Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Construction Industry Training Board levy on (a) the profitability of the construction sector in the past five years and (b) the level of health and safety in that sector.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Responsibility for the Construction Industry Training Board transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions on 16 September 2025. The Secretary of State has not yet made any assessment of the potential impacts of the Construction Industry Training Board’s levy.
Responsibility for health and safety within the construction industry in England sits with the Health and Safety Executive.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 support young people in supported accommodation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It remains the department’s priority to support young people in supported accommodation.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides support with rent and other living costs through Housing Benefit and Universal Credit to eligible individuals (including young people) living in supported accommodation. Subject to criteria, individuals may be eligible for help with housing costs through Housing Benefit, to pay all or part of their rent and any eligible service charges. In 2023, DWP spent an estimated £4.1bn on Housing Benefit and Universal Credit housing entitlement for people living in supported accommodation.
To drive up quality of provision for people in supported accommodation, DWP is working alongside the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to implement measures arising from the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act. A government response to the first consultation on the Act is due to be published as soon as possible.
We also acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for working age customers residing 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 will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for people seeking psychological therapy to support employment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and individual placement and support schemes to address the root causes of mental health issues and provide support for people to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work. We will also make it easier for people to self-refer to talking therapies services through the NHS App.
We are continuing to roll out employment advisors in our NHS Talking Therapies services to support people with common mental health conditions in seeking and retaining employment. Our advisors help people who are in work but struggling or facing difficulties in the workplace, are off work sick, or are looking for work, so we can provide the right support at the right time.
Confidential support is available to people at any stage of their career. This could include school- or college-leavers looking for their first job to people looking at changing their lifestyle or work-life balance as they get closer to retirement.
We are also expanding individual placement and support schemes embedded in community mental health services to improve employment outcomes for people with severe mental illness. These schemes offer intensive, individually tailored support to get people into work, with ongoing support for the employer and employee to help ensure the person keeps their job.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking with the Armed Forces Pay Review Body to minimise the requirement for back pay for service personnel when pension calculations are made.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) aims to put Armed Forces pensions into payment as quickly as possible so as not to cause undue delay and stress, and every individual's pension entitlement is considered with the utmost diligence.
We recognise the impact on pension calculations of the late announcement of annual pay awards and are committed to reducing the delay. We announced both the 2025 pay award and 2026/27 pay round two months earlier than last year and remain committed to bringing forward pay announcements further.
Defence officials are working with the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body on this year’s pay round and the submission of their 2026 report. We will publish this report and the Government’s response to their recommendations as soon as practicable in 2026, recognising the importance of giving certainty on pay settlements as early as possible.
This Government is committed to the independent Pay Review Body process and is focused on delivering fair and timely rewards for public sector workforces, including the Armed Forces, getting well-deserved pay rises to those delivering our vital public services.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what transport support is available for SEND families (a) in cases where a child is placed in a specialist setting but is not yet of compulsory school age and (b) in other instances.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to arrange free home to school travel for eligible children. A child is eligible if they are of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.
Local authorities have the discretion to arrange travel for other children, such as those below compulsory school age attending a specialist setting, but are not required to do so. It is for each local authority to decide whether and how to exercise their discretionary power.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken in Certificate of Sponsorship allocations for Skilled Worker visa holders in cases where (a) a compliant sponsor with an A-rated licence has submitted a valid request with supporting evidence and (b) delay risks causing a lawful worker to fall out of immigration status.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is the responsibility of individual businesses to monitor the visa expiry dates of their overseas employees and to take appropriate action to ensure continuity of employment.
The published service standard for non-complex Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (UCoS) allocations and renewals is 18 weeks, as outlined on GOV.UK. Businesses may also opt to use the priority service, which aims to process requests within 5 working days.
Responsibility for submitting timely applications or updates lies with the sponsoring business.
Where necessary, the Home Office conducts additional checks to maintain the integrity of the immigration system, which may delay the processing of applications to assure ourselves that requests are genuine and full time work and employment will be given to a prospective employee, for their own protection.
UK visa sponsorship for employers: Your responsibilities - GOV.UK
The Home Office is currently operating within the published service standards for all Sponsorship applications.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to help ensure that military families looking to foster a child have adequate housing to meet the criteria required by fostering organisations.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Defence continually reviews its accommodation policies to ensure they are suitable for modern families. All Service personnel who are active foster carers are entitled to accommodation as necessary to support them fostering children. Families wanting to foster a child for the first time are eligible to apply for suitable accommodation where it is available.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation is committed to providing personnel and their families with high quality, modern and well-maintained accommodation.