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Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Universal Credit
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming the standard level of the Personal Independence Payment who did not score four points in any of the 10 descriptors have a claim where someone else receives the carers component of Universal Credit in (a) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) the North East and (d) England.

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 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.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Universal Credit
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming the enhanced level of the Personal Independence Payment who did not score four points in any of the 10 descriptors have a claim where someone else receives the carers component of Universal Credit in (a) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) the North East and (d) England.

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 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.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Carer's Allowance
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving the enhanced level of PIP did not score four points in any of the ten descriptors allowing someone else to receive carers allowance in (a) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) the North East and (d) England.

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 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.


Written Question
Disability Living Allowance: Children
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people under the age of 16 are claiming Disability Living Allowance in (a) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) the North East and (d) England.

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

The latest available data on the number of children claiming Disability Living Allowance can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. The requested data can be found in the ‘DLA: Cases in Entitlement’, which allows you to view the number of individuals that are entitled to DLA. To filter for information related to children only, this can be found by expanding ‘Client Type’ and selecting ‘Children’. The specific areas requested can be found by expanding ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituency 2024’ or ‘National – Regional – LA – OAs’.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Carer's Allowance and Universal Credit
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of what the weekly reduction in income would be for a household where one person receives (a) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and does not have four points in any descriptor and (b) Carer's Allowance and the care component of Universal Credit, in the context of her proposed reforms to PIP.

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

No estimate has yet been made.

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 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.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Carer's Allowance
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming the standard level of the Personal Independence Payment who did not score four points in any of the 10 descriptors have a claim where someone else receives Carer's Allowance in (a) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) the North East and (d) England.

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 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.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving the standard level of PIP did not score four points in any of the ten descriptors in (a) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) the North East and (d) England.

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 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.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment
Monday 7th April 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving the enhanced level of PIP did not score four points in any of the ten descriptors in (a) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) the North East and (d) England.

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 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.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment
Monday 31st March 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming the Personal Independence Payment are also claiming the (a) limited capability for work and work-related activity component of Universal Credit or old-style Employment and Support Allowance in (i) Blyth and Ashington constituency, (ii) Northumberland, (iii) the North East and (iv) England.

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

The information to answer these questions can be found on Stat-Xplore in the Benefit Combinations - Data from May 2019 for England and Wales dataset. The most recent month for which data is available is August 2024. The data can be filtered by Benefit to include PIP Claimants only. The data can also be broken down by Additional Claim Details to include ESA Payment type and UC Health Journey information, and for a range of geographical areas.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here. An account is not required to use Stat-Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.


Written Question
Education: North of England
Wednesday 12th March 2025

Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the divide in attainment between the north and south of England; and what the barriers are to reducing that divide.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. However, we know that too many children and young people face barriers to learning. This is not acceptable, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break down barriers and the unfair link between background and success, helping all children achieve and thrive wherever they are in the country.

High and rising standards in every school are at the heart of this mission. The department aims to deliver these improvements through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, and a system which removes the barriers to learning that hold too many children back.

To ensure all children and young people have expert qualified teachers driving high and rising standards across our schools and colleges, the department is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers.

Teaching School Hubs have been established across the country, which provide approved high-quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. These Hubs play a significant role in delivering initial teacher training, the Early Career Framework, national professional qualifications and Appropriate Body services. Three Rivers Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence which delivers teacher training and development across Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

We have also launched the Curriculum and Assessment Review that will look closely at key challenges to attainment, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve.

The department is strengthening our tools for faster and more effective school improvement by launching the new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams. Supported by over £20 million, these teams will provide both mandatory, targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve, and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system for all schools.

The department has also introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to give every family the certainty that they will be able to access a good local school for their child, where they can achieve and thrive, regardless of where they live.

Absence is one of the biggest barriers to success for children and young people. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which limits their opportunity to succeed. This government is determined to tackle this and have a comprehensive strategy in place.

This includes our attendance mentoring programme, which multiple areas in the north, including Middlesborough, Blackpool and Hartlepool, are benefiting from. Backed by over £15 million investment, the programme provides targeted one-to-one support for students who are persistently absence.

To enable the sharing of good practice across the sector, we also have a network of Attendance Hubs led by a school with good attendance practices. Each hub has a broad geographical spread, and schools are clustered with similar schools. There are currently 31 hubs across England working with 2,000 schools.