Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative data his Department holds on rates of (a) child poverty and (b) homelessness in (i) Surrey Heath constituency, (ii) Surrey, (iii) the South East and (iv) England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty in the UK are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, the latest available being: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty on a before housing costs basis at local level are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication, the latest available being: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Homelessness statistics are published by MHCLG: Statutory homelessness in England: financial year 2024-25 - GOV.UK
Ahead of Child Poverty Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty. The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures announced this year, 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.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of households experiencing food insecurity in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Data on the number of households experiencing food insecurity by constituency is not available due to sample sizes.
Statistics on the number of individuals living in households that are food insecure by region in the UK are published annually in the “Family Resources Survey” publication in “table 9_2” of “Household food security tables” at Family Resources Survey: financial year 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
The latest statistics published on 27 March 2025 are for the financial period 2023/24. The latest available data can also be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of demand for food support services in Surrey Heath constituency in winter 2025-26.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have not made a specific assessment of the potential implications for our policies of trends in the level of demand for food support services in Surrey Heath during winter 2025–26 but the Government is committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of families falling into poverty. Our Get Britain Working White Paper, backed by an initial £240 million investment in 2025/26, will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.
We have provided £742 million in England to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) until 31 March 2026. This enables Local Authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food, and develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.
The Government also recognises that greater certainty helps local authorities to design and deliver sustainable plans for local welfare. This is why from 1 April 2026, we are introducing a new £1 billion Crisis and Resilience fund package. This is 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.
Further, ahead of Child Poverty Strategy publication in the coming weeks, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty. The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures announced this year, 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.
Finally, we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have already introduced the Fair Repayment Rate, reducing the Universal Credit overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer’s standard allowance, giving 1.2m households an average of £420 per year. In addition, we have also uprated benefit rates for 2025/26 in line with inflation, with 5.7 million Universal Credit households forecast to gain by an average of £150 annually.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of unemployment for (a) younger and (b) older people in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is published and available at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
The estimated unemployment levels can be found by selecting “Query data” on the NOMIS home page and selecting “Annual Population Survey/Labour Force Survey” and then “annual population survey (Dec 2004 to Jun 2025)” in the lists of data sources. The Geography will need to be set for the relevant Westminster constituency from the menu, and the Variable set to the desired age group from the “Unemployment rate” Category.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the barriers to employment faced by autistic people with (a) higher education qualifications and (b) professional experience in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, 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. Our new service will move away from the current one size fits all approach, recognising people are individuals with different support needs and will provide better tailored support. The new service will be universal and must work for everyone, including autistic individuals with higher education qualifications and professional experience.
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism. In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate.
The panel has reviewed the formal evidence base in relation to workplace barriers neurodivergent people in getting into or remaining in employment, or in developing their careers. The panel has built on the work of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, which reported to the previous government, and which provided useful insights on the employment barriers faced by autistic people.
We have now received a final version of the Panel’s report, which we will consider alongside the work of the major independent review on healthy and inclusive workplaces, Keep Britain Working.
Furthermore, we know that whilst there are common and consistent barriers faced by disabled people and people with health conditions, including neurodivergent people, we also know that each individual will face a unique combination of these barriers that go beyond the barriers typically associated with their condition.
DWP research asked disabled people and people with health conditions who were not currently in work the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with a series of eighteen statements about the barriers to finding work. Barriers were grouped as health, confidence and skills, employer/workplace, and DWP/benefit related barriers. Overall, 87% of customers agreed with one or more of the statements, and on average customers agreed with six of the eighteen. The research found those cognitive/neurodevelopmental conditions saw interviews as a significant barrier, along with distance and travel barriers leading to disorientation when in new or unfamiliar places.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an autism employment strategy to help improve (a) recruitment, (b) retention and (c) career progression for autistic people.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism. In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate. We have now received a final version of the Panel’s report. We will need to consider the findings alongside other key pieces of work, such as the Keep Britain Working Review.
We also support employers to be more inclusive in their workplace practices, regardless of diagnosis. DWP's current offer to employers includes:
In addition, the DWP are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including autistic people, with their employment journey and there are currently a number of initiatives to support individuals, including autistic people, to return to work.
This includes support through our local jobcentres. Pathways to Work Advisers are delivering support in Jobcentres for disabled people and people with health conditions to help them move towards and into work, building on and expanding existing evidenced measures like additional work coach support. Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres offer advice and knowledge on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work.
DWP’s voluntary, locally led Supported Employment Programme, Connect to Work, helps disabled people, people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment to find sustained work. For neurodivergent people, including autistic people, Connect to Work follows the Supported Employment Quality Framework, which is backed by an international evidence base and has been proven to support neurodivergent people into sustainable employment. For the Surrey Connect to Work delivery area, Surrey County Council are the lead authority. Their Connect to Work service is live and more information, including how to apply for support, can be found here: Connect to Work - Surrey County Council
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the unemployment rate among autistic adults in (a) the South East and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism. In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate. We have now received a final version of the Panel’s report. We will need to consider the findings alongside other key pieces of work, such as the Keep Britain Working Review.
We also support employers to be more inclusive in their workplace practices, regardless of diagnosis. DWP's current offer to employers includes:
In addition, the DWP are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including autistic people, with their employment journey and there are currently a number of initiatives to support individuals, including autistic people, to return to work.
This includes support through our local jobcentres. Pathways to Work Advisers are delivering support in Jobcentres for disabled people and people with health conditions to help them move towards and into work, building on and expanding existing evidenced measures like additional work coach support. Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres offer advice and knowledge on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work.
DWP’s voluntary, locally led Supported Employment Programme, Connect to Work, helps disabled people, people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment to find sustained work. For neurodivergent people, including autistic people, Connect to Work follows the Supported Employment Quality Framework, which is backed by an international evidence base and has been proven to support neurodivergent people into sustainable employment. For the Surrey Connect to Work delivery area, Surrey County Council are the lead authority. Their Connect to Work service is live and more information, including how to apply for support, can be found here: Connect to Work - Surrey County Council
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) disability employment charities and (b) business representatives on improving access to skilled work for autistic adults in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Department has numerous contacts with organisations in the Surrey Heath constituency on these matters.
Camberley Jobcentre works with Surrey Choices, which provides specialist employment support for individuals with autism through bi-weekly sessions.
The Work Well programme and a newly appointed Connect to Work Employment Specialist are also co-located at the Jobcentre, strengthening support for neurodivergent customers.
Additionally, our Disability Employment Advisors provide outreach via GP surgeries and partner with local charities such as Safe New Futures, Voluntary Support North Surrey, and Sight for Surrey to offer tailored support for residents with health conditions and disabilities.
Frimley Park Hospital delivers supported internships for healthcare roles, successfully helping individuals into work.
At national level, the DWP Strategic Relationship Team work in partnership with two national charitable organisations, Ambitious about Autism, and the National Autistic Society. We have utilised their expertise to deliver upskilling session to build awareness, capability, and confidence in DWP Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers. We have also developed an Autism Toolkit with support from these organisations, bringing together various resources utilised by colleagues to coach and guide our customers.
Ambitious about Autism support a quarterly session to employers and partners, raising awareness of autism in the workplace, myth busting and providing some tips on how to create inclusive recruitment and retention of autistic talent. These sessions offer an opportunity for DWP colleagues to arrange follow up conversations with attendees, to influence inclusive recruitment, discuss the DWPs Disability Scheme and any offer general support to meet employer needs.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of unemployment of autistic adults in the (a) South East and (b) Surrey Heath constituency on the economy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential economic impact of trends in unemployment among autistic adults in the South East or the Surrey Heath constituency.
The 2025 publication by DWP on The employment of disabled people reported that, across the UK, 34.0% of disabled people with autism (as either main or secondary condition) aged 16-64 were in employment in 2024/25, compared to 55.3% for all non-disabled people.
This data is based on the Annual Population Survey. Data for disabled people for the South East and Surrey Heath constituency is available from the above publication (tables LMS009 and LMS010). However, equivalent data for disabled people with autism is not readily available and would be unreliable due to the small number of responses to the survey for this group in these areas.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of back-to-work programmes for autistic people seeking long-term employment in Surrey.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including autistic people, with their employment journey and there are currently a number of initiatives to support individuals, including autistic people, to return to work.
These include:
- Pathways to Work Advisers are delivering support in Jobcentres for disabled people and people with health conditions to help them move towards and into work, building on and expanding existing evidenced measures like additional work coach support. On 6 March 2025 we announced the deployment of 1000 Pathway to Work Advisers to help people with health conditions and disabled people towards and into work.
- Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres offer advice and knowledge on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work;
- Connect to Work is DWP’s voluntary, locally led Supported Employment Programme that will help disabled people, people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment. For neurodivergent people, Connect to Work has a specialist pathway that is dedicated to supporting those with particularly complex barriers. It follows the Supported Employment Quality Framework, which is backed by an international evidence base and has been proven to support neurodivergent people into sustainable employment. Connect to Work will be across all of England and Wales and will support over 300,000 people over five years. For the Surrey Connect to Work delivery area, Surrey County Council are the lead authority. Their Connect to Work service is live and more information, including how to apply for support, can be found here:Connect to Work - Surrey County Council
- Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions; and
- WorkWell, a new way to deliver integrated work and health support that is designed by local partnerships. Sites went live from October 2024 in 15 areas in England including Surrey Heartlands and Frimley ICB which covers Surrey Heath. It provides a low intensity holistic support for health and disability related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision.
We carry out a wide range of research and evaluations to ensure we can best support people with disabilities and health conditions, and evaluation is a key driver in delivering DWP’s priority outcomes and ensuring alignment with the Government’s Plan for Change. As set out in the DWP Evidence and Evaluation Strategy, ongoing evaluation of new and existing initiatives assesses whether they are achieving intended results and informs future policy design. However, no assessment has been made of adequacy of back-to-work programmes and Government-funded employment support schemes specifically for disabled and neurodivergent people, including autistic people, specifically in Surrey Heath.