Department for Work and Pensions

The Secretary of State 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. He will be supported by a panel of experts with diverse expertise and will be mobilising the existing Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel.

The research and analysis to inform the report will aim to improve our understanding of the number of young people not in education, employment or training, including identification of those with health needs.

The Department will be introducing new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation from Autumn 2026. Further information will be available in the regulations pack and Explanatory Memorandum when the new regulations are laid later this year.

We continue to work collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure that the implementation is robust and we reduce the financial cliff edge for individuals in supported housing and temporary accommodation.

Telephony demand from individuals seeking to pay Voluntary National Insurance Contributions (VNICs) ahead of the 6^th April 2025 deadline was significant. In response, DWP provided routes for individuals to register their interest in paying VNICs. DWP introduced an online call-back form, a route for citizens to register their interest over the telephone and where possible, individuals were sent confirmation text messages.

Where individuals registered an interest to pay VNICs on or before the April 2025 deadline, the Department is honouring pre-deadline rates for all, even if the payment of VNICs is made after the deadline. Customers who are over State Pension age and who paid VNICs, will receive an increase to their State Pension.

For individuals living overseas (who are already over State Pension age), all DWP call-back requests were completed before the end of December 2025.

Customers who are over State Pension age and who paid VNICs based on pre-deadline rates, will receive an increase to their State Pension. The pre-deadline contribution rates required to purchase the relevant qualifying years will be honoured.

Telephony demand from individuals seeking to pay Voluntary National Insurance Contributions (VNICs) ahead of the 6^th April 2025 deadline was significant. In response, DWP provided routes for individuals to register their interest in paying VNICs. DWP introduced an online call-back form, a route for citizens to register their interest over the telephone and where possible, individuals were sent confirmation text messages.

Where individuals registered an interest to pay VNICs on or before the April 2025 deadline, the Department is honouring pre-deadline rates for all, even if the payment of VNICs is made after the deadline. Customers who are over State Pension age and who paid VNICs, will receive an increase to their State Pension.

For individuals living overseas (who are already over State Pension age), all DWP call-back requests were completed before the end of December 2025.

Customers who are over State Pension age and who paid VNICs based on pre-deadline rates, will receive an increase to their State Pension. The pre-deadline contribution rates required to purchase the relevant qualifying years will be honoured.

Telephony demand from individuals seeking to pay Voluntary National Insurance Contributions (VNICs) ahead of the 6^th April 2025 deadline was significant. In response, DWP provided routes for individuals to register their interest in paying VNICs. DWP introduced an online call-back form, a route for citizens to register their interest over the telephone and where possible, individuals were sent confirmation text messages.

Where individuals registered an interest to pay VNICs on or before the April 2025 deadline, the Department is honouring pre-deadline rates for all, even if the payment of VNICs is made after the deadline. Customers who are over State Pension age and who paid VNICs, will receive an increase to their State Pension.

For individuals living overseas (who are already over State Pension age), all DWP call-back requests were completed before the end of December 2025.

Customers who are over State Pension age and who paid VNICs based on pre-deadline rates, will receive an increase to their State Pension. The pre-deadline contribution rates required to purchase the relevant qualifying years will be honoured.

The UK is fully compliant with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, including in relation to women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the State Pension age.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.

The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.

The 8 Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, led by Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) in 7 areas across England, are testing innovative approaches to identify, engage and deliver localised support to young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. To do this effectively, they are working with a range of local partners including third sector organisations, education and training providers and employers to provide a more seamless offer that provides young people with a clear pathway into training or employment opportunities.

As the Trailblazers are locally led, MSAs have tailored their offer to meet the needs and address the barriers of young people in their area. This includes addressing gaps in provision or opportunities where these are identified as well as reducing any duplication of support.

The Department has also commissioned an evaluation to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Trailblazers in improving employment outcomes. This will be combined with the Trailblazers own local evaluation and management information, to inform the future design of the Youth Guarantee and clarify the role of local areas in supporting young people.

The Department for Work and Pensions receive a very large volume of correspondence on a range of issues including the PHSO’s investigation into the communication of State Pension age rises. We attach great importance to providing prompt and accurate replies.

As the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that the government give this full and proper consideration.

Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that they should award financial redress.

We will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.

The Government is committed to ensuring that private pension trustees have a clear, range of guidance, with the objective of supporting consideration of wider factors within their existing legal obligations. This will include clarification and practical support on their ability to take account of system level risks, such as climate related risks, and the impacts of investments where these affect members’ long-term outcomes, including their standard of living.

The guidance will also explore how trustees may consider members’ views, provided this remains consistent with investing in members’ best interests, and will reaffirm that trustees should take account of all financially material matters, where appropriate in their investment decision making.

Our objective is for guidance to be delivered in partnership with the pension sector and other interested parties. Work will commence shortly beginning with an industry roundtable to gather views and technical expertise to ensure the guidance meets the identified need.

Bereavement Support Payment is currently available to those who are married, in a cohabiting relationship with dependent children, or in a civil partnership. A marriage or civil partnership is a legal contract associated with certain rights, including entitlement to benefits derived from another person's National Insurance contributions such as Bereavement Support Payment. The Government keeps the eligibility of all benefits including Bereavement Support Payments, under review.

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

Since Autumn Budget 2024, the Government has committed to gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030/31 from fraud, error and debt activity in Great Britain, which includes savings from the new powers contained within the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act.

The Act has been published on the Parliament website and is available here: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025.

In cases where arrears are outstanding, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) proactively seek to negotiate with the paying parent a feasible and affordable repayment plan, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case. For small arrears payments can be spread over an appropriate timescale negating the need for enforcement action.

Each enforcement decision and action taken by CMS considers the welfare of all parties, potential financial hardship of paying parents, to ensure any associated charges for the customer are commensurate and not seen as punitive to give the greatest chance of securing money for children. CMS is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.

Using the results from the most recent Family Resources Survey published on Stat-Xplore, the estimated number of households in receipt of Universal Credit by the total gross income received by a household from all income sources, in latest prices (weekly, CPI-adjusted real terms), as reported by FRS respondents, ‘less than’ and ‘equal to or greater than’ (1) £576.92, (2) £673.08, (3) £705.77 or (4) £769.23, in financial year 2023 to 2024, is shown in the table below.

Table 1: Estimated number of households receiving Universal Credit by weekly gross income from all sources in latest prices (weekly, CPI-adjusted real terms), ‘less than’ and ‘equal to or greater than’ (1) £576.92, (2) £673.08, (3) £705.77 or (4) £769.23 in financial year 2023 to 2024, United Kingdom

Source: Stat-Xplore - Family Resources Survey Household Dataset

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 0.1 million. This rounding convention has been set to reflect that FRS estimates are based on survey data and not actual records of individuals in the UK. Totals may not sum due to the rounding method used.
2. Figures have been extracted from the FRS Household dataset on Stat-Xplore by using the custom range functionality (which is available to registered users) on the Household total, gross income from all sources in latest prices (weekly, CPI adjusted real terms) data.
3. If the weekly values chosen are received for 52 weeks this would be the equivalent to an income of (1) £30,000, (2) £35,000, (3) £36,700 or (4) £40,000 per year.
4. A household consists of one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address, who share cooking facilities and share a living room or sitting room or dining area. A household will consist of one or more benefit units.
5. The total gross income received by a household from all sources includes:
   1. Earnings from employment and self-employment
   2. Investment income
   3. Income from Retirement Pension plus any Income Support or Pension Credit paid with it
   4. Pension income
   5. Income from disability benefits
   6. Income from other benefits
   7. Income from Tax Credits
   8. Universal Credit income
   9. Remaining income
6. Further information can be found in the FRS Background Note and Methodology and the Family Resources Survey: quality assessment report.

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

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

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

The purpose of collecting race and ethnicity data is because it they are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

All public bodies have a requirement under the Public Sector Equality Duty to pay due regard to the impacts of policies to those who share protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act.

To do so requires that meaningful data be collected in a harmonised form, as set out by the Cabinet Office. Claimant declarations of their protected characteristics are optional, and not mandatory.

Data collected on protected characteristics is solely used for analytical and statistical purposes in aggregate form and has no part in decisions relating to benefit claims.

Pension payments to Yemen are being disrupted due to banking and currency issues, war, international sanctions and some issues over verification of identity. We are looking at ways to ensure payments are completed.

Our dedicated Yemen telephone number can be found on GOV.UK ( International Pension Centre - GOV.UK) and includes a Yemen-Arabic language translation as part of the opening message and we provide callback and translation services. We urge anyone who is having issues with their State Pension to contact us via this dedicated helpline.

Additionally, the Department is working with the Yemeni banks to enable payments in different currencies in order to get payments to the intended recipients.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) formula is calculated on the paying parent’s gross income, the number of qualifying children, overnight care arrangements, and any additional children in their care – known as ‘relevant other children’. The formula does not automatically account for the higher costs associated with caring for children with disabilities or additional needs.

However, we recognise the additional financial pressures faced by families caring for disabled children. Therefore, the CMS provides a special expenses variation which allows paying parents to request an adjustment where they incur significant costs related to the illness or disability of ‘relevant other children’. The permitted expenses cover a wide range of costs, including personal care, heating and specialised equipment.

In addition, the Government is reviewing the CMS calculation to ensure the formula remains fit for purpose and reflects current societal and financial realities. Any proposed changes will be subject to public consultation and would require primary legislation and Parliamentary approval.

We are unable to identify which State Pension claimants are ex-steelworkers and therefore unable to provide any estimate of the number of people whose payment has stopped.

As of May 2025, there are 832 State Pension recipients in the Yemen.

Caseload statistics for State Pensions are available via Stat-Xplore - Log in. The latest published data currently relate to the quarter ending May 2025.

The State Pensions Triple Lock applies to recipients of the core element of State Pension. Based on latest data, the number of pensioners resident in the Washington and Gateshead South constituency who are in receipt of the State Pension, and therefore covered by the Triple Lock, is 20,085.

This total has been adjusted to exclude a very small number of individuals, who receive only Graduated Retirement Benefit, a category of the Pre-2016 State Pension system, as such payments are uprated using CPI.

The constituency referenced above encompasses Gateshead South as well as the entire Washington area, including Washington Central, Washington South, Washington North, Washington East and Washington West.

We are committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

We published the Good Food Cycle in July which identified ten priority outcomes needed to build a thriving food sector while tackling a range of food related challenges. Improving food price affordability and access, in particular targeting costs that lead to food price inflation and supporting those who most need access to healthy affordable nutrition, is a key priority.

From 1 April 2026, we are introducing a new Crisis and Resilience Fund in England. This fund aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis, to support our ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels. The Crisis and Resilience Fund Guidance for local authorities was published on 13 January 2026, enabling local authorities to prepare for delivery in line with the new fund.

The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty across the United Kingdom, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.

The most recent official statistics show for the United Kingdom, in 2023/24, 7.5m individuals lived in food insecure households. The rate is unchanged on 2022/23 but the total number of individuals living in food insecure households has increased by 300,000.

The most recent official statistics show for the United Kingdom, in 2023/24, 2.8m people, were living in households where a food bank has been used in the 12 months prior to the interview, up by 500,000 since 2022/23.

The Pension Protection Fund’s recent communications to members about nominating beneficiaries relates to the introduction of its new online beneficiary nomination service, which allows members to nominate or update their beneficiary details directly via the member website. It is a service that’s designed to make the bereavement process faster and more efficient and is not in response to any loss or compromise of members’ personal data.

The MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard will be launched when we have assurances that the service is secure and thoroughly user tested. As confirmed last year, Government will give 6 months’ notice before the launch of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard. Pension providers and schemes in scope are required to connect to the pensions dashboards ecosystem by 31 October 2026 and connection remains on course against this timeline.

The Government remains committed to the launch of private sector pensions dashboards. Insights gained from the launch and operation of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard will help inform the launch of private sector pensions dashboards.

Three quarters of pensions records in scope of the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022 are now integrated into pensions dashboards. Over 700 of the largest pension providers and schemes are now connected with over 60 million records integrated into dashboards. State Pension data is also accessible, representing tens of millions of additional pensions records.

The department does not hold the information requested.

Estimates of the total impact on low income poverty levels, and the number of children gaining, from the main changes included in the strategy for the United Kingdom as a whole are available here: Child Poverty Strategy: Impact on low income poverty levels and children gaining in the UK: December 2025 - GOV.UK. Across the United Kingdom, the measures set out in the strategy are expected to reduce the number of children in poverty by 550,000 in the final year of this Parliament, compared to our estimates without these measures.

Estimates for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit policy at constituency level are available here: Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK. The number of children who are expected to gain from the removal of the two-child limit policy in the Washington and Gateshead South constituency is 2,620.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.

The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.

The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.

DWP publishes annual official statistics to monitor employment outcomes for disabled people including those with ‘Musculoskeletal conditions’. These statistics show that working age (16 to 64) disabled people with ‘Musculoskeletal conditions’ are less likely to be in employment compared to the working age population as a whole. The employment rate for working age disabled people with a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ was 52.3% in 2024/25 compared to 75.4% for all people aged 16 to 64.

Source: The employment of disabled people 2025 (Table LMS004) - GOV.UK and Nomis - Query Tool - annual population survey

In 2024/25 2.0 million people aged 16 to 64 who reported a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ were economically inactive. This represents 39.9% of all people with a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ compared to 19.1% of people without a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ who were economically inactive.

Source: The employment of disabled people 2025 (Table EIA009) - GOV.UK

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also publishes statistics on Sickness absence in the UK labour market from the same source – the Labour Force Survey. The latest statistics show that in 2024 26.5 million working days were lost in the UK due to a ‘Musculoskeletal condition' which equates to 17.8% of all working days lost.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the main source of data for people with ‘Musculoskeletal conditions’ in the UK labour market. This includes people with arthritis, back pain, neck and upper limb problems. However, it is not possible to specifically identify those with arthritis from the LFS therefore this data is not readily available from published sources.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age.

This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to the attention of the previous Secretary of State as its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time.

The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age.

This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to the attention of the previous Secretary of State as its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time.

The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.

The Youth Guarantee aims to increase opportunities for 16-24-year-olds to make them work-ready and equipped to thrive. Success will be measured by improvement in employment outcomes, reduction in economic inactivity, and an increase in participation in education and training. We will monitor these outcomes nationally for all Youth Guarantee participants. This will build on already commissioned evaluation of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers and a planned full process evaluation of the Jobs Guarantee.

This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and more opportunities for young people. It will align with the industrial strategy, creating routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries, such as construction.

Construction is one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships with three standards, including onsite trades, launched in August 2025. These foundation apprenticeships will support more young people to begin their careers in the construction industry and allow them to then progress and specialise in advanced apprenticeships. Employers will be provided with up to £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry.

The industry will also benefit from around 5,000 more construction apprenticeship places being made available per financial year by 2027-28 thanks to a £140 million industry investment and the creation of 32 pioneering new homebuilding skills hubs.

In addition, the government is investing £625 million in construction skills over this Parliament, with the aim of delivering up to 60,000 additional skilled workers and supporting employers to invest in training. This funding is designed to expand apprenticeship opportunities, improve access to training, and ensure the workforce is equipped to meet the demands of a modern, safe, and productive construction sector.

The industry-led Construction Skills Mission Board is also working to create construction job opportunities to meet the government’s announced infrastructure and built environment commitments.

There are a number of apprenticeship standards available to support the hair and beauty sector, including the Level 2 Hairdressing Professional standard and the Level 2 Barbering Professional standard.

The government provides a range of financial support for employers to take on apprentices. We provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being 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.

In addition, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises) for all eligible people aged under 25. At the moment, this only happens 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. 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.

The Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee.

We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee, launching Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, announcing funding to almost double our Youth Hubs across Great Britain, and we recently launched an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities.

We are now expanding the Youth Guarantee, backed by a £820 million investment over the next three years to reach almost 900,000 young people. This includes Youth Hubs in every area in Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24-year-olds on Universal Credit to get them into employment or training. This investment will also 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.

Employment support policies are devolved in Northern Ireland and the responsibility of the Department for Communities.

As part of the wider Youth Guarantee, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment for every eligible 18 to 21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. The scheme will break the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing meaningful paid employment opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.

Appropriate requirements will be built into the scheme, with guidance provided to those delivering the Jobs Guarantee to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.

A critical part of the Jobs Guarantee will be the provision of wraparound support to ensure that young people are able to take that crucial first step into employment, and to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment.

As part of the wider Youth Guarantee, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment for every eligible 18 to 21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. The scheme will break the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing meaningful paid employment opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.

Appropriate requirements will be built into the scheme, with guidance provided to those delivering the Jobs Guarantee to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.

A critical part of the Jobs Guarantee will be the provision of wraparound support to ensure that young people are able to take that crucial first step into employment, and to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment.

As part of the wider Youth Guarantee, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment for every eligible 18 to 21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. The scheme will break the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing meaningful paid employment opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.

Appropriate requirements will be built into the scheme, with guidance provided to those delivering the Jobs Guarantee to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.

A critical part of the Jobs Guarantee will be the provision of wraparound support to ensure that young people are able to take that crucial first step into employment, and to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment.

We recognise the tragic conflict in Yemen is hindering the normal means of administrating pensions for those based abroad. In May 2025, I held a meeting with several Members of Parliament who represent Yemeni pensioners facing challenges receiving their State Pension payments. Since then, we have supported individual cases and taken steps to support pensioners living in Yemen.

Previously, officials met community leaders in 2022.

All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age.

Estimates can be made using ONS 2021 Census Data on how many women born in the 1950s resided in each constituency in that year.