Department for Work and Pensions

Expenditure on Connect to Work is annualised in line with standard practice for managing public funds. To retain funding controls, my Department cannot automatically carry forward underspends into future years. As part of the Connect to Work Delivery Plan approval process, local areas must profile their programme activity for the entire funding period, broken down by financial year and by month within those years. This ensures that funding is aligned with planned delivery and performance milestones. My Department will have regular performance conversations with lead authorities for Connect to Work and will seek to support any area that may not be delivering against their profile and will seek to support any area that may not be delivering against their profile. This will include the opportunity to reprofile in year as part of the annual review process

I replied to the Hon. Member on 25 November.

While the number of people who were approved for any Access to Work provision was 61,670 in 2024/25, the number of customers in receipt of payment in 2024/25 increased to 74,190. As Access to Work awards are approved for up to three years, customers receiving payments in 2024/25 may have been approved for support at any point between 2021/22 and 2024/25.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme. We also considered the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.

Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) transitioned from a benefit to a loan in April 2018. Support was provided at the same level as before, ensuring the same degree of protection against repossession.

SMI loans are not repayable until the property is sold and then, only to the extent that there is any available equity.

Since SMI converted to a loan, the Department has regularly reviewed the impact of the policy on its recipients, including on people with disabilities. In March 2021, loan ‘porting’ was introduced to allow SMI recipients to transfer their loan to a new property rather than repay. The primary purpose of this change was to enable disabled recipients to move home due to changes in their disability requirements. Further changes were introduced in April 2023 which extended eligibility to in-work Universal Credit recipients and support was provided after three months instead of nine.

Two separate research projects related to SMI have been conducted and published, in March 2022 and May 2025. Both are publicly available, and a copy will be deposited of both publications in the House of Lords library.

The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department is considering external data sources, including Unique Property Reference Numbers, that could be used to help address fraud and error that occurs in Universal Credit.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for working age customers (including young people) living in supported and temporary accommodation.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment.

It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has no current plans to review the level of regulation of small quarrying and stone-processing firms.

The Government is committed to reducing regulatory compliance costs for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) and announced in March 2025 a commitment to reduce the administrative burden of regulation by 25% by the end of this Parliament - savings equivalent to £5.6 billion. HSE is committed to playing its part in reducing these administrative burdens whilst maintaining our proportionate regulatory approach to protect people and enable innovation and growth.

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment and the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) are functional assessments. They do not evaluate claimants based on their medical diagnosis or health condition alone and claimants are not assessed against a set symptom list for a condition when attending an assessment. Instead, the assessment focuses on how a claimant’s condition affects their mobility and ability to carry out everyday activities.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to ensuring that individuals with Fibromyalgia and other health conditions receive high-quality, accurate assessments. All health professionals (HPs) undergo comprehensive training in disability analysis. Their focus is on understanding the functional impact of a claimant’s condition, rather than its clinical diagnosis.

To support this, DWP provides suppliers with core training and guidance materials on Fibromyalgia. These resources include detailed clinical and functional information relevant to the condition to assist HPs in delivering informed and accurate assessments.

Additionally, all training and guidance materials are currently undergoing a comprehensive review and update. A dedicated team is leading this work to ensure that all materials are aligned with national best practice standards. Independent clinical experts are being engaged to provide external quality assurance, helping to ensure the content remains accurate, relevant, and consistent.

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

However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by conditionality regime and claim duration.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information and can refer to the Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Health Adjustment Passports are voluntary and available to everyone with a health condition or disability.

The Health Adjustment Passport enables disabled people to move more easily into employment and between job roles and reduces the need to repeat personal information about their disability. The Passport supports transitions into employment by providing a tool to enable disabled people to have structured conversations with employers about disability. It acts as a transferable record of the adjustments needed, along with sign posts to available support including Access to Work (AtW).

If a user chooses to share the passport with their employer, it can help to raise the visibility of adjustments and highlight support available, including AtW. In the event the user applies for AtW support, the passport can aid an assessment by providing health and disability information beforehand, enabling support to be put in place more quickly.

Further information on the Health Adjustments Passport can be found on: Health Adjustment Passport - GOV.UK

This information is not readily available however, as detailed in the DWP Statistical Work Programme and the Universal Credit statistics release strategy, the Department is developing a method to denote UC claimants given a migration notice from the Move to Universal Credit programme, and updates on this will be shared in the DWP Statistical Work Programme.

As of October 2025, there are 62,000 applications outstanding. We recognise the importance of reducing waiting times, which is why we have increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% in the last financial year.

Quarterly labour market transition flow data is published by ONS in table X02: Labour Force Survey flows estimates - Office for National Statistics.

The Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights October 2025 publication included the release of a series of data tables showing from January 2019 to May 2025 movements between different Universal Credit conditionality regimes each month and UC searching for work into work rates.

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

The new Crisis and Resilience Fund will be introduced from 1 April 2026. This represents the first ever multi-year settlement for locally delivered crisis support. This longer-term funding approach aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities – working with the voluntary and community sector – as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis

We plan to publish guidance for the Crisis and Resilience Fund in January 2026.

Information on Disability Living Allowance claimants with an active Motability Scheme is not held centrally for analytical purposes. Such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Information on Disability Living Allowance claimants with an active Motability Scheme is not held centrally for analytical purposes. Such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Information on Disability Living Allowance claimants with an active Motability Scheme is not held centrally for analytical purposes. Such information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Benefit sanctions form part of a wider approach to social security, acting as both a consequence for those who do not meet their work-related requirements without good reason, and as a deterrent to encourage claimants to continue to comply with their obligations.

The analysis in The Impact of Benefit Sanctions on Employment Outcomes: draft report is limited to the impact on those who were sanctioned due to non-compliance with their Universal Credit claimant commitment and excludes any claimants who were not sanctioned. It does not address the deterrent impact of sanctions and therefore does not represent a comprehensive picture of the effectiveness of sanctions within the wider social security system.

Our goal is to ensure that all those who can work should be supported to do so. Our work coaches stand ready to help people to get into work or to move closer to the labour market, depending on their circumstances. And we are investing record amounts in supporting customers to overcome barriers to work whether related to health, skills, childcare or other things that stand in their way.

The Department has made no such assessment.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has announced that every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work. Participants of the scheme will receive support to take advantage of available opportunities, with the aim of helping them transition into regular employment.

The scheme forms part of the government’s aim to provide targeted support for young people at risk of long-term unemployment.  Further details, including eligibility criteria and the structure of placements, will be confirmed at the Autumn Budget.

The Department developed a Strategic Outline Business Case for the Get Britain Working Trailblazers in March 2025, which followed HM Treasury’s Green Book framework. Within this, an assessment was made of the potential impact of the programme upon employment and associated health outcomes, as well as increasing participation in education and training. An update to the Business Case is being conducted, which will take account of relevant information following the programme launch earlier this year.

The Department will be commissioning an evaluation, starting in December 2025, which is expected to build evidence on the effectiveness of the programme at achieving employment outcomes, reducing levels of economic inactivity, associated health and well-being indicators, increasing participation in education and training, and effectiveness of systems integration. We expect to publish interim findings during the next two years and will develop the value for money assessment once longer term impacts have developed.

The Child Poverty Strategy will set out the decisive action this Government is taking to tackle child poverty and make sure children are given the best start in life.

The commitments we’ve made at the 2025 spending review and beyond are just the latest step of our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets – a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, building on our expansion of free breakfast clubs, our national minimum wage boost and our reduction in the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.

The Child Poverty Strategy will set out the decisive action this Government is taking to tackle child poverty and make sure children are given the best start in life.

The commitments we’ve made at the 2025 spending review and beyond are just the latest step of our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets – a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, building on our expansion of free breakfast clubs, our national minimum wage boost and our reduction in the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.

The Child Poverty Strategy will set out the decisive action this Government is taking to tackle child poverty and make sure children are given the best start in life.

The commitments we’ve made at the 2025 spending review and beyond are just the latest step of our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets – a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, building on our expansion of free breakfast clubs, our national minimum wage boost and our reduction in the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.

The Child Poverty Strategy will set out the decisive action this Government is taking to tackle child poverty and make sure children are given the best start in life.

The commitments we’ve made at the 2025 spending review and beyond are just the latest step of our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets – a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, building on our expansion of free breakfast clubs, our national minimum wage boost and our reduction in the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.

It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.

We are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, led by Mayoral Strategic Authorities across England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities.

One of the Trailblazers in Central London is delivering targeted support to care leavers included those in supported accommodation to help them access suitable employment opportunities.

As part of our Youth Offer, we also have Youth Hubs which deliver a core offer of skills, training and employment-focused support. Alongside this, partner organisations deliver a range of services, based upon the needs of the local area that they service. This can include connecting young people to a wider range of services such as health, housing and wellbeing support, depending on local needs and partnerships.

To drive up quality in supported accommodation (including for young people), DWP is working alongside MHCLG to implement measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act in England, which include a proposed locally led licensing regime and new National Supported Housing Standards for providers. The proposed standards make it clear that residents should receive person-centred support including where appropriate being supported, encouraged, and enabled to take up learning, volunteering, training, and employment opportunities.

The tables below provide Work Coach data by English District from July 24 to August 25.

The table below provides Work Coach data by English District for September and October 25.

Notes:

• Work Coach Full Time Equivalent (FTE) data supplied is from July 2024.
• The number of Work Coaches has been derived from DWP's Activity Based Model (ABM). This model gives an estimated FTE based on a point in time estimate by Line Managers, as recorded on our internal systems each month.
• Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 FTE.
• The number of Work Coaches refers to staff involved in conducting regular engagement with claimants, hence the data does not include Work Coach Team Leaders or Disability Employment Advisers.
• Work coaches include both UC Full-Service Work Coaches and Existing Benefits Work Coaches.
• The answer to the previous question omitted staff assigned to a “Default DWP National” location. This is not included as standard on requests asking for site specific data, as it cannot be established which sites these staff are attributed to
• Due to a system anomaly in Dec-24 and Jan-25 there were a higher number of staff assigned to the “Default DWP National” location so they have been included within the dataset. For consistency staff with this location have been included for other months too.
• From September 25 the District structure was revised, and this change is reflected in the second data table.
• The district North & Mid Wales and The Marches consist of sites in Wales and England; for the purpose of this response only the England site figures are counted for this district.
• The number of staff employed is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) draws on a wide range of perspectives and expertise.

On 30 October the Minister for Social Security and Disability announced that he would co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise and experience in health and disability issues, as well as the co-production process.

Members of the steering group will be recruited through an open Expression of Interest process, which is now live. The EOI has been designed to ensure the steering group reflects a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds. The t applications will be sifted against the criteria set out in the EOI, including experience and expertise in disability and social security issues, working with disabled people, commitment to working collaboratively and inclusively, and ability to evaluate a range of evidence and engage with complex policy issues.

The steering group will not work alone: it will oversee a wider programme of participation to ensure the full range of views and voices are heard.

The Review will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.

The government carries out assurance and financial reconciliation exercises of Skills Bootcamps across all sectors, including the HGV sector.

The department publishes data on Skills Bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes by sector. This can be found here; Skills bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes, Financial year 2023-24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK. The department does not publish this information by provider.

The government carries out assurance and financial reconciliation exercises of Skills Bootcamps across all sectors, including the HGV sector.

The department publishes data on Skills Bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes by sector. This can be found here; Skills bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes, Financial year 2023-24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK. The department does not publish this information by provider.

Economic growth is a priority for this Government. Building a thriving and inclusive labour market and increasing the number of people in work is central to achieving the Government’s number one mission to grow the economy, and delivering our missions to spread opportunity and improve the health of the nation.

In November 2024, we set out our plan in the Get Britain Working White Paper, with three main pillars:

• Reforming Jobcentre Plus into a Jobs and Careers Service which is more focused on skills and career progression, responsive to the needs and challenges of local labour markets and aligned with the needs of employers.
• Tackling economic inactivity due to ill health through joined up work, health and skills support and our Pathways to Work guarantee of tailored support for those with health conditions
• Delivering a Youth Guarantee so that all young people have access to education, training or help to find a job or apprenticeship.

Since the start of the year, over 329,000 more people have moved into employment. Rising employment and falling inactivity have also contributed to there now being a record number (34.3 million) of working-aged people who are economically active. The UK has the 3^rd highest employment rate in the G7 and had the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first half the year. Since July 2024, real wages have risen more than in the first ten years of the previous government.

The proportion of first degree (level 6) higher education learners entering priority occupations by subject is published in the Accompanying tables for the Assessment of priority skills to 2030. This table is copied below.

The DfE and Skills England are working closely together to publish labour market information and support informed student choice, helping provision respond to economic demand and maintaining the breadth of provision needed for a strong and flexible workforce. Many jobs outside the priority occupations are highly productive and needed for the wider economy.

To ensure employers can work collaboratively to secure the workforce needed to meet future demand, the Government is sponsoring a new Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB). Chaired by Mark Reynolds, Executive Chair of Mace, the Board will provide strategic leadership to the construction sector and develop an Industry led Construction Skills Action Plan.

The CSMB will work closely with Government to ensure that industry is well aligned to key initiatives within the Construction Skills Package, including Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, and industry placement development, ensuring these programmes reflect industry needs. It will work closely with training providers to align curricula with modern construction practices and sustainability standards.

The Board will work collaboratively with Mayoral Combined Authorities and local partners to support the effective use of devolved funding and ensure interventions reflect regional priorities. Skills England will take a national view of skills gaps and work with local partners including Mayoral Strategic Authorities to ensure provision meets the needs of learners and employers. This approach ensures national programmes remain responsive to local priorities while maintaining consistency in quality and outcomes.

The funding band of each apprenticeship standard sets out the maximum amount that the government will contribute to the costs of apprenticeship training and assessment. This is irrespective of the type or size of funding provider.

New training providers can enter the apprenticeship training market under one of the three entry routes in place: where there is a legitimate gap in provision that is generated by unmet employer demand, where a levy paying employer wants to become an employer-provider to train its own workforce, or where the provider is in an area we want to grow or where we identify a capacity issue.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring separated parents support their children financially, taking robust enforcement action against those who do not.

If paying parents fail to meet their financial obligation to their children, the CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers including deduction from earnings orders and bank accounts, removing a parent’s passport or driving license and commitment to prison.

In the past year to June 2025, CMS collected £202m through administrative and legal enforcement actions (including deduction from earnings orders and requests) which is increasing year on year and is the highest amount collected through the administration of robust collection and enforcement powers.

We are working to introduce administrative liability orders (ALOs) which will replace the current requirement for the CMS to apply to the court for a liability order. Introducing a simpler administrative process will enable the CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and will get money to children more quickly.

Once in operation, we expect the new liability order process in the majority of cases to take around 6 weeks. Changes will mean the CMS can use its strong enforcement powers more quickly to go after those who wilfully avoid their financial obligations to their children.

We are working with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to establish a process for implementing ALOs and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament as soon as possible.

Since first publishing the Universal Credit statistics by immigration status and nationality group on 15 July 2025, the Department has published regular updates, with the latest, published on 11 November 2025, covering statistics to October 2025.

The Department checks immigration status when assessing eligibility for benefits, but this information is not collated centrally across all benefit lines and hence is not readily available.

On 23 March 2025, the Government announced a construction support package worth £625 million to tackle the acute shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector.

(a) By Region
Construction Skills Package funding for initiatives including Industry Placement Support, FE Teacher Industry Exchange, and capital support to Construction Technical Excellence Colleges will be devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities where they exist. Skills Bootcamps are delivered nationally through provider contracts.

(b) By Type of Training
The package includes a range of interventions, including:

• Skills Bootcamps: short, intensive training to meet immediate skills needs.
• Foundation Apprenticeships: funding to encourage new industry entrants.
• Uplift High Value Course Premium: paid to FE providers for eligible courses/students
• Free Courses for Jobs: Additional qualifications added to the national course list.
• Industry Placement Support: placements in industry for learners in FE on eligible courses
• Construction Technical Excellence Colleges: 10 new CTECs and associated capital investment.
• Project-Based Capital: Employer-led skills provision.

Health Adjustment Passports are voluntary and available to everyone with a health condition or disability.

The Health Adjustment Passport enables disabled people to move more easily into employment and between job roles and reduces the need to repeat personal information about their disability. The Passport supports transitions into employment by providing a tool to enable disabled people to have structured conversations with employers about disability. It acts as a transferable record of the adjustments needed, along with sign posts to available support including Access to Work (AtW).

If an individual chooses to share the passport with their employer, it can help to raise the visibility of adjustments and highlight support available, including AtW. In the event the user applies for AtW support, the passport can aid an assessment by providing health and disability information beforehand, enabling support to be put in place more quickly.

Further information on the Health Adjustments Passport can be found on: Health Adjustment Passport - GOV.UK

The information requested is provided in the table below as a snapshot of the PIP caseload with active Motability contracts in July of each of the last 5 years.

Notes

- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- Figures include both Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life claimants.

- Yearly figures are a snapshot of the PIP caseload with an active Motability contract in July of each of the last 5 years.

The information requested is provided in the table below as a snapshot of the PIP caseload with active Motability contracts in July of each of the last 5 years.

Notes

- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- Figures include both Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life claimants.

- Yearly figures are a snapshot of the PIP caseload with an active Motability contract in July of each of the last 5 years.

The information requested is provided in the table below as a snapshot of the PIP caseload with active Motability contracts in July of each of the last 5 years.

Notes

- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

- Figures include both Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life claimants.

- Yearly figures are a snapshot of the PIP caseload with an active Motability contract in July of each of the last 5 years.

No assessment has been made of the levels of employment in (a) software and (b) computer industries.

However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) does publish employment by industry which includes the Information & Communication industrial sector here: EMP13: Employment by industry - Office for National Statistics and EMP14: Employees and self-employed by industry - Office for National Statistics.

The ONS also publishes employment estimates from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information by industry here: Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, seasonally adjusted - Office for National Statistics.