Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in response to the findings of PwC’s Youth Employment Index regarding the role of long-term sickness in driving youth economic inactivity.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity in the working age population. Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity.
Young disabled people and young people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell.
Additionally, the Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for young people with long-term health conditions and disabled young people. We have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to overhaul support and give a generation of young people a brighter future.
We set out our plan for the “Pathways to Work Guarantee” in our Pathways to Work Green Paper and we are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
In recognition of employers’ vital role in addressing health-related economic activity, we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the independent Keep Britain Working Review. The Report was published on 5 November. In partnership with DBT and DHSC, we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work and develop a Healthy Workplace Standard, putting Sir Charlie’s key recommendations into action from day one. Additionally, the JWHD has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.
The NHS 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, stated our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
Additionally, Alan Milburn will author an independent report to tackle the persistently high numbers of young people out of work, education and training. The report will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability. It will make recommendations for policy response to help young people with health conditions access work, training or education, ensuring they are supported to thrive and are not sidelined. It will complement the Timms Review by focusing specifically on the links between youth mental health, economic inactivity and the benefit system.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve labour market transitions for graduates and strengthen the capacity of the economy to absorb new labour market entrants.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Economic growth is the Government’s first mission: creating good jobs, raising living standards and improving public services. We are committed to ensuring that there is a vibrant and diverse labour market in the UK which offers good jobs for graduates and new labour market entrants. As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we committed to reforming our public employment service through building a Jobs and Careers Service and as set out to the House of Commons on 8 December 2025, the Work and Pensions Secretary announced the expansion of our Youth Guarantee.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, published in October 2025, outlined our plan to deliver the skilled workforce our economy needs and provides graduate focused reforms that will ensure graduates have pathways into priority sectors with real labour market demand. The reforms include more flexible opportunities for graduates to retrain or upskill, more provision for blended learning and employer aligned courses and regionally expanded training aligned to priority sectors, delivered through Skills England and Strategic Authorities. Graduates in areas like digital, engineering, defence, and construction will benefit from more tailored pathways and employer partnerships.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how has the proportion of AI expenditure within the Department for Work and Pension’s overall IT budget changed since 2018; what assessment they have made of the potential savings and efficiency gains that could be achieved through greater use of AI and modern IT systems; and what steps they are taking to build in-house expertise and identify new opportunities for AI deployment across departmental operations.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not allocate direct funding for AI prior to 2023/2024. Direct investment began in 2023/24, representing around 0.4% of the IT budget. In 2024/25, this increased to approximately 2.5% and 2.2% in 2025/26. Whilst the current year (2025/26) shows a reduction in % terms, the £’s investment represents a similar value, demonstrating the Department’s drive to use AI within its digital transformation strategy.
DWP’s Strategy for 2030 sets the direction for how we will transform delivery of our services over the next few years. AI and modern IT systems will play an important role in that strategy.
We collaborate with stakeholders to identify key areas where AI can solve business challenges and add value, co-designing solutions with these stakeholders.
A secure version of Microsoft Copilot Chat is now available to all DWP colleagues. We are providing this capability to enable colleagues to safely explore how AI can contribute to their roles.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many passports and driving licences have been removed from paying parents as a result of them not paying their child maintenance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions uses sanctions such as sending Paying Parents to prison, disqualifying them from holding, or obtaining a passport or driving licence as a last resort and only used when every other method of recovering unpaid child maintenance has been tried. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) on behalf of the Department only pursues these sanctions when they believe the Paying Parent can pay but is refusing to do so. In these circumstances enforcement powers will have a deterrent effect on Paying Parents.
From the latest Child Maintenance Service official statistics, table 6.2, in the National tables, provides the outcome information where the CMS applied to courts to sanction Paying Parents for non-compliance. The latest statistics show there were three immediate passport confiscations and seven immediate driving disqualifications in Great Britain between July 2019 and March 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people who have entered the Universal Credit system as a consequence of increased employer labour costs, including higher employer National Insurance contributions, particularly in low-margin sectors.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made.
Data on the Universal Credit caseload, including up-to-date trends information, is available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
Guidance for users is available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement welfare strategies specifically for those areas excluded from highly clustered, high-productivity economic sectors.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Get Britain Working White Paper set out our cross-Government plan to get people into work and on in work.
As part of that, we are planning to offer greater employment support in every part of the country to those who need it to get into work and fulfil their potential.
This Government is also taking action to deliver strong, secure, and sustainable economic growth to boost living standards for working people in every part of the UK. Central to this will be the Industrial Strategy, which will help us seize the most significant opportunities and create the most favourable conditions for growth and investment in key UK sectors – spread throughout the country. Through our 643 Jobcentres and unique high street presence, DWP will help growth driving sectors recruit the people they need to thrive.
Government has held several skills summits with industry, including on construction, clean energy and water, and has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with DEFRA to improve JCP customer access to a wider pool of vacancies, with others to follow with relevant sectors.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deliver additional employment support to young men aged 16 to 24 years old.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The steps set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper set us on a path to bring down economic inactivity levels and to take the first steps to delivering our long-term ambition of achieving an 80% employment rate. The Department understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why DWP have a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment, whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances.
DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners such as the Kings Trust, Local Authorities, National Careers Service/Career Wales, local colleges and Youth Trusts.
As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we are launching 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. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England set to receive grant funding to deliver the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers from Spring 2025. We will use the learning from these Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls-out across the rest of England.
This is alongside a new national jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, work health and skills plans for the economically inactive, and the launch of Skills England to open new opportunities for young people. We will work in partnership with organisations and businesses at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include work experience, training courses or employability programmes.
The Government is also reforming the apprenticeships offer into a more flexible growth and skills offer, aligned to the industrial strategy. The Department for Education is working to introduce new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships, in targeted sectors. These will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work, fuel innovation in businesses across the country, and provide high-quality entry pathways for young people.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have set a target to reduce the number of economically inactive men aged 16 to 24 years old.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The steps set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper set us on a path to bring down economic inactivity levels and to take the first steps to delivering our long-term ambition of achieving an 80% employment rate. The Department understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why DWP have a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment, whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances.
DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners such as the Kings Trust, Local Authorities, National Careers Service/Career Wales, local colleges and Youth Trusts.
As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we are launching 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. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England set to receive grant funding to deliver the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers from Spring 2025. We will use the learning from these Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls-out across the rest of England.
This is alongside a new national jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, work health and skills plans for the economically inactive, and the launch of Skills England to open new opportunities for young people. We will work in partnership with organisations and businesses at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include work experience, training courses or employability programmes.
The Government is also reforming the apprenticeships offer into a more flexible growth and skills offer, aligned to the industrial strategy. The Department for Education is working to introduce new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships, in targeted sectors. These will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work, fuel innovation in businesses across the country, and provide high-quality entry pathways for young people.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many policy reviews and consultations the Department for Work and Pensions has launched since the General Election on 4 July 2024; what the subject of each review is; and what the anticipated timescales are for their completion.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government has outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out an ambitious set of milestones - across the missions - for this Parliament.
As the House would expect, Government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer.
Public reviews will be available on Gov.uk as they are published.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the review of devolution and local government will impact any plans to (1) publish the job entry and sustainability rates for Jobcentre Plus and its contractors, and (2) merge JobCentre Plus and the National Careers Service.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is always exploring ways to publish more information to enrich the public discourse.
DWP published new analysis of Universal Credit (UC) into-work rates and flows between conditionality groups - including what proportion did not flow out of the UC “Searching for work” labour market regime, over a six month period, as part of the recent Get Britain Working White Paper here.
Plans are being developed for regular and proportional update to this analysis.
Additionally, statistics and management information on contracted employment provisions such as Restart and the Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) interventions are published on Gov.UK (Restart Scheme statistics to October 2024 - GOV.UK, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) Management Information, April 2021 to March 2024 - GOV.UK).