Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support he provides for people with long term health conditions trying to access discounts on water charges when the supply is provided on behalf of his Department.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence does not provide additional support for people with long term health conditions to access discounts on water charges when the supply is provided on behalf of the Department.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has for when the next round of formal trade negotiations with Taiwan will take place.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK-Taiwan Trade Talks have taken place since 1991 and I look forward to co-chairing these this year. Under the UK and Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership we have committed to developing 'pillars' on Investment, Digital Trade and Renewable Energy and Net Zero. We are working with the Taiwanese authorities to develop and deliver these.
UK-Taiwan Trade Talks and the Enhanced Trade Partnership will support our strong unofficial relationship with Taiwan, based on deep and growing ties in a range of areas, including trade and investment.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the new support hub for SMEs will be operational.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 March 2025 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge) to Question 34903.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40715 on Universal Credit: Disability, what steps she is taking to ensure that savings reinvested into (a) work support and (b) training opportunities impact recipients of Universal Credit health top up in (i) Dunfermline and Dollar constituency, (ii) Scotland and (iii) other devolved administrations.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work. This is backed up by £1 billion of new funding across the United Kingdom, with the share of funding for devolved governments calculated in the usual way.
In Northern Ireland employment support is fully transferred. In Scotland and Wales, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Scottish and Welsh Governments have concurrent powers to deliver employment support, with some provision delivered and funded directly by DWP and some funding devolved through the block grant.
As outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are committed to working in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh Governments on shared employment ambitions across devolved and reserved provision, which includes employment support measures in the Health and Disability Green Paper.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40712, what the cost to the public purse was of the Disability Confidence Scheme in each of the last four years.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Disability Confident scheme expenditure is not separately recorded within departmental budgets.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has discussions with international counterparts in NATO on the report entitled SkyShield: a practical security guarantee for Ukraine by CEPA, published on 17 March 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Secretary regularly speaks with his NATO and international counterparts, including on our collective support to Ukraine's armed forces in response to Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion.
With reference to the report entitled SkyShield, we are working with the Coalition of the Willing for potential security assurances for Ukraine.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, how she plans to introduce more active (a) engagement and (b) support for new claims for Universal Credit health rate.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding
As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.
In addition, Help to Claim provides tailored practical support to anyone who needs it. It enables individuals requiring additional support to make and maintain their Universal Credit claim, up until their first correct Universal Credit payment. It is also available to those moving from legacy benefits because of managed migration, voluntary moves, or a change of circumstances.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure work coaches are able to assist people with (a) ADHD and (b) autism in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In January this year, the Government launched an independent academic panel to advise on boosting awareness and inclusion at work for those with neurodiversity. Many panel members are neurodivergent or have familial experience, alongside their professional expertise. The panel is exploring why neurodivergent individuals often have poor workplace experiences and a low employment rate. Building on the Buckland Review, the panel will recommend employer actions to support neurodivergent inclusion, including in recruitment and daily workplace practices.
This government is committed to improving the outcomes for neurodiverse people. All DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive training, equipping them with the skills to provide support tailored to each customer’s individual circumstances.
Work Coaches have access to a learning product specific to Autism. It covers:
Work coaches receive specialist advice from Disability Employment Advisers on customising their support for disabled customers, who also offer direct support to customers where additional bespoke assistance is beneficial. Work coaches can also use Additional Work Coach Support to provide personalised assistance to disabled people, helping them move toward and into employment and to access employment and wider services.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those reforms on people with ADHD.
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 in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found here ‘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.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Dunfermline and Dollar constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK receive the maximum award from PIP.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department regularly publishes Personal Independence Payment (PIP) statistics. The 'PIP Cases with Entitlement' dataset on Stat-Xplore, which contains the number of people entitled to PIP by geography including Parliamentary constituency and components received, can be used to calculate the number of people receiving PIP at the highest level. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: Introduction to the Stat-Xplore User Guide.
PIP has been devolved to Scotland since April 2020 and existing claims are currently being moved to the Scottish replacement benefit Adult Disability Payment.