Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure adequate workforce capability to deliver (i) infrastructure and (ii) construction projects, in the context of recent cuts announced by the Construction Industry and Training Board to the availability of funding for skills development and training in the built environment sector.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 23 March 2025, the Government announced a construction support package worth £625 million to address the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector. This investment forms a key part of our broader strategy to advance national infrastructure projects, achieve ambitious housing targets, and facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy.
The changes announced by the Construction Industry and Training Board to its funding and grant system are intended to maximise the value for industry of the levy funding it receives from employers, in response to a significant increase in demand for its services over recent years. The changes prioritise training with the greatest level of impact on skills gaps, including maintaining support for apprenticeships.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how people will access professional careers advice within the new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to continuing the delivery of high quality, impartial careers advice in the new Jobs and Careers Service through professionally qualified careers advisers and recognise that their expertise is essential to enabling the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. We will ensure that anyone will be able to access support, including through the channel that best meets their needs.
In spring 2026, we will publish a report setting out more detail on how we will deliver the new Jobs and Careers Service. This report will bring together the evidence available and show how it has informed, and will continue to inform, the design and development of the new service. We will set out how we will focus on providing genuine, personalised employment support and careers advice, along with a clear outline of the support that people might expect to receive under the new service.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many professionally qualified Level 6 and 7 careers advisers the National Careers Service employs; and how this number will change under the planned new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Accurate information on the number of level 6 and 7 qualified careers advisers employed by the National Careers Service is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Following a Written Ministerial Statement made on 16th September 2025 (HCWS930), responsibility for adult skills in England transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The current National Careers Service contracts with the Department for Education (DfE) are due to expire on 30th September 2026 and adult careers advice will be brought in house to DWP from 1st October 2026.
The implications of this change in service arrangements will be worked through carefully with the relevant organisations, and where the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) TUPE Regulations apply, they will be followed.
Consequently, we will not know the number of level 6 and 7 advisers under the new Jobs and Careers Service until the process is complete and the new service starts.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support older people to remain in work.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government knows that work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. The Department is therefore committed to supporting older workers through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inclusion, flexibility, and progression. This includes promoting age-inclusive practices, supporting workplace health, policy and service reform and removing age related barriers to employment. The Department has also signed up to and actively promotes the Age-Friendly Employer Pledge, encouraging employers to adopt flexible working, age-positive hiring, and career development.
Our Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals.
The Government also acknowledges the key role employers play in helping older individuals to remain in the workforce, and the importance of embracing policies conducive to this support. In recognition of employer's vital role, we have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent ‘Keep Britain Working’ review. This review is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. This includes the perspectives of older people themselves, as well as input from organisations like the Centre for Ageing Better. Recommendations are expected in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the causes of economic inactivity related to poor health.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There were 2.8m people who were economically inactive with long-term sickness as their main reason in the UK in April to June 2025.1 This group accounts for 30.7% of the total inactive population and is the most common reason given for inactivity; this percentage has increased by 5.6 percentage points since December to February 2020 but had been increasing since before the pandemic. The largest absolute increases have been for women, people with a long-term mental health condition and proportionately for people aged 18 to 34.2
At present, there is no conclusive evidence on the causes of poor health related economic inactivity. A range of complex and interacting factors could be driving the rise in economic inactivity due to long-term sickness including NHS waiting lists3,4, long COVID5 and changes in the demographics6 and health of the population7,8,9.
1 A01: Summary of labour market statistics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
2 The employment of disabled people 2024 - GOV.UK
5 Self-reported long COVID and labour market outcomes, UK: 2022 - Office for National Statistics
6 Population changes and economic inactivity trends, UK: 2019 to 2026 - Office for National Statistics
9 What we know about the UK’s working-age health challenge - The Health Foundation