Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend for the proposal to remove eligibility for the limited capability for work and work-related activity group from those under the age of 22 to apply to disabled adults receiving residential care.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, the Government invited views on the proposal to raise the minimum age for accessing the Universal Credit (UC) health element to 22. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now considering responses. The Government’s conclusion will be announced in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support disabled people with complex needs who are not eligible for the Youth Guarantee.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we will launch a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.

We recognise, however, that for a small minority of young people, work may never be a realistic goal. We acknowledge that we would need to include special provisions for this group and are working through how they can be best identified and supported.

The current benefit system categorises too many young people as unable to work, often leaving them without meaningful engagement or support. For most disabled young people and young people with a health condition working at some point in the near future must be a credible ambition.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out proposals to create a distinct and active youth phase for people aged 18 to 21 in the health and disability benefit system. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now carefully reviewing all responses as we develop the new support offer and our expectations of engagement.

This will build on the many interventions already, or soon to be, in place to support disabled people and people with a health condition, more broadly. This includes our new voluntary Supported Employment programme, Connect to Work, which is rolling out across England and Wales throughout 2025 and provides bespoke employment support to help people get into, and stay in, sustainable work.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to improve education and training opportunities for disabled people with complex needs under the age of 22.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. This includes:

• Widening the apprenticeships offer to include new foundation apprenticeships, with additional learning support funding available to training providers for reasonable adjustments to support apprentices who have SEND.
• Continuing to invest in supported internships by providing up to £12 million to March 2026 for more young people with SEND to transition into sustained, paid employment.
• The Curriculum and Assessment Review, which prioritises practices to remove barriers to progress for children and young people with SEND.
• The Disabled Students’ Allowance, which supports eligible students alongside reasonable adjustments by higher education (HE) providers.
• Adjustment Planners, which have been developed to help disabled students succeed in HE and employment.

As announced in the spending review, we are investing over £1 billion annually in skills by 2028/29. This will support and grow the wide range of options available for everyone to succeed.