Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
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 Hartlepool.
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.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average response time is for the Pension Service.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Information regarding the performance of The Pension Service can be found in the Annual Reports and Accounts 2024-25 linked here - DWP Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 25
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues regarding expanding work-based training capacity for sustainable built environment careers.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are working closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on a range of sustainable built environment careers to ensure that the move to a clean economy benefits us all.
We are contributing labour market insight and employer engagement expertise to DESNZ’s work on the Clean Jobs Employer Handbook, which is being developed to help employers recruit into green and net zero roles.
We have also established support for our customers to apply for clean energy jobs. Our Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) has utilised employer and partner expertise to create digital resources for work coaches and employer advisors, so they are aware of the clean energy job opportunities available to our customers. In late 2025, SRT partnered with Energy and Utility Skills to develop a ‘sector-entry’ pilot. This commenced in early 2026 and supports entrants into the sector.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Universal Credit claimant count has been in (a) Leiston and (b) the IP16 postcode area in each month since January 2022.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of people on Universal Credit, for the Postcode Area IP16, and the Ward Aldeburgh & Leiston or Leiston Jobcentre Plus office, are published in the People on Universal Credit dataset on Stat-Xplore, and are currently available to February 2026.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 exemptions and higher mileage allowances for Motability Scheme users with significant healthcare travel needs, including applying the previous average annual allowance of 12,000 miles per annum.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Responsibility for the terms and administration of the Scheme sits with Motability Foundation and its Board of Governors.
The changes to the leasing package were announced on 26 March and include reducing the mileage allowance from 20,000 per year to 10,000 per year. Changes only apply to new leases and there are no changes to the mileage allowance of existing leases. Motability Foundation have advised that approximately 75% of customers on the Scheme already use less miles than the proposed new mileage allowance. They have acknowledged that there will be an impact on some customers and are considering if the impact can be mitigated in some limited circumstances.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 completion rate of apprenticeships since the introduction of end point assessment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’ are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publications.
Academic Years | Link |
2017/18 and 2018/19 | |
2019/20 and 2020/21 | |
2021/22 and 2022/23 | |
2023/24 and 2024/25 |
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department collects information on whether claimants have caring responsibilities when they register for out of work benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
During the application process for Universal Credit the applicant is asked whether they are caring for someone with a health condition or disability. Information is not collected as part of a claim for New Style Jobseekers Allowance as it is not relevant for the award.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has he made of the impact of the reduction in mileage allowance under the Mobility scheme from 1 July 2026 on disabled people living in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Responsibility for the terms and administration of the Scheme sits with Motability Foundation and its Board of Governors.
The changes to the leasing package were announced on 26 March and include reducing the mileage allowance from 20,000 per year to 10,000 per year. Changes only apply to new leases and there are no changes to the mileage allowance of existing leases. Motability Foundation have advised that approximately 75% of customers on the Scheme already use less miles than the proposed new mileage allowance. They have acknowledged that there will be an impact on some customers and are considering if the impact can be mitigated in some limited circumstances.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of amending the Social Security Administration (Representation) Regulations 1999 to allow appointees to manage child trust funds on behalf of mentally incapable young adults aged 18 and over.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP appointee system gives access to social security benefits only. It does not give access to monies held in Child Trust Funds. Where the owner of the fund is incapable of accessing the funds themselves, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides for how a third party can do that on their behalf, namely, through the Court of Protection.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Department provides work capability assessment contractors with additional funding for them to award bonuses or performance related salary uplifts.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Functional Assessment Services contracts (including delivery of Work Capability Assessments) are outsourced to four prime contractors. All reward and remuneration to employees, including any potential incentivisation to meet contractual requirements, is for contractors to determine.