Alison Bennett

This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to sick and disabled family and friends. Without the support they provide there would be more pressure on formal social care services, whether provided by local authorities or through other routes.

The Casey Commission, announced recently by this government, will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families should expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers. Furthermore, the Government’s plans to reform and modernise the NHS will see reduced waiting times and improved care, helping people to remain in work and economically active. And the Government is reviewing the implementation of the Carer’s Leave Act, which gave employed carers a right to time off work for the first time. We will also explore the benefits of paid leave, while being mindful of the impact of any changes on small employers. Through the Employment Rights Bill, we will make sure that flexible working – which can play such an important role in helping carers balance their work and caring responsibilities - is available to all workers except where it is genuinely not feasible.

With respect to support from DWP, unpaid carers on low incomes can receive support through Universal Credit. This can respond flexibly to variations in earnings and caring responsibilities and includes a carer element worth £2,400 a year for those providing unpaid care of 35 hours a week or more. Full-time carers are also exempt from requirements to seek or prepare for paid work, although they can request employment support if they wish to do so. For those providing unpaid care of less than 35 hours a week, Universal Credit seeks to balance paid work and unpaid care by tailoring the number of hours people are expected to work or search for work to take account of their caring responsibilities. Part-time unpaid carers receive personalised employment support through their Jobcentre Plus work coach. This can include access to skills provision, referral to an employment support programme such as Restart, careers advice, job search support, volunteering opportunities, and access to the Flexible Support Fund to aid job entry.

For those in England and Wales who are providing care of 35 hours or more a week to a disabled or elderly person with care needs, Carer’s Allowance is available. This is subject to a weekly earnings limit, which since 7 April 2025 has been linked to 16 hours work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels. This government has increased the threshold by the biggest amount ever, meaning it is currently £196 a week of net earnings (after allowable costs, including costs related to care), compared to £151 in 2024/25. The increase means that over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive Carer’s Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976 and is the highest percentage increase since 2001.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

9% of households claimed Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in 2023-2024, with 10% of these households claiming multiple awards.

Notes:

• Figures are for Great Britain, excluding Northern Ireland.
• Figures are for the 2023-24 financial year.

The receipt of War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards is already fully ignored when calculating eligibility for Universal Credit.

This is in line with the treatment of civil compensation payments for personal injury, which are usually in the form of lump sum payments and are disregarded as capital.

Periodic payments of civil compensation (i.e. income) in consequence of a personal injury either ordered by the court or under an agreement are fully disregarded.

The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; and Income Support. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in these benefits and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount. This contrasts with a benefit like Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit where there is no weekly disregard. Furthermore, these are legacy benefits, in the process of being replaced by Universal Credit, in which War Pensions and AFCS are ignored.

By default, the first £10 per week of a War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them.

In relation to Pension Credit, the first £10 of any War Pension payments or AFCS award made due to injury or disablement is disregarded. Four additions to the War Disablement Pension are completely disregarded: Constant Attendance Allowance; Mobility Supplement; Severe Disablement Occupational Allowance; and dependency increases for anyone other than the applicant or her/his partner.

War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in Pension Credit and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.

The income taper in Housing Benefit ensures people in work are better off than someone wholly reliant on benefits. The Department acknowledges, however, there is a challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those living in Supported Housing or Temporary Accommodation and receiving their housing support through Housing Benefit. The department will consider the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.

Notwithstanding these positive outcomes from work, the Department acknowledges there is a challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those residing in Supported Housing or Temporary Accommodation and receiving their housing support through Housing Benefit. The department will consider the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.

The Pension Protection Fund rules on indexation have been the subject of much discussion. I will continue to consider this issue, and the valuable report of the Work and Pensions Select Committee report from March 2024. The Government will respond fully to its recommendations in the coming months.

We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby’s health and wellbeing. Maternity pay is paid for each pregnancy, not in respect of each child. For paternity pay, it is also paid at the statutory rate, even if you have more than one child, for example twins.

Parental pay is reviewed annually at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. From April 2025, the rate will increase by September 2024's CPI figure of 1.7%, subject to parliamentary approval, from £184.03 to £187.18 per week.

Parental pay is only one element of the support available for parents. Depending on individual circumstances, additional financial support, for example, Universal Credit, Child Benefit and the Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) may also be available.

The Sure Start Maternity Grant is a grant of £500 to provide help with the costs associated with the expenses of a baby (or babies in the event of a multiple birth) expected, born, adopted, or the subject of a parental or residence order or other similar arrangements if there are no other children under the age of 16 in the claimant’s family. You might be entitled to more than one payment in the event of a multiple birth.

We recognise that autistic people face particular barriers to employment, which is reflected in a poor overall employment rate. In our plan to make work pay, we committed to raising awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace.

Our forthcoming employment White Paper considers how to improve employment outcomes and experiences for disabled people and people with health conditions. We are exploring how we can build on the earlier, independent, Buckland Review which was focused more narrowly on autism and employment, to improve understanding and support for all neurodivergent people at work.

We also have a range of specialist initiatives which can provide support to neurodivergent people to get back into work and stay in work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants.

Employers will also be a large part of our success in this work. Our current support to employers includes a digital information service for employers, and the Disability Confident scheme. We will be considering how to enhance our work with employers in the months ahead.

The provision of group B streptococcal microbiological laboratory testing is under review with clinical stakeholders. At present, this service, with respect to enriched culture medium testing, in accordance with Public Health England’s guidance on Standards for Microbial Investigations B 58, is not offered within regional UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) microbiology laboratories. The Bacteria Reference Department in UKHSA Colindale had specific accreditation under the United Kingdom Accreditation Service for group B Streptococci testing, which provides confirmation of group B Streptococci status and typing, based on the identification of 10 polysaccharide antigens.

The prevention of ill health is a priority for the Government. We are committed to tackling obesity as a core part of our health mission, to support people to live longer, healthier lives and raise the healthiest generation of children.

Most of the population are consuming double the free sugar recommendations of 5% total daily calorie intake. Diets high in sugar increase the risk of tooth decay and weight gain. Being overweight or living with obesity is associated with a range of negative health impacts such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some kinds of cancers.

People with type 1 diabetes should only consume high sugar drinks in the event of hypoglycaemia, because of not eating enough carbohydrates or taking too much insulin. With proper management, hypoglycaemia should be a rare event, and the consumption of high sugar drinks kept to a minimum. In addition, high sugar drinks are available at a variety of price points.

Diabetes UK has provided an online summary of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) and put this in the context of diabetes and its management. It includes advice on the use of drinks to treat hypoglycaemia and highlights that other products can also be used for this purpose e.g. glucose tablets, sweets such as jelly babies, pure fruit juice or glucose gels. It also highlights that some treatments may be prescribed for free for people with diabetes. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/living-with-diabetes/eating/sugar-reduction-hypo-treatment-sugar-tax

NHS England is supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve treatment and care for their populations and reduce variation of diabetes care, with NHS England supporting systems to be aware of the national data and insights through benchmarking and promoting good practice. NHS England has provided £3 million of funding to systems to provide clinical leadership to ensure that clinical diabetes metrics, such as care processes and treatment targets, are reviewed at ICB level and unwarranted variation identified. A resource hub of materials has been set up on Future NHS, including examples of innovation and best practice for improvement of care process delivery, and achievement of treatment targets.

The SDIL came into force in 2018 and applies to producers and importers of added sugar soft drinks that contain 5 grams total sugar or more per 100 millilitres. If the currently proposed change to the lower sugar threshold comes into force, it will only impact around 17% of additional sales volumes for products containing between 4 and 4.9 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres. The only change impacting high sugar drinks is the uprating of the tax rate, and with both these changes it is up to businesses to decide whether to pass through to consumers any additional costs associated with paying the tax.

The UK National Screening Committee does not recommend screening for glaucoma because it is not clear if the tests which are available are accurate enough to be used in a screening programme. Regular sight tests are important in detecting glaucoma, which is why we recommend everyone having a sight test at least every two years. Free National Health Service sight tests are available for many, including children, those aged 60 years old and over, individuals on income-related benefits, and those diagnosed with, or considered at risk of, glaucoma.

The Department does not hold information on the absolute numbers of people living with glaucoma at any one time in England, and therefore no estimate has been made on the numbers of people who will have glaucoma in the next 10 years. Data is also not held centrally on the number of qualified ophthalmic consultants and doctors who are able to treat glaucoma in the NHS.

The UK National Screening Committee does not recommend screening for glaucoma because it is not clear if the tests which are available are accurate enough to be used in a screening programme. Regular sight tests are important in detecting glaucoma, which is why we recommend everyone having a sight test at least every two years. Free National Health Service sight tests are available for many, including children, those aged 60 years old and over, individuals on income-related benefits, and those diagnosed with, or considered at risk of, glaucoma.

The Department does not hold information on the absolute numbers of people living with glaucoma at any one time in England, and therefore no estimate has been made on the numbers of people who will have glaucoma in the next 10 years. Data is also not held centrally on the number of qualified ophthalmic consultants and doctors who are able to treat glaucoma in the NHS.

The UK National Screening Committee does not recommend screening for glaucoma because it is not clear if the tests which are available are accurate enough to be used in a screening programme. Regular sight tests are important in detecting glaucoma, which is why we recommend everyone having a sight test at least every two years. Free National Health Service sight tests are available for many, including children, those aged 60 years old and over, individuals on income-related benefits, and those diagnosed with, or considered at risk of, glaucoma.

The Department does not hold information on the absolute numbers of people living with glaucoma at any one time in England, and therefore no estimate has been made on the numbers of people who will have glaucoma in the next 10 years. Data is also not held centrally on the number of qualified ophthalmic consultants and doctors who are able to treat glaucoma in the NHS.

My Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular conversations with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about a variety of topics.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government has made available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. The Government has provided an increase to core local government spending power in 2025/26 of up to 6.8% in cash terms.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults sets out the best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment, and support of people with Parkinson’s. It aims to improve the recognition and management of Parkinson’s symptoms. The NICE’s guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71

NHS RightCare has also produced a Progressive Neurology Conditions Toolkit. The toolkit sets out the key priorities for increasing knowledge of the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s and makes suggestions regarding new service models which can be implemented in primary care to speed up referrals to specialists and ensure a timely diagnosis. Additionally, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology has published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to reducing waiting for neurology services. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme which has developed a new model of integrated care for neurology services, to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with Parkinson’s.

Data on how regularly an average patient with Parkinson’s disease sees a neurologist is not held centrally. NICE guidance recommends that people with Parkinson's should be seen at regular intervals of six to 12 months. While NICE guidance is not mandatory, the Government expects the healthcare system and commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account when designing services for their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.

Data on the average time taken for patients with Parkinson’s disease to see a neurologist is not held centrally. The latest data for referral to treatment waiting times in England, from February 2025, shows there were under 230,000 pathways waiting for a neurology appointment, 53.7% of which were waiting within 18 weeks.

The NHS Constitution sets out that patients should start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. We have achieved our pledge to deliver two million extra elective appointments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology. We have made the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults sets out the best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment, and support of people with Parkinson’s. It aims to improve the recognition and management of Parkinson’s symptoms. The NICE’s guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71

NHS RightCare has also produced a Progressive Neurology Conditions Toolkit. The toolkit sets out the key priorities for increasing knowledge of the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s and makes suggestions regarding new service models which can be implemented in primary care to speed up referrals to specialists and ensure a timely diagnosis. Additionally, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology has published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to reducing waiting for neurology services. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme which has developed a new model of integrated care for neurology services, to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with Parkinson’s.

Data on how regularly an average patient with Parkinson’s disease sees a neurologist is not held centrally. NICE guidance recommends that people with Parkinson's should be seen at regular intervals of six to 12 months. While NICE guidance is not mandatory, the Government expects the healthcare system and commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account when designing services for their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.

Data on the average time taken for patients with Parkinson’s disease to see a neurologist is not held centrally. The latest data for referral to treatment waiting times in England, from February 2025, shows there were under 230,000 pathways waiting for a neurology appointment, 53.7% of which were waiting within 18 weeks.

The NHS Constitution sets out that patients should start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. We have achieved our pledge to deliver two million extra elective appointments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology. We have made the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults sets out the best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment, and support of people with Parkinson’s. It aims to improve the recognition and management of Parkinson’s symptoms. The NICE’s guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng71

NHS RightCare has also produced a Progressive Neurology Conditions Toolkit. The toolkit sets out the key priorities for increasing knowledge of the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s and makes suggestions regarding new service models which can be implemented in primary care to speed up referrals to specialists and ensure a timely diagnosis. Additionally, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology has published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to reducing waiting for neurology services. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme which has developed a new model of integrated care for neurology services, to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with Parkinson’s.

Data on how regularly an average patient with Parkinson’s disease sees a neurologist is not held centrally. NICE guidance recommends that people with Parkinson's should be seen at regular intervals of six to 12 months. While NICE guidance is not mandatory, the Government expects the healthcare system and commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account when designing services for their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.

Data on the average time taken for patients with Parkinson’s disease to see a neurologist is not held centrally. The latest data for referral to treatment waiting times in England, from February 2025, shows there were under 230,000 pathways waiting for a neurology appointment, 53.7% of which were waiting within 18 weeks.

The NHS Constitution sets out that patients should start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. We have achieved our pledge to deliver two million extra elective appointments. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology. We have made the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the NHS constitutional standard, by March 2029.

There are currently no plans to publish an implementation plan alongside the Elective Reform Plan.

Our Elective Reform Plan sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the 18-week constitutional standard by the end of this Parliament, and outlines how these will be implemented by National Health Service systems, including a series of milestones for delivery. We have hit our pledge to deliver two million extra elective appointments early, and have now exceeded that pledge by delivering over three million more appointments.

In addition, the Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has since been published and confirmed the interim targets for 2025/26, including a target that 65% of patients wait for 18 weeks or less by March 2026, up from 58.9% in January 2025, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement on current performance over that period.

The Government is committed to putting patients first, including those waiting for joint replacement surgery.

We understand the impact long waits can have on patients’ mental health, and we are committed to ensuring that people can access high quality mental health support when they need it. As part of this, we will recruit 8,500 mental health workers to ease pressure on busy mental health services. Separately, in the Government’s Plan for Change we have committed to return to the 18-week Referral to Treatment standard, which has not been met for almost a decade.

We will ensure that patients are not only seen on time but also have the best possible experience of care. Our Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, has committed us to working with patients and their carers to co-develop minimum standards for their experience of care.

Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are helping to reduce elective surgery wait times by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries, such as joint replacement surgery. As of March 2025, there are 114 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England.

The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical hub procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025 and ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so even more operations can be carried out near where patients live.

The Government is committed to putting patients first, including those waiting for joint replacement surgery.

We understand the impact long waits can have on patients’ mental health, and we are committed to ensuring that people can access high quality mental health support when they need it. As part of this, we will recruit 8,500 mental health workers to ease pressure on busy mental health services. Separately, in the Government’s Plan for Change we have committed to return to the 18-week Referral to Treatment standard, which has not been met for almost a decade.

We will ensure that patients are not only seen on time but also have the best possible experience of care. Our Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, has committed us to working with patients and their carers to co-develop minimum standards for their experience of care.

Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are helping to reduce elective surgery wait times by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries, such as joint replacement surgery. As of March 2025, there are 114 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England.

The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical hub procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025 and ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so even more operations can be carried out near where patients live.

There are no plans for any of the new hubs to focus solely on orthopaedic procedures, but five of the new surgical hubs will focus on orthopaedics procedures in addition to other specialties.

The Elective Reform Plan committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical procedures by opening 14 new and three expanded surgical hubs by June 2025, and ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so more operations can be carried out. They focus on driving improvements in six high volume specialties: ophthalmology; general surgery; trauma and orthopaedics, which includes spinal surgery; gynaecology; ear, nose and throat; and urology.