Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 26 March (HL15523), whether they monitor the percentage of new style Employment and Support Allowance applications that are made for the primary condition of poor mental health.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department monitors the primary conditions recorded for new style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) applications. While primary conditions at application are not routinely published, these can be proxied through analysis of the claimants who are in the assessment phase of ESA, which is the first three months of the claim. The percentage of claimants in this phase with the main disabling condition ‘mental and behavioural’ is available on Stat-Xplore and reproduced in the table below:
Percentage of ESA Assessment Phase caseloads by main disabling condition:
| August 2024 | August 2025 |
ESA Assessment Phase with main disabling condition 'mental and behavioural disorders' | 24% | 24% |
ESA Assessment Phase with main disabling condition other than 'mental and behavioural disorders' | 76% | 76% |
* The latest available data is for August 2025.
* All new applications made to new style ESA are placed into “Assessment Phase”. This lasts for the first 13 weeks of an ESA claim.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made, in consultation with the Health and Safety Executive, of the potential impact of the Construction Industry Training Board levy on health and safety outcomes in the construction sector; what consideration his Department has given to the potential impact of the Construction Industry Training Board levy on the profitability of construction firms; and what factors have informed the decision not to undertake an assessment of those impacts following the transfer of responsibility for the Board on 16 September 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Meeting the skills needs of the construction workforce is vital to delivering the Government’s Plan for Change and the Industrial Strategy. An independent review of the Industry Training Boards (ITBs) was carried out by Mark Farmer in 2023, which considered their role and impact. This review highlighted the ITBs’ important role in developing industry skills, raising competency and improving productivity. It also identified a strong case for reform to ensure the ITBs are equipped to meet the workforce challenges facing the construction and engineering construction sectors.
The Department for Work and Pensions is considering reforms to the ITBs in line with the recommendations of this review. This includes launching a consultation on 23 March 2026 seeking views on a proposal to bring together the Construction Industry Training Board and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board together in a single body, to enhance their impact and efficiency in meeting employers’ skills needs.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) companion animal care functions and (b) informal caregiving on labour market participation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has made no assessment of pet‑related factors on labour market participation, productivity or flexibility.
The Government does not collect or hold information on the impact that pet ownership has on the labour market.
With regard to comparative assessments between companion animal care functions and informal caregiving, the Department has made no such assessment.
However, the Department has published analysis and research on informal care and employment. This can be found in the Informal Carers and Employment: Summary Report of a Systematic Review, available at: Informal carers and employment: summary report of a systematic review - GOV.UK
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 pet ownership on a) productivity, b) labour market participation and c) flexibility.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has made no assessment of pet‑related factors on labour market participation, productivity or flexibility.
The Government does not collect or hold information on the impact that pet ownership has on the labour market.
With regard to comparative assessments between companion animal care functions and informal caregiving, the Department has made no such assessment.
However, the Department has published analysis and research on informal care and employment. This can be found in the Informal Carers and Employment: Summary Report of a Systematic Review, available at: Informal carers and employment: summary report of a systematic review - GOV.UK
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of levels of underemployment among refugees with a right to work; and what steps his Department is taking to improve skills recognition and employment matching for such individuals.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government agrees that we need to make full use of the skills and qualifications of refugees. We want everyone who can to succeed in work, contribute to economic growth and have roles which align with their potential.
That is why DWP work coaches are trained to support claimants, including refugees, into work looking both at how their existing skills can be best matched to employment vacancies as well as identifying any skill gaps and providing support to address these.
For those who have qualifications obtained overseas, work coaches signpost to the European National Information Centre (ENIC), who provide guidance and advice on getting foreign qualifications recognised in the UK.
In addition, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. As part of this, we will improve our support for employers to help them find the right candidates to fill their vacancies.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many departmental employees were on performance management plans in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to thorough performance management and has in place robust processes to ensure that those who fall below the expected standards are supported to improve in a timely manner. To this end, there have been:
406 employees have been placed on Performance Action Logs in 2024/25, and 410 in 2025/26. We do not hold data for the financial year 2023-2024
Those who cannot improve their performance, despite this additional support, may be dismissed.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Outdoor Learning Specialist apprenticeships are projected to start in the current funding year; how long the standard has been operational; and what he estimates to be the cost saving associated with defunding the Level 5 standard.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Outdoor Learning Specialist standard was approved for delivery from February 2022.
The department publishes a range of apprenticeships data, including on apprenticeship starts, and those for the current academic year are published here: Apprenticeships, Academic year 2025/26 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK.
The department does not publish projected starts or estimated cost savings.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how universal credit payments are being managed to ensure timely support.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The latest monthly statistics on payment timeliness are available in the Households on Universal Credit section of the official quarterly Universal Credit Statistics published on 17 February 2026, with more detailed statistics available in tables 5 and 6 of the Households on Universal Credit dataset on Stat-Xplore.
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: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for a support for mortgage interest claim; and what proportion of claims have been approved over the last two years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In answer to your first question, we do not record processing times for Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) Loans. This is because the start date of the process is not consistently defined or easily identifiable. There is flexibility built into the timings of the process to meet the needs of the customer. As SMI is a loan, those offered the loan can choose to accept or decline at any time and payments can be backdated to the day someone first became eligible.
On your second question, all eligible benefit recipients are offered a loan when they become eligible for SMI and they can choose to accept or decline. We publish the number of households receiving SMI on a bi-annual basis here.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 introduce a digital application process for Disability Living Allowance for children.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We keep all our services under review including Disability Living Allowance (Child). As part of this approach to continuous improvement, we regularly consider opportunities to improve customer service.