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.

The apprenticeship ‘National achievement rate tables’ are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publications.

Ministers and officials regularly discuss a range of matters with PCS and other trade unions.

I have also recently written to the General Secretary of PCS on this matter specifically.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The information requested is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The department does not hold information on Council Tax Reduction awards.

We have not made this specific assessment and to do so would be at disproportionate cost.

There is relevant information in our published statistics which show in November 2025, 26% of households on Universal Credit (UC) with pre-school children and in which all claimants had earnings received the childcare element.

We are undertaking a number of activities to address this key barrier to work. This includes provision of the Governments UC childcare offer. This helps to address a key barrier to work by providing financial help with childcare to make it easier for low-income families to choose to work, stay in work and progress in work.

Eligible UC customers can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work. This is up to a maximum amount of £1071.09 a month for a single child and £1836.16 a month for families with two or more children.

Additionally, through the Child Poverty Strategy, we are improving access to childcare. This includes our commitment to create more places in schools-based nurseries, £600 million to extend the Holiday Activities and Food programme and free breakfast clubs in every primary school.

Alongside this, the Department for Education will lead a cross-government review of early education and childcare support to design and deliver a simpler system that maximises benefits for child development and parental ability to work or work more hours.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) holds the role of enforcing equality legislation as part of its statutory obligations, including protection from disability discrimination. The EHRC is an independent Non Departmental Public Body and Great Britain’s national equality and human rights body. It regulates equality law across England, Wales and Scotland and human rights across England & Wales. The EHRC makes its own enforcement decisions, including any inquiries and investigations it decides to conduct.

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:

* 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

As the policy holder for apprenticeships and skills, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recognises the value of apprenticeships in building skills and kickstarting careers. We are committed to creating meaningful apprenticeship opportunities within our department and are proud to be 6^th in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers ranking.

Since 2022, we have created opportunities for over 500 Universal Credit claimants to start a Level 2 or 3 apprenticeship with entry-level work experience within the department through our Social Mobility Apprenticeship scheme, with many apprentices securing permanent employment in DWP. We have also created apprenticeship opportunities for young people who would have otherwise been at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training (NEET) through our School Leaver SMA scheme.

In 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions had 907 apprenticeship starts, compared with 1824 in 2022, 1348 in 2023 and 1142 in 2024. Numbers have been limited in recent years by headcount restrictions in the Civil Service. At the same time, we have diversified our entry routeways including an increased focus on our other life chances schemes such as Movement to Work, in addition to apprenticeship opportunities. We have also focussed on improving the overall quality and relevance of our apprenticeship programmes to ensure that they support colleagues to develop the right skills and capabilities for DWP roles, particularly in priority areas such as Digital and Counter Fraud.

The core objective of Universal Credit is to support people who are out of work or on a low income to enter work, earn more, or to prepare for work in the future, and claimants are generally expected to undertake certain work-related activities in return for financial support.

Any work-related requirements are agreed in discussion with the claimant and will always be tailored in light of a claimant’s circumstances, ensuring they are realistic and achievable. Work coaches have the flexibility to personalise work-related requirements for claimants based on the impact of any health condition, caring responsibilities, or other circumstance.

A sanction is only applicable where a claimant fails to undertake their agreed activity without good reason. Before a sanction decision is made, claimants are always asked to provide their reasoning, and several safety measures, including checking for any vulnerabilities, are in place before deciding whether a sanction is applicable. These include: checking to see if the claimants circumstances had changed and if the requirement remained reasonable; considering whether the claimant had undertaken alternative activity that means the requirement was met; and reviewing any known vulnerabilities and their impact on a claimant’s ability to meet their requirements.

If a claimant is sanctioned and can demonstrate that they cannot meet their most immediate and essential needs, we also have a system of recoverable hardship payments. These needs can include heating, food, and hygiene.

DWP’s commitments to the violence against women and girls (VAWG) Strategy will help align us with the wider cross government ambition to tackle sexual exploitation. This includes strengthening the training and guidance provided to frontline staff and Domestic Abuse SPOCs, ensuring they are better equipped to recognise and respond to all forms of VAWG, including sexual exploitation. In addition, DWP is rolling out its 5-year plan for safeguarding following the Written Statement in December 2025.

The department’s disciplinary report only shows current live, on-going disciplinary cases and those closed within the past 12 months. There is also no detail on the disciplinary report that specifically states breaches of Civil Service Code as the reason for disciplinary. This information would only be available at disproportionate cost.

Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Of the £53 million of funding to support low-income households reliant on oil for heating, £27 million has been allocated to England and will be delivered via the Crisis and Resilience Fund. This is in addition to £842 million a year that has already been committed through the Crisis and Resilience Fund at Spending Review 2025, which all unitary and upper tier authorities in England will receive to support vulnerable and low-income households facing financial shocks, including rising essential costs such as energy.

Norfolk has been allocated £3,055,625 to distribute to households the local authority considers most in need. Allocations have been published on gov.uk (Crisis and Resilience fund to support low-income heating oil households).

The total value of severance payments is set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to making its decisions clear, accessible, and transparent.

Whenever a decision is made that affects a child maintenance calculation or payment arrangements, CMS issues notifications to customers explaining the outcome. Where the maintenance calculation changes, customers are provided with information setting out how the new calculation has been reached.

CMS is taking steps to improve communications with parents by simplifying content and retiring outdated letters. In addition, the online My Child Maintenance Case service enables parents to view their case details, track changes, check their current position and view digital copies of notifications at any time. CMS are continuing to develop this service to provide even more information to customers.

As confirmed at Autumn Budget, we will be introducing new earned income disregards for those in receipt of Housing Benefit and live in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation. This will help smooth the transition between the Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, and reduce the financial cliff edge for individuals in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation as they move into work or increase their hours.

This will require legislative changes and be accompanied by IT changes made to local authority IT systems. In preparation for this, we have already begun engagement with stakeholders to ensure that the implementation meets the needs of those affected. This is accompanied by clear communications to support local authorities, housing providers and third sector organisations to ensure that eligible customers are aware of and able to utilise this change.

The new disregards will be in place from Autumn 2026.

The Department recognises that receiving two sets of earnings from the same employer within a single Universal Credit assessment period can create unexpected fluctuations in a claimant’s award. This situation typically occurs when a claimant’s monthly payday falls very close to the end of their assessment period, resulting in two wage payments being reported through HMRC’s Real Time Information (RTI) system in the same month. To address this, the Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020 were introduced, allowing one set of monthly paid earnings to be reallocated to a different assessment period to ensure awards are calculated fairly. This rule only applies where earnings are paid calendar monthly.

The Department’s assessment found that enabling the reallocation of earnings has a positive impact on working UC recipients. By smoothing income across assessment periods, the change reduces financial volatility for the relatively small number of households affected and helps maintain a regular payment cycle. Importantly, it also prevents claimants from losing their Work Allowance in months when double reporting would otherwise occur.

Most cases affected by double earnings are now identified and corrected automatically, minimising any burden on customers and administrative pressure on the Department.

Over the past decade we’ve seen apprenticeship starts by those aged 16-24 fall by 40% and over half of all apprenticeship starts are now by learners aged 25 and over. At the same time, we have seen the apprenticeship offer increase to over 700 standards, many of which do not support critical skills shortages.

Even with record investment of £3.3bn in 2026-27, the Growth and Skills Levy budget is finite. With 100% of our budget spent last year we need to prioritise in order to deliver foundation apprenticeships and short courses alongside the core apprenticeship offer. We are therefore withdrawing funding from 16 apprenticeships from September 2026, including the Level 5 Outdoor Learning Specialist standard.

These changes will help to create the headroom to invest in our national skills priorities with more opportunities for more young people, and new apprenticeship units to provide a more flexible offer to businesses. We are continuing to fund the related Level 3 Outdoor Activity Instructor apprenticeship which provides an entry route into this profession.

All existing learners on the Level 5 Outdoor Learning Specialist standard will continue to be funded through to completion, and providers have been written to individually to confirm their transition arrangements. Employers who value this apprenticeship standard will also be able to use it on a privately funded basis.

The department is committed to ensuring that Personal Independence Payment claimants receive timely assessments and continues to work closely with its suppliers to improve customer experience across all geographical areas, including Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands.

We have introduced a range of measures to increase assessment capacity and reduce waiting times. These include ongoing recruitment and training of additional health professionals and a series of process improvements to streamline the assessment journey.

Waiting times can vary by region due to local demand and operational factors. Assessment suppliers actively monitor regional performance to ensure resources are deployed where they are most needed, and additional capacity will be directed where appropriate.

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.

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.

While this information is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing this data in a future statistical release.

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.

The government is currently undertaking a review of Universal Credit to ensure it is delivering on its core objectives of tackling poverty and making work pay. As part of that review, we have been engaging with our stakeholders, including those who represent the interests of farmers and have listened to their views and are reflecting on that feedback as part of the review.

The Department does not hold this data.

The government is committed to high standards of English and maths and funds apprentices aged 16-18 at the start of their training to achieve English and maths qualifications, if they do not already hold suitable equivalent qualifications, in order to complete their apprenticeship.

This is consistent with our expectation that all young people should have a further meaningful opportunity to secure English and maths qualifications post-16, where they do not already hold them. This can be a GCSE or functional skills qualification.

Further flexibility is in place for apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability where there is evidence this is likely to be a barrier to them completing their apprenticeship. In these cases, they are able to achieve an entry level 3 functional skills qualification to complete. Since August 2024, this flexibility has been available to apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability but without an Education Health and Care Plan.

As with all apprenticeship policies, we continue to monitor the impact of the English and maths requirements, to ensure they are striking the right balance.

The Government set out its intended approach concerning the Main Scale Default Arrangements (MSDA) in the May 2025 consultation response and final report of the Pensions Investment Review. We have also recently published Pension Schemes Bill: Scale and Consolidation on Gov.UK to give an overview of the government’s direction of travel ahead of detailed consultation on regulations.

As outlined in the final report of the Review, key benefits of scale are realised at the level on which strategic decisions on investment are made. This is generally at an ‘arrangement’ level.

To meet the scale requirement, a provider must demonstrate that it holds assets of at least £25 billion in their MSDA.

These assets may be counted from a number of connected schemes offered by a single provider, but they must all be managed under a common investment strategy.

Further details will be set out in regulations following formal consultation.

The Government set out its intended approach concerning the Main Scale Default Arrangements (MSDA) in the May 2025 consultation response and final report of the Pensions Investment Review. We have also recently published Pension Schemes Bill: Scale and Consolidation on Gov.UK to give an overview of the government’s direction of travel ahead of detailed consultation on regulations.

As outlined in the final report of the Review, key benefits of scale are realised at the level on which strategic decisions on investment are made. This is generally at an ‘arrangement’ level.

To meet the scale requirement, a provider must demonstrate that it holds assets of at least £25 billion in their MSDA.

These assets may be counted from a number of connected schemes offered by a single provider, but they must all be managed under a common investment strategy.

Further details will be set out in regulations following formal consultation.

The Government has committed to publish an update to the June 2025 ‘Workplace pensions: a roadmap’. This will include timelines for consultation on the scale measures, which will cover the issues raised amongst others.

The Government has committed to publish an update to the June 2025 ‘Workplace pensions: a roadmap’. This will include timelines for consultation on the scale measures, which will cover the issues raised amongst others.

The Government has committed to publish an update to the June 2025 ‘Workplace pensions: a roadmap’. This will include timelines for consultation on the scale measures, which will cover the issues raised amongst others.

I refer the noble Baroness to the answer I gave to question HL13613 on 2 February 2026.

There is already robust regulation in place to detect leaks and odourised gas. Gas Industry standards are set by the relevant industry standard setting bodies, for example, the Institute for Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM), British Standards Institute (BSI) and Liquid Gas UK.

The Health and Safety Executive has regulatory responsibility for public health-related standards in commercial premises, but not in domestic homes.