Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on the number of NEET young people.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Budget made more than £1.5bn available over the next three years for investment inemployment and skills support. This funds £820m for the Youth Guarantee and provides£725m for the Growth and Skills Levy, ensuring young people have the support they need toearn or learn. The Youth Guarantee will include the Jobs Guarantee, which is guaranteeing six-months of paid work for every eligible 18-21 year old who has been on Universal Credit andlooking for work for 18 months. Under the Jobs Guarantee we will fund 100% of the wages forthe six months (up to 25hrs/week at the relevant minimum wage), as well as the additionalemployment costs.

An independent investigation has also been launched to identify how we can go further totackle the root causes of youth activity. Led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the probewill examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or educationbefore their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental healthconditions and disability.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) removing the two-child limit of UC child benefit and (b) adding that benefit to the exemptions for the household benefit cap on the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) number of households exempt from that cap.

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

Information related to removing the two child limit policy is published in ‘Table 3.2: Costing of the removal of the two-child limit’ (page 66-67) and is available at EFOs - Office for Budget Responsibility.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will he provide projections for the number of face-to-face assessments on a national basis for each month of 2026.

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

As set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we plan to increase the number of face-to-face health assessments while maintaining our commitment to providing alternative assessment channels where necessary.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) the West of England Combined Authority, (b) the Sheffield City Region, (c) the Tees Valley Combined Authority, and (d) Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority in each of the last five years.

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

We will be publishing data to answer this question in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, (b) Cardiff Capital Region, (c) Swansea Bay City Region, and (d) the North of Tyne Combined Authority in each of the last five years.

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

We will be publishing data to answer this question in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in the (a) Birkenhead Central, Wirral, (b) Rhyl North, Denbighshire, (c) Little Layton & Little Carleton, Blackpool, (d) Seacombe, Wirral, (e) Grimsby East Marsh & Port, North East Lincolnshire, (f) Everton East, Liverpool, and (g) South Promenade & Seasiders Way, Blackpool Middle layer Super Output Areas in each of the last five years.

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

We will be publishing data to answer this question in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in the (a) Central Blackpool, Blackpool, (b) Bootle South, Sefton, (c) Grangetown, Redcar and Cleveland, (d) Hartcliffe, Bristol, (e) Townhill, Swansea, (f) Ely East, Cardiff and (g) Penderry, Swansea Middle layer Super Output Areas in each of the last five years.

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

We will be publishing data to answer this question in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate the Department has made of the level of change in the number of households exempt from the benefit cap following the Autumn Budget 2025.

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

No assessment has been made.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, wow many employees in the United Kingdom take part in a salary sacrifice scheme in the (a) public and (b) private sectors.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Salary sacrifice arrangement can cover multiple non-cash benefits, including cars, pensions, bicycles and workplace nurseries.

HMRC does not hold administrative data on the number of employers offering and employees using salary sacrifice schemes. However, estimates based on other information are held.

Pension contributions

HMRC analysis of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) suggests that around 7.7 million employees made salary sacrifice pension contributions in 2024.

Cycle to Work scheme

HMRC’s non-structural tax relief statistics publication sets out the estimated number of participants in the cycle to work scheme (link below).

Non-structural tax reliefs - GOV.UK

It is assumed that most would use the scheme via salary sacrifice given the tax savings.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who flowed off the household benefit cap because of an exempting benefit had the off-flow outcome due to receiving (a) Employment Support Allowance support group, (b) Disability Living Allowance, (c) Industrial Injuries and (d) Personal Independence Payment in the quarter to May 2025.

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

The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are currently available up to the quarter to May 2025.

Statistics on the exempting benefit outcomes above are grouped in the ‘Other outcome’ category above. The Department does not produce statistics breaking down this category into individual exempting benefits and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, of the households who flowed off the household benefit cap in the quarter to May 2025, how many had the off-flow outcome due to the (a) household’s benefit income being reduced to under the cap levels, (b) the household being in receipt of an exempting benefit, and (c) household no longer claiming Universal Credit.

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

The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are currently available up to the quarter to May 2025.

Statistics on the exempting benefit outcomes above are grouped in the ‘Other outcome’ category above. The Department does not produce statistics breaking down this category into individual exempting benefits and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average payment per customer for each primary medical condition, as defined in the Access to Work statistics released by the Department for Work and Pensions.

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

The requested information across all Access to Work provision can be found in tables AVG03a (nominal terms expenditure) and AVG03a-R (real terms expenditure) in the published official statistics. Tables AVG03b through AVG03d-R provide further average expenditure breakdowns by any element, any assessment and non-contracted provision. Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent changes to salary sacrifice arrangements on employees’ pension savings.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are in the light touch or working conditionality groups.

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

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for every year since 2017, what proportion of Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are (a) in work and (b) not in work.

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

Table 1 provides the proportion of Universal Credit households with children, broken down by in work or not in work.

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1%.

2. Figures are for households receiving Universal Credit in assessment periods ending at any point in the calendar year.

3. Figures are for Great Britain (GB) only and include only households where Universal Credit was in payment.

4. Figures represent Universal Credit full service claims only, which are only available from 2019 onwards.

5. Due to differences in methodology, there may be slight differences from published statistics.

Table 1: Proportion of UC households with children, broken down by in work or not in work, for every calendar year since 2019

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are in (a) full-time or (b) part-time work.

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

The requested information is not available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average duration of a Universal Credit claim for someone who begins a claim at age a) 18, b) 19, c) 20, d) 21, e) 22, f) 23 and g) 24.

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

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by claim duration and by age.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average duration of a Universal Credit claim that was started in a) 2021, b) 2022, c) 2023, d) 2024 and e) 2025.

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

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by claim duration and by age.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the number of Universal Credit households with dependent children reporting fewer than (a) 16, (b) 30 and (c) 35 hours of work per week.

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

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Universal Credit starts in each of the last 5 years were (a) new benefit claimants and (b) claimants transitioning from legacy benefits through managed migration.

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

This information is not readily available. However, as detailed in the DWP Statistical Work Programme and the Universal Credit statistics release strategy, the Department is developing a method to denote UC claimants given a migration notice from the Move to Universal Credit programme, and updates on this will be shared in the DWP Statistical Work Programme.

As we continue the Move to Universal Credit (UC) programme, the department is moving people from legacy benefits to UC, leading to an expected rise in the UC caseload.

Latest Official Statistics show that, up to end of September 2025, almost 1.9 million individuals have made a claim to UC following receipt of a migration notice.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the membership of the Timms Review steering group will be published.

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

We have launched the Timms Review to ensure Personal Independence Payment is fair and fit for the future. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.

On 30 October, I announced that I will co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group of around a dozen members, which will set the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan.

The steering group is being recruited through an open and accessible Expression of Interest process, which ran from 30 October to 30 November. We are now considering applications and will provide an update shortly.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many families there were in each region in England and Wales with (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children, (d) four children, (e) five children, (f) six to eight children, (g) eight to 10 children and (h) more than 10 children in each year since 2019.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of the 2nd of December is attached.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals are waiting for their Access to Work application to be processed, and how does this compare to each month since June 2024.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 October 2025 to Question UIN 80759.

The number of Access to Work applications increased from approximately 5,340 in April 2021 to 42,403 in June 2024.

We are committed to reducing waiting times for new applications and have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims. Applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing are prioritised.

In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, launching a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

Found: Andrea Leadsom Parliamentary Under Secretary of State from 13 November 2023 to 5 July 2024 Helen Whately

Found: Andrea Leadsom Parliamentary Under Secretary of State from 13 November 2023 to 5 July 2024 Helen Whately

Found: Helen Whately states she asked officials to provide her with figures for care home deaths, but she could

Found: Helen Whately also raised this concern in her oral evidence, when referencing the lower rates of infection