Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons why the youth unemployment rate in the UK was above the OECD average as of June 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has been rising for too long, which is why we are tackling this crisis of opportunity with new energy and determination.
As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are developing a Youth Guarantee. Our Youth Guarantee will ensure eligible 18-to-21-year-olds have access to education, training, an apprenticeship - or ultimately guaranteed paid work if they cannot find a job.
In addition, an independent investigation has been launched to identify how we can go further to tackle the root causes of youth activity. Led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the report will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability. The Terms of Reference can be found here.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is he taking to measure progress in reducing youth unemployment relative to OECD comparators.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has been rising for too long, which is why we are tackling this crisis of opportunity with new energy and determination.
As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are developing a Youth Guarantee. Our Youth Guarantee will ensure eligible 18-to-21-year-olds have access to education, training, an apprenticeship - or ultimately guaranteed paid work if they cannot find a job.
In addition, an independent investigation has been launched to identify how we can go further to tackle the root causes of youth activity. Led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the report will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability. The Terms of Reference can be found here.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 value of unclaimed benefits by each benefit in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Oldham.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 30 October 2025 the Department published Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2024, covering Pension Credit and Housing Benefit for pensioners in Great Britain. As these estimates are based on survey data, they are not available for lower-level geographies.
On the same day the Department also published Households potentially eligible for Pension Credit, 2023 to 2024, a sub-national analysis of eligible households in receipt of Pension Credit and potentially eligible households not claiming Pension Credit.
Estimates are not currently available for other DWP benefits, however on 15 May 2025 the Department published Unfulfilled eligibility in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates, providing estimates of how much extra money benefit claimants in Great Britain could be getting if they told us accurately about their circumstances. It does not cover take-up of benefits, which is where people could have claimed certain benefits based on their current circumstances but have not done so. As these estimates are based on sample data, they are not available for lower-level geographies.
Asked by: Juliet Campbell (Labour - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to support charities to increase availability of guide dogs in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK government recognises the invaluable role guide dogs play in enhancing the independence and quality of life for individuals with visual impairments and hearing loss.
Assistance dogs are not funded or provided by the government. Direct provision of guide dogs is primarily handled by charitable organisations. Organisations like Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK), an umbrella coalition for well-established dog training organisations, offer information and advice on how to apply for an assistance dog.
As assistance dogs are provided by independent charities and organisations, the Government is not responsible or accountable for supply issues. We are aware of concerns around shortages of assistance dogs since the pandemic and there has been dialogue with assistance dogs charities. Guide Dogs UK have assured us that they are on course to return to pre-pandemic supply levels soon, and are working hard to reduce waiting times with record levels of investment.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is he taking to simplify the pension credit application process.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is committed to modernising the Pension Credit service and regularly reviews the user experience to balance simplification with ensuring accurate awards.
A key objective of DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme is to make services more user-friendly and accessible. We are streamlining application routes by using information held internally to reduce the number of questions customers need to answer.
Claims can be made online, by telephone, or by post. The most popular method is online, where claims can be made 24/7 with help from a family member, friend, or third party. The online form now requires a maximum of 48 questions, and for some customers as few as 35. On average, it takes just 16 minutes to complete, with around 90% of new customers applying online or by phone.
For telephone claims, callers are guided through the process by an agent. We will continue to keep the Pension Credit application process under review to ensure it remains simple and accessible.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
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 increase the uptake of Pension Credit among eligible pensioners.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit taken-up campaign, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends through adverts on television and radio; on social media and on digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices, as well as in the press. The latest burst of the campaign began in September, and further promotional activity is planned until the end of the financial year.
We are making better use of data to directly target potentially eligible households. Since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit. In September, the Department conducted a trial in partnership with Age UK and Independent Age targeting 2,000 households in England identified using HMRC and DWP data.
We are also undertaking research specifically looking into the factors that motivate people to make a claim as well as why some older people do not claim benefits to which they could be entitled, in order to build the evidence of what works to increase take-up.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 proposals to remove entitlement to the Universal Credit Health element for those aged under 22 on levels of food bank need.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made.
An Impact Assessment was published alongside the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which can be found here.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 changes to Access to Work funding on job coaching and support service providers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No changes have been made to Access to Work policy, and we will announce any changes prior to them being implemented.
The Department faces significant challenges assessing the effectiveness of Access to Work due to the difficulty in establishing a counterfactual.
We will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation has closed. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.
We are continuing to work closely with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives, on all aspects of our proposals.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what action he is taking to ensure that the voices of people with learning disabilities are heard directly during the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment, including (a) digitally excluded people with learning disabilities, (b) people with learning disabilities who are non-verbal, and (c) people with learning disabilities who need written information provided in an accessible format.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the Review to be a success, lived experience must be at the heart of its work. The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, I published the revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK which set out further details about its scope. I also announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review's strategic direction, priorities and workplan.
The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people's organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process, which is now live. We have worked closely with experts to ensure the EOI is accessible, inclusive and has a broad reach. The steering group will not work alone, it will oversee a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether staff in her Department have been instructed to apply Access to Work guidance more strictly since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the last year, we have worked to improve decision-making throughout the Access to Work Scheme by ensuring that guidance is applied with greater consistency, helping to provide a fairer process. This may mean that some awards change at the point of renewal, but this does not reflect a change in policy of the Scheme.