Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the effectiveness of access to work programmes for disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Numerous steps are being taken to improve the effectiveness of access to work programmes, so that more disabled people and those with health impairments are supported to thrive in employment. By the end of the Parliament, the Government will be investing £1 billion per year in employment support for these groups.
Connect to Work is being rolled out nationally, with the roll out due to be complete early next year. In a radical shift from previous schemes, programmes are being locally commissioned, but taking a high fidelity approach based on the Individual Placement and Support and Supported Employment Quality Framework approaches.
Access to Work aims to support the recruitment and retention of disabled people into employment. It is a personalised discretionary grant that provides support with workplace adjustments beyond an employer’s obligation as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. More details can be found at Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition - GOV.UK
As part of our Plan for Change, and as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published in March, we are consulting on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the programme to help more disabled people into work and support employers ensuring value for money for taxpayers. We will review all aspects of Access to Work after evaluating the findings of the Pathways to Work consultation.
In our Get Britain Working White Paper, published in November 2024, we committed support for employers to recruit, retain and develop staff. As part of that, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead ‘Keep Britain Working’, an independent review to consider how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie Mayfield will deliver a final report with recommendations in the autumn.
We are discussing ideas for improving the Disability Confident Scheme, which encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. The scheme covers all disabilities, including hidden disabilities. More details can be found at Disability Confident employer scheme - GOV.UK. We have been discussing ideas for making the scheme criteria more robust, and officials are continuing to engage with stakeholders to discuss reform proposals.
In addition, DWP has a digital information service for employers, (www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk), which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees to remain in work. This includes guidance on health disclosures and having conversations about health and other topics.
In January this year, we launched an expert academic panel to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel will consider the reasons why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace and low overall employment rate, making their recommendations later this year.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help support the creation of graduate jobs.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to supporting graduates to secure high-quality employmentand develop the skills they need to thrive in the labour market.
The Department for Work and Pensions has an established strong network of partnerships with external training providers, universities, and graduate employment platforms such asMilkround, Gradplus, and Prospects to enhance graduate employment opportunities. These partnerships not only connect graduates with relevant vacancies, training, and careerdevelopment resources, but also help strengthen the availability of suitable jobs.
We are also reforming Jobcentre Plus to create a new, more personalised employment support service across Great Britain. This new service will move away from a one-size-fits-allapproach and recognise that individuals – including graduates – have different needs. It will provide tailored help to find good, meaningful work and support progression in employment,with a stronger focus on skills and careers.
The new Jobs and Careers Service will be universal and designed to work for everyone,including graduates, ensuring they can access the right support to build their careers and contribute to a dynamic and growing economy.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to introduce legislation to implement the commitments outlined in the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, updated 23 June 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Primary legislation is required to make the change to remove Direct Pay and reform the collection fee structure. Subject to Parliamentary time, we hope to implement the changes so they can take effect within the current Parliament.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Pathways to work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025, what steps she is taking to (a) reduce levels of time taken to access Access to Work applications and (b) ensure that those levels of time do not prohibit people from taking up offers of employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reducing waiting times for Access to Work and are considering the best way to deliver that for customers. We have (a) increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims and (b) prioritised applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of altering the income change threshold on child maintenance allowance reviews.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a paying parent's income is at least 25 per cent different than the figure obtained from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the last available full tax year, or no figure is available, the Child Maintenance Service will consider whether the liability should be based on the parent's current income. A change will not be considered unless it breaches the 25 per cent tolerance.
The 25 per cent threshold ensures that both parents can continue to budget with certainty and therefore provide ongoing stability for the child. Most people's income does not change to this degree over the course of one year. This approach ensures that minor changes to income do not interfere with the efficiency of the system, increasing costs for the taxpayer.
The Department has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review will also consider income change thresholds including their potential impact on both the paying and receiving parents.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the income change threshold on child maintenance allowance on both the (a) paying and (b) receiving parents.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a paying parent's income is at least 25 per cent different than the figure obtained from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the last available full tax year, or no figure is available, the Child Maintenance Service will consider whether the liability should be based on the parent's current income. A change will not be considered unless it breaches the 25 per cent tolerance.
The 25 per cent threshold ensures that both parents can continue to budget with certainty and therefore provide ongoing stability for the child. Most people's income does not change to this degree over the course of one year. This approach ensures that minor changes to income do not interfere with the efficiency of the system, increasing costs for the taxpayer.
The Department has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review will also consider income change thresholds including their potential impact on both the paying and receiving parents.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available to people waiting for a Personal Independence Payment tribunal.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 November 2024 to Question 11735.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of including long covid as an industrial illness for people working the NHS during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) can be paid. IIAC's advice is limited to entitlement to benefits under the Industrial Injuries Scheme and does not cover the classification of ‘an industrial illness’ more widely.
In November 2022, IIAC published a Command Paper which recommended five severe post-COVID-19 complications should bring entitlement to IIDB for certain health and social care workers. In November 2024, IIAC published a further command paper which concluded that the 2022 recommendation should be extended to cover certain transport workers.
The Department is carrying out a detailed assessment of the recommendations in both reports and will respond in due course.
In its most recent command paper, IIAC concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence available to recommend prescription for further complications following COVID-19 infection, or for further occupations. IIAC will continue to keep the situation under review and monitor the evidence and available data.
Asked by: Catherine Fookes (Labour - Monmouthshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will meet with Auditory Verbal UK to discuss (a) barriers to opportunities and (b) improved outcomes for deaf children.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no current plans to meet. However, I note that my colleague the Minister for Early Education has met with and visited Auditory Verbal UK to understand the work they are doing to improve the lives of deaf children.