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.

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.

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.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement UIN HCWS1044 on Pensions Update of 11 November 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the potential costs of delivering compensation in line with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report on Women’s State Pension age communications; and what mechanisms for delivering that compensation he is considering.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that the government give this full and proper consideration.

Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that they should award financial redress.

We will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.

30th anniversary of first international services from Ashford International

Found: Liberal Democrat; Ely and East Cambridgeshire) Sam Carling (Labour; North West Cambridgeshire) Lauren Edwards

Submit Evidence (by 27 Feb 2026)

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee scrutinises the work and performance of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.