Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making pensioners who live with a partner below State Pension age eligible to receive age-appropriate welfare benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have no current plans to do so. Ensuring that individuals, including those below State Pension age, can get into and stay in work is important for individuals in helping them to continue saving for their own retirement and contributes to the wider economy.
Since 2019, couples have needed to claim working age benefits (usually Universal Credit) until both members reach pension age.
Once in receipt of Universal Credit, the younger partner can access the same employment support that is available for customers below State Pension age. The partner above State Pension age can still receive their State Pension, but this will be taken into account in full when assessing entitlement and calculating the couple’s Universal Credit award.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68072 on Housing Benefit: Supported Housing, what further discussions he has had with stakeholders on proposals to increase the Housing Benefit disregard for working single claimants from £5 to £57.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers living in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation.
A wide range of customers currently receive rent support through Housing Benefit, including pensioners, residents in Supported Housing or Temporary Accommodation, and those who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper would therefore apply across these groups.
Eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. Officials are undertaking further analysis to assess its impact on the various groups and will continue considering policy options with stakeholders.
It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 Question 76922 on Housing Benefit: Supported Housing, what further discussions he has had with stakeholders on proposals to decrease the Housing Benefit taper rate from 65% to 55%.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers living in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation.
A wide range of customers currently receive rent support through Housing Benefit, including pensioners, residents in Supported Housing or Temporary Accommodation, and those who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper would therefore apply across these groups.
Eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. Officials are undertaking further analysis to assess its impact on the various groups and will continue considering policy options with stakeholders.
It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adding specific information on Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy to (a) guidance and (b) training for PIP assessors.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment assessments assess the functional impact of a claimant’s health condition or impairment on their ability to carry out daily living activities, and to understand how a condition affects day-to-day functioning.
All health professionals (HPs) conducting these assessments are trained specialists in disability analysis and receive comprehensive training on assessing the effects of both physical and mental health conditions. Given the wide range of health conditions, many of which are rare and present with varying degrees of functional impact, it is not feasible to provide specific training on every individual condition. The Orphanet directory, for example, lists over 23,000 rare diseases.
While there is no condition-specific training on Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), HPs have access to a broad suite of Core Training and Guidance Materials. These include Condition Insight Reports and Continuing Professional Development guides, which provide detailed, quality-assured information on symptoms commonly associated with CADASIL, such as migraines and strokes.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of plans to reform the fit note process on people with mental ill health.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Good work is good for health. We know that good work can positively impact people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing. We also know that tailored work and health support can help break down the kinds of barriers that can make finding and staying in a job more difficult for those with mental health conditions.
In 2023, 24% of fit note episodes had a known diagnosis and of those, 33% are for mental and behavioural disorders. We are reforming the fit note process so that it starts with an assessment of what someone can do with the right support, rather than what they cannot. This builds on the £795m investment we made at Autumn Statement for additional funding over five years for mental health services to help support people with mental ill health to gain and/or retain employment, as well as our successful Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies programme, which is now being rolled out across England.
Our ambition is to bring together preventative healthcare and employment systems to support people who are at risk of falling out of work or who have already fallen out of work due to ill health. We continue to work with stakeholders including mental health organisations and those with lived experience, to co-develop this policy, this includes seeking insight and evidence via a public call for evidence.
This work is an essential part of the Government’s ambition to improve health outcomes, and help people get access to the support they need to return to, remain and thrive in work.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the assessment of lead ammunition restrictions by the Health and Safety Executive between March 2021 and 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard
For the period 1 March 2021 to 31 March 2024 the Health and Safety Executive full economic cost estimate is £500,000 which includes the costs of both HSE and independent scientific experts engaged in this work but excludes work undertaken by the Environment Agency.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 (a) suitability and (b) availability of remote working jobs for disabled benefit claimants.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
In consulting on the Work Capability Assessment and setting out changes to the assessment from 2025, the department has considered the increase in the broad range of hybrid and home working opportunities over the last decade, alongside better employer understanding of the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions. Responses to the consultation, including from people with health conditions and disabilities and the organisations that support them, highlighted barriers in accessing employment and flexible jobs for disabled people. Our enhanced employment and support offer will help disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work.
Analysis published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that having a disability has little effect on levels of home working. Disabled workers reported similar levels of homeworking only (18%) compared with those without a disability (16%).
Sources: Characteristics of homeworkers, Great Britain - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) and Is hybrid working here to stay? - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce delays affecting Access to Work applications and claims.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Access to Work has had a significant increase in applications over the last year. New staff have been recruited and we are also doing more recruitment in the next 3 months. This will support the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make decisions. Customers making new applications, where they are starting work within the next 4 weeks, or have a grant coming to an end that requires renewal, are prioritised to ensure customers are able to enter and remain in the labour market. We are also transforming the Access to Work service through increased digitalisation. This will make the service more efficient, the application process easier and improve the time taken from application through to decision.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward the next review of the level of the benefit cap in the context of the rising cost of living.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Under section 96A of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, the Secretary of State must, at least once every five years review the benefit cap levels to determine, whether it is appropriate to change them, and this will happen at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on when they plan to publish the stage two report on complaints about communication of changes to women’s State Pension age.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) stage 2 report is a matter for the Ombudsman.
It would not be appropriate to comment whilst the investigation is ongoing; and section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.