Customer Information System has been used to remove cases for individuals known to have died between the IIDB time point and the last day of August 2025, giving an estimate of the IIDB caseload at that time point.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support older people in rural areas.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to supporting pensioners and ensuring they have financial security and dignity in retirement. The State Pension remains the foundation of our support for pensioners. In April this year, both the basic and new State Pensions will increase by 4.8%, benefitting over 12 million pensioners by up to £575. Our commitment to maintain the Triple Lock throughout this Parliament – helping to raise the value of the State Pension over time – will see pensioners’ yearly incomes rising by up to £2,100.

Pension Credit continues to provide vital financial support for pensioners who, for whatever reason, find themselves on a low income. It does this by guaranteeing a minimum level of income – called the Standard Minimum Guarantee – which will also increase in April by 4.8%, protecting the most vulnerable pensioners.

Crucially, receipt of Pension Credit opens the door to additional support, including Housing Benefit, Council Tax support, help with NHS costs, help with fuel bills, and a free TV licence for those aged over 75. Maximising Pension Credit take-up remains a key departmental priority, which is why we have run the biggest campaign to date across Great Britain encouraging pensioners and their families to check their eligibility and to apply.

Around nine million pensioners in England and Wales with an income of £35,000 or less also receive additional support through the Winter Fuel Payment. Housing Benefit continues to support pensioners who rent, and pensioner homeowners on income-related benefits, including Pension Credit, may receive Support for Mortgage Interest to help with interest on eligible secured loans.

The Household Support Fund remains available for those facing financial hardship, with funding running until March 2026. From April 2026, the new Crisis and Resilience Fund will provide a long-term mechanism for local authorities to support vulnerable households with essential costs such as food and energy.

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 (a) homeless and (b) disabled young people to seek employment.

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

Homelessness can act as a significant barrier to gaining and sustaining employment. DWP helps people experiencing homelessness to move towards work through tailored and place-based work coach support – a commitment outlined in the new cross-government National Plan to End Homelessness. This includes specialist employment support for people with complex needs through the new Connect to Work programme, and a new Jobs and Careers Service that will enable work coaches to focus more on individuals with the greatest barriers to work.

The plan also commits to addressing the ‘work disincentive’ that can affect young people in supported accommodation, ensuring work pays and enabling residents to enter or progress in employment without facing financial barriers.

The Department further supports homeless young people to move towards employment through Youth Hubs, which provide community‑based, wrap‑around employment support for 16–24‑year‑olds. As part of the core Youth Hub service blueprint, Hubs work with local partners to provide access to housing and homelessness advice alongside employment, skills and health support, recognising that housing insecurity is a significant barrier to work.

The Government is also taking action to help young disabled people move towards work. Disabled young people are a diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them.

The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for disabled young people.

At the Budget, we have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn. Over the next three years nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds will be offered a dedicated session with a Work Coach, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support. We will also expand our network of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain. This investment will create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21 through the Jobs Guarantee.

Alongside the Youth Guarantee, the Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for the Pathways to Work offer. Backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade, building 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. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work offer once fully rolled out will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.

Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support already available to disabled people, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships.

Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn is leading on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability and expected to report in Summer 2026.

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 Crisis and Resilience Fund is fully operational by April 2026.

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

My Department has worked closely with local authorities and other stakeholders on the detailed design of the Fund. We published scheme guidance in January, and final allocations have been confirmed to enable local authorities to prepare for delivery.

We are collaborating with local authorities through ongoing implementation activity to support readiness and effective delivery ahead of the Fund going live in April 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual cost has been for the Bereavement Support Payment over the last five years, including regional breakdown, and the percentage of those eligible who claim this.

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

Official statistics for Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2025

Table 1: Annual cost for Bereavement Support Payment for the last five financial years rounded to the nearest million pounds

Further annual expenditure figures can be found in the outturn and forecast tables, in the ‘Bereavement_benefits’ sheet:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/694931a672075a1d4a5089d9/outturn-and-forecast-tables-autumn-budget-2025.ods

A regional breakdown of BSP alone is not available, but a regional breakdown for bereavement benefits as a whole can be found in the benefit expenditure by country and region, in the ‘BBWB’ sheet:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6940017ac72b0f8ccf33d78f/benefit-expenditure-by-country-and-region-2024-25.ods

It is not possible to accurately measure take-up of BSP, out of those who are eligible, as this would require monthly data on deaths by age, marital status, cohabitee status, dependent children and National Insurance contributions.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department made of the potential impact of withdrawing the universal credit health top-up for people under 22 on those unable to work.

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

The Pathways to Work consultation closed on 30 June 2025 and a summary of the consultation responses was published on 30 October. We will set out our plans in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what number and proportion of those claiming a) housing benefit and b) the UC housing element live in the social rented sector.

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

Monthly statistics for the number of households on Housing Benefit (HB) and the number of Households on Universal Credit (UC) are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore, with data currently available to November 2025. The statistics are available by Tenure Type for HB, and by Housing Entitlement - Tenure for UC.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance and the Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

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 long COVID on the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training.

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

No assessment has been made specifically on the potential impact of long COVID on the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training.

DWP has commissioned the Right Honourable Alan Milburn to author a report that will seek to understand the drivers of the increase in the number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training and to investigate the root causes of this rise in economic inactivity.

The latest available annual data on the number of young people who are NEET by main health condition published by the DWP in November 2025 can be found at: The employment of disabled people 2025 - GOV.UK - Table NEE002

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what number and proportion of those living in i) all tenures and ii) the social rented sector have their rent a) partly and b) fully paid by either housing benefit or the housing element of UC.

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

Information on the number and proportion of households in the private rented sector in receipt of Housing Benefit (HB), and if it covers rent, is available on Stat-Xplore via the Housing Benefit Official Statistics (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). The information can be found in the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset and is currently available to November 2025.

Universal Credit (UC) is a single integrated benefit made up of different elements, such as Housing. Households receive one combined monthly payment, and any deductions apply to the total award, not individual elements. As a result, it is not possible to isolate and compare the Universal Credit Housing Element (UCHE) to rents. However, the number and proportion of private rented sector households where rent is higher than Local Housing Allowance rate is available on Stat-Xplore and can be found in the Universal Credit – Households on Universal Credit dataset and is currently available to November 2025.

For households receiving housing support in the social rented sector, the Department provides support that covers eligible rents in full, unless reduced by the Removal of Spare Room Subsidy or if they have income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap. Data on the number of households in social rented sector, how many households are subject to Removal of Spare Room Subsidy and how many households are subject to Benefit Cap can be found on Stat-Xplore.

Providing the rest of the information requested would incur disproportionate cost.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were unemployed for over 12 months in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in the last 12 months, and what proportion of those people were unemployed for 18 months or more.

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

The information requested is not available, due to small sample sizes on the survey used to estimate unemployment in constituencies. National level estimates of unemployment of more than 12 months duration are available in ONS Table UNEM01.

There is published information on the number of years duration of UC claims by conditionality regime by constituency on Stat-Xplore (Stat-Xplore - Table View), but this does not identify 18 months as a cut-off.

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 tackle (a) unemployment rates and (b) job displacement.

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

Economic growth is this Government’s first mission; we are committed to creating good jobs, helping more people into work and raising living standards.

DWP is tackling unemployment by reshaping our employment support offer to break down barriers related to skills, health and progression. For example, we are transforming our Jobcentres into a modern Jobs and Careers Service; ensuring support for young people through our flagship Youth Guarantee; empowering local areas to explore new ways to reduce economic inactivity through youth and inactivity trailblazers; and, developing tailored support for those with health conditions and disabilities.

To adapt and mitigate the risk of job displacement, this Government is driving a programme to manage AI driven labour market shifts, supported by the newly established AI and Future of Work Unit, which monitors emerging trends and coordinates the policy response across government. This Government is investing £187 million in digital and AI learning as well as working towards training 7.5 million workers in essential AI skills by 2030 through joint work between Skills England and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

This is in conjunction with a range of wider reskilling opportunities, such as Sector Based Work Academy Programme (SWAPs) which provides opportunities to those who are looking to change career or sectors through providing placements for pre-employment training, a work experience placement and a guaranteed interview for a real job.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will facilitate a vote on proposals for financial redress contained in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on changes to women's State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has made its decision on this case based on due process and careful consideration of the body of evidence. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a statement to the House of Commons and the detailed reasons for this decision have been placed in House library.

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 (a) trends in the level of household financial hardship and (b) the potential impact of those trends on the design and funding of the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

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

Trends in the percentage of individuals in relative and absolute low income both before and after housing costs can be found in the Households Below Average Income Official Statistics: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK

Between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years, there was an increase in the number of people in relative low income before housing costs and a decrease in the number of people in relative low income after housing costs. Over the same time period there was an increase in the number of people in absolute low income.

These trends informed the decision to launch the Crisis and Resilience Fund and for funding levels to be in line with the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments.

Local Authority allocations for the Crisis and Resilience Fund are determined by deprivation and population size as well as shortfalls and deductions due to the Benefit Cap, Local Housing Allowance and Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy to ensure that funding levels reflect local need and financial hardship in an area.

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 value for money of the £50 million funding given to the International Labour Organisation since 2020.

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

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) plays an important role in setting international labour standards and holding those that fail to uphold international labour rights accountable. The UK was a founding member of the ILO; the Government is committed to maintaining its membership.

The UK’s assessed annual contribution is based on the standard United Nations system of assessed contributions applied to all 187 ILO member states, broadly linked to relative levels of GDP. In 2025–26 the total UK contribution totalled £14.76 million, the majority of which is classed within the UK’s Official Development Assistance.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ensures that the UK financial contribution to the ILO is used effectively, demonstrates value for money and aligns with the UK’s national objectives. Through our permanent membership of the ILO Governing Body, we undertake robust scrutiny of the ILO’s budgetary proposals and administration to increase the impact, effectiveness and delivery of the Organisation.

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 expected contribution to the International Labour Organisation in 2025-26.

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

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) plays an important role in setting international labour standards and holding those that fail to uphold international labour rights accountable. The UK was a founding member of the ILO; the Government is committed to maintaining its membership.

The UK’s assessed annual contribution is based on the standard United Nations system of assessed contributions applied to all 187 ILO member states, broadly linked to relative levels of GDP. In 2025–26 the total UK contribution totalled £14.76 million, the majority of which is classed within the UK’s Official Development Assistance.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ensures that the UK financial contribution to the ILO is used effectively, demonstrates value for money and aligns with the UK’s national objectives. Through our permanent membership of the ILO Governing Body, we undertake robust scrutiny of the ILO’s budgetary proposals and administration to increase the impact, effectiveness and delivery of the Organisation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to continue funding the International Labour Organisation.

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

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) plays an important role in setting international labour standards and holding those that fail to uphold international labour rights accountable. The UK was a founding member of the ILO; the Government is committed to maintaining its membership.

The UK’s assessed annual contribution is based on the standard United Nations system of assessed contributions applied to all 187 ILO member states, broadly linked to relative levels of GDP. In 2025–26 the total UK contribution totalled £14.76 million, the majority of which is classed within the UK’s Official Development Assistance.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ensures that the UK financial contribution to the ILO is used effectively, demonstrates value for money and aligns with the UK’s national objectives. Through our permanent membership of the ILO Governing Body, we undertake robust scrutiny of the ILO’s budgetary proposals and administration to increase the impact, effectiveness and delivery of the Organisation.

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 financial support available to apprentices.

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

From April 2026 the Apprentice National Minimum Wage will increase by 6% to £8.00 per hour, from £7.55. This new rate will help encourage more young people to enter the labour market via apprenticeships, helping fill the skills gaps our country faces.

The department continues to provide employers and providers with additional funding to support apprenticeship opportunities for young people. The department provides £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and up to age 24 for apprentices with an education, health and care plan, or who have been in local authority care. These payments can be used to support costs such as work equipment, uniforms, or travel.

Apprentices under the age of 25 that have been, or are, in local authority care can claim a bursary of £3,000 when they start an apprenticeship. This supports them as they transition into employment.

Apprentices may also be eligible for local discounted travel schemes. For example, apprentices over 18, living in a London borough and in the first year of an apprenticeship, can get discounted travel with an Oyster photocard.

The government remains committed to keeping apprentice pay and financial support under review to support the attraction of talented individuals into apprenticeships, whilst remaining fair for employers.

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 average cost to a non-Levy-paying firm of employing an 19-year old apprentice in the second year of their apprenticeship, paid at the legal minimum hourly rate for a 37.5 hour week, assuming the employer has more than 50 employees and the apprentice does not have an EHCP and was never in care in terms of (a) wage cost, (b) apprenticeship training cost, and (c) total cost for an apprenticeship started in (i) September 2023, (ii) April 2024, and (iii) September 2026.

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

Minimum wage rates are reviewed annually and the government considers the independent advice of the Low Pay Commission when setting minimum wage rates.

Regarding wage costs, apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they are either aged under 19 or aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship. Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they are both aged 19 or over and have completed the first year of their apprenticeship.

The below table sets out the 18–20-year-old and the apprentice minimum wage rates from April 2023 to April 2026.

Regarding apprenticeship training costs, each apprenticeship standard has a funding band which sets out the maximum amount that the government will contribute to the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment over the full duration of the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship funding bands range from £1,500 to £27,000.

Since April 2024, the government has fully funded apprenticeship training costs up to the funding band maximum for non-levy paying employers for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, 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, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

From August 2026, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy will be required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

To support employers to offer apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

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 average cost to a non-Levy-paying firm of employing an 19-year old apprentice in the first year of their apprenticeship, paid at the legal minimum hourly rate for a 37.5 hour week, assuming the employer has more than 50 employees and the apprentice does not have an EHCP and was never in care, in terms of (a) wage cost, (b) apprenticeship training cost and (c) total cost for an apprenticeship started in (i) September 2023, (ii) April 2024 and (iii) September 2026.

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

Minimum wage rates are reviewed annually and the government considers the independent advice of the Low Pay Commission when setting minimum wage rates.

Regarding wage costs, apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they are either aged under 19 or aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship. Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they are both aged 19 or over and have completed the first year of their apprenticeship.

The below table sets out the 18–20-year-old and the apprentice minimum wage rates from April 2023 to April 2026.

Regarding apprenticeship training costs, each apprenticeship standard has a funding band which sets out the maximum amount that the government will contribute to the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment over the full duration of the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship funding bands range from £1,500 to £27,000.

Since April 2024, the government has fully funded apprenticeship training costs up to the funding band maximum for non-levy paying employers for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, 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, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

From August 2026, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy will be required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

To support employers to offer apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

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 average cost to a non-Levy-paying firm of employing an 18-year old apprentice in the first year of their apprenticeship, paid at the legal minimum hourly rate for a 37.5 hour week, assuming the employer has fewer than 50 employees, in terms of (a) wage cost, (b) apprenticeship training cost and (c) total cost for an apprenticeship started in (i) September 2023, (ii) April 2024 and (iii) September 2026.

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

Minimum wage rates are reviewed annually and the government considers the independent advice of the Low Pay Commission when setting minimum wage rates.

Regarding wage costs, apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they are either aged under 19 or aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship. Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they are both aged 19 or over and have completed the first year of their apprenticeship.

The below table sets out the 18–20-year-old and the apprentice minimum wage rates from April 2023 to April 2026.

Regarding apprenticeship training costs, each apprenticeship standard has a funding band which sets out the maximum amount that the government will contribute to the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment over the full duration of the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship funding bands range from £1,500 to £27,000.

Since April 2024, the government has fully funded apprenticeship training costs up to the funding band maximum for non-levy paying employers for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, 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, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

From August 2026, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people. For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy will be required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs, unless they are in receipt of a levy transfer which covers that cost.

To support employers to offer apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he has considered the potential merits of preventing foreign nationals from being able to claim universal credit.

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

Most migrants with temporary visas cannot access public fund benefits such as Universal Credit. Access is usually at the point of settlement, which for most people will be after they have lived in the UK legally for five years, and the Home Office plans to increase this to ten years. The Home Office is also consulting on changing the default position to maintain No Recourse to Public Funds at settlement and lifting this only at the point of British citizenship.

This year the Government also plans to consult on whether the residence tests in taxpayer funded benefits should be changed to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK. The consultation will look at how the benefit rules apply to those coming or returning to the UK.

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 affordability of self-funded Level 7 professional qualifications for SMEs.

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

Since January 2026, the government no longer funds level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 2 June 2025, this decision was informed by a wide range of evidence including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. We considered impacts of the change on employers of all sizes, include SMEs.

Given the benefits to businesses, as well as their employees, the government encourages employers to invest in upskilling their staff aged 22 and over to this level, where relevant, to enable levy funding to be re-balanced towards young people.

The government's decision on defunding Level 7 apprenticeships for those aged 22 and over, including the full summary of the evidence that informed that decision, is published here: Written Statements - Hansard - UK Parliament

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 removing funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on small and micro-businesses, particularly independent accountancy practices.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question UIN 57098.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the removal of Level 7 apprenticeship funding on the supply of qualified accountants.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question UIN 57098.

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 that the Growth and Skills Levy increases levels of apprenticeship start numbers.

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

This government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and more opportunities for young people in England and support the industrial strategy.

In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.

We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.

From April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs. The first wave of these courses will be called apprenticeship units and they will be available in critical skills areas such as artificial intelligence, digital and engineering.

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 restricting access to Level 7 apprenticeship funding for small professional services firms on productivity, SME growth, and regional economies.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question UIN 57098.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of the removal of Level 7 apprenticeship funding on mature entrants and career changers aged over 25 seeking to retrain in professions such as accountancy.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question UIN 57098.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has considered retaining Level 7 apprenticeship funding for SMEs through a targeted exemption, capped support, or alternative funding mechanism.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question UIN 57098.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that English language learning provision is accessible to those who require it, including individuals with no recourse to public funds.

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

Through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) supports adults aged 19+ in England who speak English as a second or additional language to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. ASF co-funds or fully-funds ESOL provision subject to the eligibility requirements laid out in the ASF rules. ESOL allows learners to develop the English language skills they need for everyday life, work or further learning.

Currently, approximately 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities (SAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents, the allocation of the ASF to learning providers, and deciding how the ASF best meets the needs of their local economy. 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. The DWP has not made recent changes to the way the ASF operates regarding ESOL.

The DWP is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas, where colleges and learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their ASF allocations from the department to meet the needs of their communities. Where ASF funded provision is not available the Flexible Support Fund is sometimes used to procure ESOL provision that enables individuals to move into sustained employment, increase their earnings whilst in work, or move closer to the labour market. We also give providers in receipt of an ASF allocation from the department the opportunity to earn an additional 10% on top of their ASF allocation for over-delivery to support growth in adult skills participation, by giving them the confidence to increase the volume of training and invest in high value skills provision.

In non-devolved areas, learners earning less than 25,750 (annual gross salary), are eligible for full funding through the DWP’s ASF. This directly supports social mobility by allowing individuals to move out of unemployment or progress further in their career. The ASF also funds providers to help adult learners to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning. This includes Learner Support, to support learners with a specific financial hardship, and Learning Support to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

The learner’s immigration permission in the UK may have a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition. Public funds does not include education or education funding. Therefore, this does not affect a learner’s eligibility, which must be decided under the normal eligibility conditions. Detailed eligibility rules are published online.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on local authorities of funding changes for English for speakers of other languages programmes.

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

Through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) supports adults aged 19+ in England who speak English as a second or additional language to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. ASF co-funds or fully-funds ESOL provision subject to the eligibility requirements laid out in the ASF rules. ESOL allows learners to develop the English language skills they need for everyday life, work or further learning.

Currently, approximately 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities (SAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents, the allocation of the ASF to learning providers, and deciding how the ASF best meets the needs of their local economy. 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. The DWP has not made recent changes to the way the ASF operates regarding ESOL.

The DWP is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas, where colleges and learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their ASF allocations from the department to meet the needs of their communities. Where ASF funded provision is not available the Flexible Support Fund is sometimes used to procure ESOL provision that enables individuals to move into sustained employment, increase their earnings whilst in work, or move closer to the labour market. We also give providers in receipt of an ASF allocation from the department the opportunity to earn an additional 10% on top of their ASF allocation for over-delivery to support growth in adult skills participation, by giving them the confidence to increase the volume of training and invest in high value skills provision.

In non-devolved areas, learners earning less than 25,750 (annual gross salary), are eligible for full funding through the DWP’s ASF. This directly supports social mobility by allowing individuals to move out of unemployment or progress further in their career. The ASF also funds providers to help adult learners to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning. This includes Learner Support, to support learners with a specific financial hardship, and Learning Support to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

The learner’s immigration permission in the UK may have a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition. Public funds does not include education or education funding. Therefore, this does not affect a learner’s eligibility, which must be decided under the normal eligibility conditions. Detailed eligibility rules are published online.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the mean and mode amounts of consolation payments are, in any years his Department has data for.

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

The number of consolatory payments authorised and the mean amounts per financial year to benefit claimants in the last ten years are in the table (below).

The department records aggregated data for each quarter rather than individual level payments, therefore we are not able to supply a mode amount paid without additional work which would require disproportionate cost. Consolatory payments recognise personal impacts such as gross inconvenience or severe distress.

Complaints to DWP have increased year on year in-line with increases in caseloads, as well as the department continuing to improve its handling processes. The rise in special payments made to recognise impacts on customers’ well‑being, reflects better acknowledgement of when service has fallen short.

Notes:

• Data is rounded to the nearest 5
• This data is available from internal operational datasets, but not from an Official or National statistic quality source

The department does not keep a breakdown of consolatory payments awarded by region.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many consolation payments have been offered, per annum for the last ten years, to benefits claimants whose cases are mishandled or excessively delayed.

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

The number of consolatory payments authorised and the mean amounts per financial year to benefit claimants in the last ten years are in the table (below).

The department records aggregated data for each quarter rather than individual level payments, therefore we are not able to supply a mode amount paid without additional work which would require disproportionate cost. Consolatory payments recognise personal impacts such as gross inconvenience or severe distress.

Complaints to DWP have increased year on year in-line with increases in caseloads, as well as the department continuing to improve its handling processes. The rise in special payments made to recognise impacts on customers’ well‑being, reflects better acknowledgement of when service has fallen short.

Notes:

• Data is rounded to the nearest 5
• This data is available from internal operational datasets, but not from an Official or National statistic quality source

The department does not keep a breakdown of consolatory payments awarded by region.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department keeps a regional breakdown of the number of consolation payments made.

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

The number of consolatory payments authorised and the mean amounts per financial year to benefit claimants in the last ten years are in the table (below).

The department records aggregated data for each quarter rather than individual level payments, therefore we are not able to supply a mode amount paid without additional work which would require disproportionate cost. Consolatory payments recognise personal impacts such as gross inconvenience or severe distress.

Complaints to DWP have increased year on year in-line with increases in caseloads, as well as the department continuing to improve its handling processes. The rise in special payments made to recognise impacts on customers’ well‑being, reflects better acknowledgement of when service has fallen short.

Notes:

• Data is rounded to the nearest 5
• This data is available from internal operational datasets, but not from an Official or National statistic quality source

The department does not keep a breakdown of consolatory payments awarded by region.

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 apprenticeship programmes and technical training in the vehicle repair and salvage sector, in the context of the skills gap in the industry.

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

Several apprenticeships, including Level 2 Autocare Technician, Level 3 Accident Repair technician and Level 4 Vehicle Damage Assessor, are available to support employers and learners in the vehicle repair and salvage sector to develop the skills they need.

To support apprenticeship opportunities in all sectors, this government is investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.

For 16-19-year-olds, the T Level in Engineering and Manufacturing for Maintenance, Installation and Repair includes a specialism in service maintenance and repair activities for light and electric vehicles, helping to equip students with the skills needed for these in-demand sectors.

We have recently closed the consultation seeking views on our proposals on the Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways. We will be publishing the government’s response to the consultation in due course, which will set out our plans for V Levels, T Levels and qualifications at Level 2.

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 including trade union representatives to the Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel.

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

The Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel is made up of young people aged 18-24 from diverse backgrounds who bring valuable lived experience of overcoming barriers to accessing and participating in education, employment or training. Its purpose is to provide direct insight from young people with lived experience of not being in education, employment or training, ensuring their voices shape policy development.

The panel has been established jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Education (DfE) in collaboration with our partners, Youth Futures Foundation (YFF) and Youth Employment UK (YEUK), who are responsible for recruiting and safeguarding young people involved.

DWP recognises the important role that the trade unions can play in a modern workplace, including the benefits that effective engagement between employers and unions can bring. The Department continues to engage regularly with trade unions on a range of areas of policy development.

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 implementing the Growth and Skills Levy; and when can businesses expect to see changes come into effect.

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

This government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and more opportunities for young people in England and support the industrial strategy.

In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.

We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.

From April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs. The first wave of these courses will be called apprenticeship units and they will be available in critical skills areas such as artificial intelligence, digital and engineering.

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 reviewing the enforcement processes of the Child Maintenance Service.

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

The Child Maintenance Service has a range of strong enforcement powers that are designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and ensure children get the financial support they deserve. These powers include the ability to deduct directly from the paying parent’s earnings or bank accounts and disqualifications from holding or obtaining driving licenses and passports.

The Government has announced our intention to reform the Child Maintenance when parliamentary time allows system. We will remove Direct Pay and move to a single, strengthened Collect and Pay system which will allow the CMS to monitor all payments, identify missed or partial payments immediately, and take faster enforcement action. Ahead of this change, the CMS is already moving non-compliant parents more quickly from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay.

In March 2025, CMS established a process to manage high- and medium-risk cases using predictive analytics, resulting in earlier identification of at-risk cases and enabling caseworker intervention at the earliest opportunity where indicators of non-compliance are identified.

To further improve arrears collection, the CMS will introduce administrative liability orders to replace the current court-based process. This will streamline enforcement, reduce delays, and help the CMS act more quickly against parents who avoid their responsibilities. Work with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government is underway, and regulations will be brought to Parliament as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the enforcement processes of the Child Maintenance Service.

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

The Child Maintenance Service has a range of strong enforcement powers that are designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and ensure children get the financial support they deserve. These powers include the ability to deduct directly from the paying parent’s earnings or bank accounts and disqualifications from holding or obtaining driving licenses and passports.

The Government has announced our intention to reform the Child Maintenance when parliamentary time allows system. We will remove Direct Pay and move to a single, strengthened Collect and Pay system which will allow the CMS to monitor all payments, identify missed or partial payments immediately, and take faster enforcement action. Ahead of this change, the CMS is already moving non-compliant parents more quickly from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay.

In March 2025, CMS established a process to manage high- and medium-risk cases using predictive analytics, resulting in earlier identification of at-risk cases and enabling caseworker intervention at the earliest opportunity where indicators of non-compliance are identified.

To further improve arrears collection, the CMS will introduce administrative liability orders to replace the current court-based process. This will streamline enforcement, reduce delays, and help the CMS act more quickly against parents who avoid their responsibilities. Work with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government is underway, and regulations will be brought to Parliament as soon as possible.

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 effectiveness of requiring lower earning parents to take the other parent to court for child maintenance payments rated on income worth more than £3000 a week.

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

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates maintenance using the paying parent’s gross weekly income up to £3,000, ensuring contributions are fair and lower earners are protected through flat or nil rates. Where income exceeds £3,000, the receiving parent can apply to the courts for additional “top-up” maintenance beyond the statutory cap.

The CMS formula was introduced in 2012. At that time, Parliament chose to leave securing additional maintenance assessed on income over the level of a cap set at annual earnings limit of around £156,000 to the family courts, via top-up orders, as income of this magnitude tends to be generated and invested via more complex financial mechanisms than the administrative service is designed to handle. The cap therefore ensures that the statutory scheme remains a simple, administratively efficient formula, and the courts handle bespoke, higher value disputes.

All cases can secure substantial maintenance payments via the existing administrative system, and for the vast majority of cases this will be their only source of maintenance. For the small minority where their former partner has exceptionally high income, the system is designed to ensure that court involvement is available, by limiting that involvement to cases where judicial discretion is genuinely required.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

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

DWP policy is clear that a hotel may only be booked for clear business reasons and with approval from the staff member’s manager. The policy also puts limits on the cost of hotels, which naturally excludes premium hotels.

The total number nights spent in hotels in 2024/25 was 73,893. Information on hotel star rating is not routinely recorded in our system, but any stays must comply with the relevant departmental cost limit.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) completion and (b) achievement rates were for cyber security apprenticeships at (i) Level 3, (ii) Level 4 and (iii) Level 6 in each year since 2020.

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

The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’ are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/

Apprenticeship retention and achievement rates for cyber security apprenticeships can be found here:

• 2021/22 to 2023/24 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c4ef515c-602b-41dc-8709-08de69749f74

• 2018/19 to 2020/21 academic years are published in an underlying file accompanying the release: Apprenticeship Achievement Rates Standards and Frameworks

We do not produce data on the number of employers who have offered cyber security apprenticeships.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employers have offered cyber security apprenticeships in each year since 2020.

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

The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’ are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/

Apprenticeship retention and achievement rates for cyber security apprenticeships can be found here:

• 2021/22 to 2023/24 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c4ef515c-602b-41dc-8709-08de69749f74

• 2018/19 to 2020/21 academic years are published in an underlying file accompanying the release: Apprenticeship Achievement Rates Standards and Frameworks

We do not produce data on the number of employers who have offered cyber security apprenticeships.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when are the private contracts for PIP assessments reviewed; and what ongoing scrutiny does his Department carry out on these contractors.

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

The Functional Assessment Service (FAS) contracts (which include the PIP assessment service) are reviewed on an ongoing basis as part of comprehensive contract and performance management undertaken by the Department, ensuring contractors are held to account in fulfilling their contractual obligations.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department incentivises private contractors to increase face-to-face assessments.

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

Functional Assessment Service (FAS) contracts set clear targets that incentivise delivery of all assessments. Contracts also include a requirement for the delivery of face to face assessments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of payments were made through the Child Maintenance Service collect and pay system in each of the last three years.

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

The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025, and detailed quarterly statistics on the number of CMS Arrangements available on Stat-Xplore.

The table CMS Arrangement 1: Service Type and Paying Status by Quarter shows the number of CMS arrangements by service type for each quarter from March 2016 to September 2025. The table provides figures for the number of Collect & Pay arrangements for which the Paying Parent paid some child maintenance during the quarter, and those where no payment was made.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many directors with responsibility for human resources are employed across their department and its executive agencies; and how many of those directors hold professional HR qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent professional bodies.

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

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 prevent economic abuse of women occurring through child maintenance; what safeguards the Child Maintenance Service has in place to identify and respond to such cases; whether he plans to introduce further measures; and what the timetable is for implementing measures to strengthen protections for affected women and children.

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

The CMS has access to resources which help caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations that support victims and survivors of domestic abuse. All CMS caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process and domestic abuse plan which includes steps to support and recognise domestic abuse, including economic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.

The Government’s focus is to deliver a policy that meaningfully protects parents who are victims of domestic abuse. We believe the best way to achieve that is through the removal of the Direct Pay service. Under the reformed service, all cases will be managed in a single service where the CMS monitors and transfers all payments. Reforms to the CMS will provide a safer service for victims and survivors by preventing unwanted contact with the other parent and removing opportunities for abuse that currently exist in Direct Pay, including the need for receiving parents to report non-compliance.

Our intention remains to remove Direct Pay, and we will do so as soon as parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, we are strengthening our support for victims/survivors, for example by making it easier for parents to switch to the Collect and Pay service and being clearer in our communication about what support is available for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and how to access it.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost was of centrally provided career coaching, career transition, or redeployment support accessed by Department for Work and Pensions staff in each calendar quarter from Q1 2023 to the most recent quarter for which data is available.

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

The table below covers the period from April 2023 to December 2025 for spend relating to centrally provided career coaching, career transition, or redeployment support accessed by DWP employees and March 2023 to August 2025 for spend relating to centrally provided career coaching within Talent, accessed by DWP employees.

* For the Leaders Like You programme in Year 1 (2023), payments to Ernst & Young were made monthly. For ease of presentation, the 2023 figures are shown quarterly in the table. From 2024 the payment changed from monthly to a single annual invoice.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to prevent (a) equipment and (b) technology funded through the Flexible Support Fund from being (i) sold and (ii) misused by recipients.

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

The Department has strong safeguards in place to ensure that equipment and technology funded through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) are not sold or misused.

Work coaches carefully assess each request to ensure it is reasonable, represents good value for money, and is necessary to support a customer to move into work, and that no alternative funding is available.

After an award is issued, work coaches check that the item is used as intended and will seek an explanation — or consider repayment — if concerns arise, such as training not being attended. Independent post-award checks add a further layer of assurance.

Work coaches are expected to meet their financial responsibilities and follow-up action must be taken post the FSF award. This ensures that action is taken to recover funds spent inappropriately.

In addition, a new digital FSF application system, due to launch nationally by the end of March, will strengthen oversight by providing improved data and enabling more detailed scrutiny of awards.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Jobcentre Plus conducts post-award checks on items provided through the Flexible Support Fund.

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

The Department has strong safeguards in place to ensure that equipment and technology funded through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) are not sold or misused.

Work coaches carefully assess each request to ensure it is reasonable, represents good value for money, and is necessary to support a customer to move into work, and that no alternative funding is available.

After an award is issued, work coaches check that the item is used as intended and will seek an explanation — or consider repayment — if concerns arise, such as training not being attended. Independent post-award checks add a further layer of assurance.

Work coaches are expected to meet their financial responsibilities and follow-up action must be taken post the FSF award. This ensures that action is taken to recover funds spent inappropriately.

In addition, a new digital FSF application system, due to launch nationally by the end of March, will strengthen oversight by providing improved data and enabling more detailed scrutiny of awards.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals have been ordered to make repayments to the Department after being convicted of benefit fraud in a) 2025 and b) 2026.

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

We take action to recover debt on every conviction for benefit fraud through our debt recovery processes or through recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act where appropriate.

The fraud classification on our Debt Management system includes people who have accepted a caution or an administrative penalty, as well as those who have been convicted. We cannot identify if someone has been specifically convicted of benefit fraud without looking at each individual case.

We do however report on the number of prosecutions yearly in the Annual Report and Accounts. Last years can be found here: DWP Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 25, page 114.

Figures for year ending 25/26 will be published in summer 2026.

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 the implementation of the Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 in England and Wales.

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

Work is ongoing to implement Administrative Liability Orders (ALO).

While Child Maintenance is reserved, enforcement of CM arrears in Scotland requires using the Scottish judicial system, which is devolved.

We are working closely with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to ensure enforcement action resulting from ALOs operates effectively across the UK, and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament to implement the measures across England, Scotland and Wales, as soon as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish (a) the total amount owed to parents in child maintenance payment arrears and (b) how much this has increased by over the last 10 years.

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

The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)and the latest statistics are currently available to September 2025. Table 5 of the latest National tables shows the total amount of child maintenance that Paying Parents should have paid since the CMS began, and how much of that has not been paid at the end of every quarter, from March 2015 to September 2025.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming a UK State Pension whilst living abroad by the country they are living in.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

There were around 1.1 million recipients of the UK State Pension living overseas outside the United Kingdom as of the quarter ending August 2025. DWP Stat-Xplore. A full breakdown by country of residence is also available via Stat-Xplore.

These figures relate to State Pension cases paid outside the UK, administered by the Department for Work and Pensions and cover State Pensions accrued in Great Britain only. State Pension cases administered separately in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities are not included.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current average processing time is for Mandatory Reconsiderations for (a) Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children and (b) other disability‑related benefits.

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

Disability Living Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Disability Living Allowance for children was 121.7 working days.

We have approved overtime and reallocated decision makers to clear our outstanding Disability Living Allowance Child MR cases more quickly. This will help us to reduce our clearance times.

Attendance Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Attendance Allowance was 29.4 working days.

Personal Independence Payment

PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. They can be found by accessing the latest release and opening the excel tables. Tables 4A – 4Biii contain information on PIP MR median clearance times.

Employment and Support Allowance

ESA Work Capability Assessment MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. They can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to help decrease the amount of time to assess Mandatory Reconsiderations for Disability Living Allowance for children.

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

Disability Living Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Disability Living Allowance for children was 121.7 working days.

We have approved overtime and reallocated decision makers to clear our outstanding Disability Living Allowance Child MR cases more quickly. This will help us to reduce our clearance times.

Attendance Allowance

From April 2025 to January 2026, the average actual clearance time for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) for Attendance Allowance was 29.4 working days.

Personal Independence Payment

PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. They can be found by accessing the latest release and opening the excel tables. Tables 4A – 4Biii contain information on PIP MR median clearance times.

Employment and Support Allowance

ESA Work Capability Assessment MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. They can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to engage disabled people in the process of the Timms Review of the Personal Independence Payment system.

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

The Timms Review is being co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.

I am chairing the Review alongside my fellow co-chairs Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We have appointed a steering group of a dozen people, responsible for overseeing co-production of the Review.

To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, almost all of the steering group has lived experience of a disability or long-term health condition.

The group benefits from diverse perspectives from a range of backgrounds, but it is not intended to be representative of the UK’s disabled community—no single group could represent all perspectives or experiences of disability. Instead, the steering group will shape a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices. The steering group are currently shaping the programme of participation as a priority, and we will provide an update on this soon.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what checks does his Department carry out into the ongoing circumstances of those claiming Carer's Allowance.

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

When an award of Carer’s Allowance is made, the customer is issued with a written notification letter advising of changes in circumstances they need to declare that may affect their entitlement. This is to ensure DWP holds the correct details for them. This letter also details how to contact Carer’s Allowance to declare any change, via contact number, postal address and GOV.UK details for the online service.

Annual benefit uprating letters advise the customer on the new rates of Carer’s Allowance due to be paid, any change to earnings limits, and remind the customer of the changes they need to notify to DWP, and how to do so. DWP has been working with partners such as Carer’s UK to support customers better in understanding fully their obligation to report changes in their circumstances, including employment.

DWP takes a range of action to ensure the veracity of benefit awards, including:

• Targeted Case Reviews (TCRs): DWP conducts reviews to verify that customer circumstances (income, savings, and household) match their records.
• Data Matching and Analytics: DWP uses data from HM Revenue & Customs to verify employment and income, using the Verify Earnings and Pension (VEP) system to help prevent fraud and error.
• New Legal Powers: The government is introducing legislation - such as the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act - to give DWP enhanced powers to require banks to share data that may indicate potential overpayments.
• Internal Process Reviews (IPRs): DWP conducts these reviews to ensure that interactions with customers follow correct operational processes, using feedback to make improvements.

Found: priorities for third-party deductions from benefit payments • Direct deductions is a Department for Work and Pensions

Found: efficiency installations HC 1229 61st Financial sustainability of children’s care homes HC 1233 60th DWP

Found: Employers and even DWP staff are often unfamiliar with the process of checking an applicant's right

Found: MHCLG, DHSC, DfE, DWP, Home Office) to support consistent Covenant delivery.

Found: mitigate risk and move to an agreement which would qualify under Department of Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: efficiency installations HC 1229 61st Financial sustainability of children’s care homes HC 1233 60th DWP

Found: Additionally, we and many organisations raised significant concerns at the proposals in the recent MHCLG and DWP

Found: Greater use could have been made of veterans’ databases, Railcard data, DWP records, and internal MOD

Found: trying to think through how we modernise and update our services—believe you me, that needs doing at DWP

Found: Catherine Little: There is a shared service cluster, which is run by the DWP.

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to Carer’s Allowance

Found: We see people temporarily lose access to public funds as the DWP are unable to get clear confirmation

Found: access to benefits, particularly those benefits that are disability-related as the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: demonstrates systemic failures in inter-departmental coordination between the Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: including the Home Office, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: The financial burden will simply shift from The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to the local

Found: How has the change from using the International Passenger Survey (IPS) to DWP/HMRC data gone?

Found: See DWP, Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 12 June 2025 (15 July 2025), https://www.gov.uk

Found: . ** This figure includes days funded from both Ministry of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: group, chaired by an industry representative, and supported by five departments (the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: On the question of benefit analysis, the DWP has a series of requirements to make sure that when it

Found: We were hoping it would include the police, the wider DWP and the Home Office, because there are clear

Found: It works the other way too, in my experience, when you go into the DWP with a lawyer on your team and

Found: It works the other way too, in my experience, when you go into the DWP with a lawyer on your team and

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the link between individuals holding a criminal record and (a) unemployment and (b) PIP claimants.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice does not hold specific information on the link between having a criminal record and (a) unemployment or (b) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants.

We know that employment can reduce the likelihood of reoffending by up to nine percentage points in the year following release. This is why the Government has committed to supporting ex-offenders into work, including through launching regional Employment Councils, which bring businesses together with prisons, probation and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to support offenders in the community.

We recognise that having a criminal record can impact on someone’s employment opportunities, but it should not be an automatic barrier to employment. The criminal records disclosure framework is designed to balance rehabilitation with maintaining safeguarding and public protection principles. Our guidance for employers makes clear that recruitment decisions should be based on a balanced assessment of relevance, context, and risk.

DWP also does not hold data on the criminal record of claimants to PIP as this, together with their employment status, does not form part of the eligibility criteria for the benefit. We continue to work across Government to improve data-sharing and build a clearer picture of people’s employment support needs.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average wait is for a tribunal date to be set to appeal decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested is not held centrally.

Waiting times are calculated from receipt of the appeal to the final disposal decision. The final outcome of any appeal is not necessarily achieved at its first listed hearing so we are unable to extract data about waiting times for tribunal hearing dates.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest wait has been for a tribunal date to be set to appeal decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested is not held centrally.

Waiting times are calculated from receipt of the appeal to the final disposal decision. The final outcome of any appeal is not necessarily achieved at its first listed hearing so we are unable to extract data about waiting times for tribunal hearing dates.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the rise in Employer's National Insurance Contributions on businesses hiring women and young people.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) in March 2026, which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. The OBR expect that employment levels will rise in every year of the forecast, reaching 35.3m in 2030-31.

The Government is committed to supporting young people to earn and learn. That is why we have recently announced that we will offer a guaranteed job to young people on Universal Credit, who are unemployed for over 18 months. This will provide an opportunity for young people to gain essential skills and experience and prevent the damaging effects of long-term unemployment. This initiative forms a key part of the Government’s Youth Guarantee and will build upon existing employment support and sector-based work academies (SWAPs) currently being delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Employers can claim a number of employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices. This means employers will pay no employer NICs for apprentices under 25 or employees under 21 on earnings up to £50,270.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide guidance to local authorities on working in partnership with Warm Welcome Spaces located in heritage faith buildings as part of local wellbeing and community support provision.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We recognise the value of religious heritage buildings in local communities and the important role they play in the UK’s national story. Listed places of worship are far more than bricks and mortar; they are at the hearts of our communities, serving as vital hubs for food banks, warm spaces, and social care. The new £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund will bring support for these important buildings into line with other heritage assets.

Warm Welcome Spaces can support improving social connection and reducing loneliness. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have an active partnership with the Warm Welcome Campaign, aimed at strengthening community connection and supporting customer wellbeing. DWP has promoted Warm Welcome widely across the Jobcentre network so colleagues, including those in Local Authorities, are aware of the offer and can confidently guide customers to local Warm Welcome Spaces.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Department for Work and Pensions about the adequacy of levels of support available to clean energy SMEs, to ensure they are able to take on apprentices.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by £725 million additional investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners in England and support the industrial strategy.

To support SMEs in all sectors to take on apprentices, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the next academic year. This change will make it easier for those employers to engage with apprenticeships by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers.

As set out in the Clean Energy Jobs Plan, DESNZ works closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and Skills England to ensure the skills system, including apprenticeships, delivers the workforce needed for our clean energy mission.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Department for Work and Pensions about support for apprentices to transition into the clean energy sector.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by £725 million additional investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners in England and support the industrial strategy.

To support SMEs in all sectors to take on apprentices, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the next academic year. This change will make it easier for those employers to engage with apprenticeships by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers.

As set out in the Clean Energy Jobs Plan, DESNZ works closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and Skills England to ensure the skills system, including apprenticeships, delivers the workforce needed for our clean energy mission.

Found: known as the Crisis and Resilience Fund that is the subject of guidance published by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: references to certain legacy benefits that are to be abolished by the Department for Work and Pension (“DWP

Found: The Convention was previously published by the Department for Work and Pensions as “Cm No. 7049 (2007

Found: See also: Department for Work and Pensions, ‘Universal credit: Support for a maximum of two children—information

Found: This is an anti-fraud measure, and the NI number is verified against Department of Work and Pensions (DWP

Mandate Judicial Care Before Enforcement; Legally Enforce Protected Earnings; Assess Eligibility Factors of Mothers & Fathers. End Coercive, Pejorative Threat-Based Dehumanising “Paying Parent” Language. Stop the Enforcement of Disputed Cases. Restore Proportionality, Legal Principle and Due Process

Found: Reformation of DWP Child Maintenance Service. Redress Legality, Virtue & Justice

Found: departments and three are funded directly by HM Treasury Synergy – 250,000 users Lead department: DWP

Found: have recourse to public funds, welfare estimates are included and based on internal data provided by DWP

Found: have recourse to public funds, welfare estimates are included and based on internal data provided by DWP

Found: Fifty-ninth report: MoJ Follow up: Autumn 2025 11 Ministry of Justice Sixtieth report: DWP

Found: Fifty-ninth report: MoJ Follow up: Autumn 2025 11 Ministry of Justice Sixtieth report: DWP

Found: Transport (DfT) being removed from the analysis, as well as the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: GLOSSARY Acronym Definition BOP Bridges Outcomes Partnerships DCMS Department for Culture, Media & Sport DWP

Found: 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 2 0.4 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 0.5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Dept. for Work and Pensions DWP

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Found: Discussions with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and other

Found: financial officers It will also be helpful to board members and governors. 1 From 1st April 2026 DWP

Found: 14.894 30.83 35.968 33.202 56.917 20.158 22.925 38.298 42.553 19.149 67.727 70.964 70.313 55.953 2025 DWP

Found: yielded a £97m (29%) increase in counter fraud outcomes compared to the previous year (excluding DWP

Found: The Convention was previously published by the Department for Work and Pensions as “Cm No. 7049 (2007

Found: FROMLORDKATZMBEGOVERNMENTWHIPS’OFFICE GOVERNMENTWHIPCO,DEFRA,DWP,FCDO,HO,HOUSEOFLORDS LONDONSWIAOPW Telephone0

Found: your husband, wife or civil partner has died, you may qualify for this support from the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Living Allowance for children (DLAC) in Scotland that was previously delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: only covers UK Government departments responsible for reserved matters, such as the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: helps foster engagement and dialogue between the Welsh Government, Disabled People’s Organisations, the DWP

Found: status, if eligible can register with HMRC to receive payments via the Tax-Free Childcare scheme and DWP

Found: As such, the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed to Welsh Government that WGLG (FE) payments

Found: (DWP) so that eligible parents can use Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare