Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of future (a) applicants and (b) recipients for the health element of universal credit in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published alongside the Spring Statement.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the change in number of recipients of the health element of universal credit in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published alongside the Spring Statement.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of personal independence payments in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In January 2025, there were a total of 11,800 people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment in the Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency.

This information can be found on Stat-Xplore in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ dataset’.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, if she will publish the criteria for membership of the panel to ensure that the views of (a) disabled people and (b) people with health conditions are used in the (i) design and (ii) delivery of reforms.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of wider efforts to put disabled voices at the heart of policy, the Get Britain Working White Paper announced a commitment to establishing a panel to consult disabled people. We are in the process of establishing this panel, which will also consider the reforms set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.

We also committed to the establishment of ‘collaboration committees’ in the Pathways to Work Green Paper to further develop our welfare reforms. These will involve bringing together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.

Both initiatives will include people who have lived experience of disability and representation of a range of disabilities. Further information about both initiatives will be announced soon.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, if she will publish the membership of the panel to ensure that the views of (a) disabled people and (b) people with health conditions are used in the (i) design and (ii) delivery of reforms.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of wider efforts to put disabled voices at the heart of policy, the Get Britain Working White Paper announced a commitment to establishing a panel to consult disabled people. We are in the process of establishing this panel, which will also consider the reforms set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.

We also committed to the establishment of ‘collaboration committees’ in the Pathways to Work Green Paper to further develop our welfare reforms. These will involve bringing together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.

Both initiatives will include people who have lived experience of disability and representation of a range of disabilities. Further information about both initiatives will be announced soon.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will launch a consultation on proposals to introduce an additional requirement for people to score at least four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living part of PIP.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.

We will bring forward this change this session via primary legislation, which will enable Parliament to provide full scrutiny of these plans.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the (a) equality and (b) poverty impact analysis were not published with the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The equalities analysis and poverty analysis includes detailed information which would have pre-empted the OBR forecast. That forecast is market sensitive until the Spring Statement. The analysis was published alongside the Spring Statement this week.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will launch a consultation on proposals to (a) end the Work Capability Assessment and (b) use the single Personal Independence Payment assessment to assess entitlement for the Universal Credit health element.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and protect disabled people. Therefore, there are some measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the 18^th March 2025, that we will not be consulting on.

Urgently needed changes to PIP will be brought forward via Primary Legislation so that Parliament can fully debate and vote on them. Spending on PIP has increased by £2 billion per year above inflation on average in each of the last five years. We need to take decisive action to make the benefit financially sustainable, so that it can continue to provide vitally needed support. In the Green Paper, we are however consulting on how best to support those who lose benefit as a result of this change.

We will launch a wider review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will launch a consultation on proposals to rebalance Universal Credit (a) standard allowance, (b) health element and (c) new payment rates.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and promote the interests of disabled people. Therefore, there are some measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the 18 March 2025, that we will not be consulting on.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our wider plan to reform the system by rebalancing the levels of the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance and the UC health element. Our objective is a social security system which is pro-work but provides adequate financial support for people when they are not working, regardless of the reason. The changes to UC payment rates will be introduced in primary legislation, and so will be fully debated in Parliament, and are not subject to consultation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reductions in funding for level seven apprenticeships on the availability of skilled workers in the NHS; and whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on this matter.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth, supported by a strong skills system.

This government has an extremely challenging fiscal inheritance. There are tough choices that need to be taken on how funding should be prioritised in order to generate opportunities for young people that enable them to make a start in good, fulfilling careers, and the department will therefore be asking more employers to step forward and fund a significant number of level 7 apprenticeships themselves outside of the levy-funded Growth and Skills offer.

The department has received a wide range of representations, which it is currently considering. These have been received directly and via Skills England, which has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders on this matter and has shared its findings with the department.

The department recognises the importance of providing clarity as soon as possible on future funding for level 7 apprenticeships and will communicate next steps in due course.

The department also continues to work across government to tackle the skills needs of different sectors, including addressing the skills gaps in the health and social care industry which were identified in Skills England’s first report on driving growth and widening opportunities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reductions in funding for level seven healthcare apprenticeships on the availability of Advanced Clinical Practitioners in the NHS.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth, supported by a strong skills system.

This government has an extremely challenging fiscal inheritance. There are tough choices that need to be taken on how funding should be prioritised in order to generate opportunities for young people that enable them to make a start in good, fulfilling careers, and the department will therefore be asking more employers to step forward and fund a significant number of level 7 apprenticeships themselves outside of the levy-funded Growth and Skills offer.

The department has received a wide range of representations, which it is currently considering. These have been received directly and via Skills England, which has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders on this matter and has shared its findings with the department.

The department recognises the importance of providing clarity as soon as possible on future funding for level 7 apprenticeships and will communicate next steps in due course.

The department also continues to work across government to tackle the skills needs of different sectors, including addressing the skills gaps in the health and social care industry which were identified in Skills England’s first report on driving growth and widening opportunities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reductions in funding for level seven healthcare apprenticeships on the delivery of the NHS long-term workforce plan.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth, supported by a strong skills system.

This government has an extremely challenging fiscal inheritance. There are tough choices that need to be taken on how funding should be prioritised in order to generate opportunities for young people that enable them to make a start in good, fulfilling careers, and the department will therefore be asking more employers to step forward and fund a significant number of level 7 apprenticeships themselves outside of the levy-funded Growth and Skills offer.

The department has received a wide range of representations, which it is currently considering. These have been received directly and via Skills England, which has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders on this matter and has shared its findings with the department.

The department recognises the importance of providing clarity as soon as possible on future funding for level 7 apprenticeships and will communicate next steps in due course.

The department also continues to work across government to tackle the skills needs of different sectors, including addressing the skills gaps in the health and social care industry which were identified in Skills England’s first report on driving growth and widening opportunities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the change in number of recipients of personal independent payments in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No such estimate has been made.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of future (a) applicants and (b) recipients of personal independence payments in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No such estimates have been made.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to her Department was of payments for the health element of Universal Credit to people aged below 22 in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Quarterly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work in Great Britain are published on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides figures up to December 2024 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

The UC Health caseload aged under 22 at the mid-point of the current financial year (July 2024) can be combined with the standard monthly Limited capability for work and work-related activity element of £416.19 to derive an estimate for annual expenditure for 24/25.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of the health element of universal credit in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Quarterly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work in Great Britain are published on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides figures up to December 2024 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

The UC Health caseload aged under 22 at the mid-point of the current financial year (July 2024) can be combined with the standard monthly Limited capability for work and work-related activity element of £416.19 to derive an estimate for annual expenditure for 24/25.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people below the age of 22 are in receipt of the health element of Universal Credit in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Quarterly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work in Great Britain are published on Stat-Xplore. The latest release provides figures up to December 2024 which can be broken down by ‘Age (in bands and single year)’, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

The UC Health caseload aged under 22 at the mid-point of the current financial year (July 2024) can be combined with the standard monthly Limited capability for work and work-related activity element of £416.19 to derive an estimate for annual expenditure for 24/25.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are available to applicants to the Afghan civilian resettlement scheme who have evidence of biometric data taken for application where the Home Office (a) did not retain the content of and (b) process an earlier application.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Everyone seeking resettlement under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is required to meet the eligibility requirements published on gov.uk.

The window to submit a referral under ACRS Pathway 1 Stage 2: Separated Families was opened on 30 July 2024 and closed on 30 October 2024. Those who have been resettled in the UK under ACRS Pathway 1 and were evacuated during Operation Pitting without their immediate family members, were able to submit a referral under this pathway. This includes those that have submitted previous visa applications to the Home Office.

Further information is viewable at: Afghan citizens resettlement scheme: Separated Families Pathway - GOV.UK

To obtain entry clearance to the UK under the ACRS, individuals must successfully complete the required entry clearance processes, which includes meeting the relevant suitability requirements. The Home Office does not consider previous applications.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy that an application for family relocation may be pursued under the Afghan civilian resettlement scheme criteria where the Home Office did not (a) retain the content of and (b) process an earlier application.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Everyone seeking resettlement under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) is required to meet the eligibility requirements published on gov.uk.

The window to submit a referral under ACRS Pathway 1 Stage 2: Separated Families was opened on 30 July 2024 and closed on 30 October 2024. Those who have been resettled in the UK under ACRS Pathway 1 and were evacuated during Operation Pitting without their immediate family members, were able to submit a referral under this pathway. This includes those that have submitted previous visa applications to the Home Office.

Further information is viewable at: Afghan citizens resettlement scheme: Separated Families Pathway - GOV.UK

To obtain entry clearance to the UK under the ACRS, individuals must successfully complete the required entry clearance processes, which includes meeting the relevant suitability requirements. The Home Office does not consider previous applications.

Found: Not called_NC61 Andy McDonald Apsana Begum Jon Trickett John McDonnell Chris Law Steve Witherden