Young People and Work: Milburn Interim Report

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lilian Greenwood)]

As ever, it is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) on securing this important debate. I know that he has paid significant attention to the NEET crisis, and as he has rightly said before, this cannot be treated as just another political issue. It is one of the most serious social and economic challenges facing the country, as is clear from the fact that 20 Back-Bench Members have spoken in this debate—it is just disappointing that the official Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Fylde (Mr Snowden), is the only representative of his party here.

This challenge requires Government, business and others, including the third sector, to come together to tackle it and to treat doing so as a national cause—a moral mission, as my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham said. It is for those reasons that the Government commissioned Alan Milburn’s independent report. We asked him to get under the bonnet of this issue and look across the piece at the deep-rooted causes of long-term trends that have led to almost 1 million young people being stuck on the sidelines, not in education, employment or training—I gently remind the Opposition spokesperson that that number rose by 250,000 between 2021 and 2024, and that youth apprenticeship starts fell by 40% over a decade. Those are young people with talent, ambition and potential who, for too long, have not had the opportunities or support they need to succeed.

As the interim report makes clear, the challenge goes deeper than that headline figure. Around 60% of young people who are NEET are economically inactive, and six in 10 have never had a job. This Government will not accept a generation being left behind. We recognise that there is no single cause of rising economic inactivity among young people. Poor physical and mental health, disengagement from education, a lack of qualifications, limited work experience and difficulty navigating a changing labour market can all play a part. That is why our response must be comprehensive and co-ordinated across education, health, welfare, skills, employers and employment services. Alan Milburn’s final report and recommendations are coming soon, but this Government are already taking action.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

The Minister listed some of the drivers of the problem, one of which, as many Members mentioned, is transport links, particularly for people in rural communities. As she will remember, the Transport Committee recommended that to help solve the problem, the Government should look seriously at Scotland and institute free bus travel for young people in England. Will the Government look at that again?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I agree with my hon. Friend that provision of affordable and convenient transport is vital. I shall leave that to my colleagues in the Department for Transport.

At the heart of the Government’s current approach is the youth guarantee, which will be backed by an additional £2.5 billion by 2029, alongside investment in the growth and skills levy. Together, that funding will support almost 1 million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn. We are strengthening support at every stage of a young person’s journey, and through an expanded network of youth hubs and the youth guarantee gateway, young people will receive earlier and more intensive support.

We owe young people that support. As my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) said, this generation has faced, and is facing, a unique combination of challenges. They are not to blame for their predicament; it is the system that has failed them. As many hon. Members have said, the interim Milburn report found that 84% of NEET young people want to find a job, education or training—and I agree that we need to find a better acronym. The will is there, but it needs to be matched by support and opportunities. We are giving employers practical incentives to create those, including the £3,000 youth jobs grant and a £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment. Also, I remind all hon. Members that employers pay zero national insurance on employees who are under the age of 21 and earn less than £50,000.

Our wider reform of employment support also matters. The new jobs and careers service will bring together employment, skills and career support, with stronger links between employers, local areas and people looking for work. The objective is simple: to have a service focused not on processing people, but on helping them to find work, build skills and progress. Personalised support will be at the heart of our approach, to help people to access the support that best meets their needs. We have launched new digital tools, expanded community-based delivery and strengthened our employer offer.

We are also increasing access to work experience and training, which will play a critical role in breaking that age-old cycle—no experience, no job; and no job, no experience. My hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) got her first chance at a vet’s, and my Saturday job was at the newly opened Superdrug in Bolton. Such opportunities help us to learn what work is like, but far too many young people have not been getting them. Therefore, as my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) highlighted, work experience is as important as, if not more important than, ever.

However, where unemployment becomes entrenched, we must go further. That is why the jobs guarantee will offer eligible 18 to 24-year-olds who have been claiming universal credit and looking for work for 18 months a fully subsidised, six-month paid job. That offer is already changing lives for the better. In August, the Secretary of State came to Boots in Nottingham to meet young people who are benefiting from the jobs guarantee. He spoke about how remarkable it was to see the transformation in their self-belief, confidence and hope for the future. We are going to see more of that. Following the first phase of the programme, national roll-out will begin this month across 25 areas. The programme is expected to support more than 90,000 young people over the next three years.

Crucially, we are also extending that opportunity to eligible young disabled people and young people with long-term health conditions. The hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) will be pleased to hear that from April 2027, eligible young people receiving health-related benefits can voluntarily take up that offer shortly after their work capability assessments. They are going to the front of the queue, because nobody should be written off because of their health. Through programmes including Connect to Work, WorkWell, Access to Work and disability employment advisers, we are bringing employment and health support closer together. Our approach recognises that different people face different combinations of barriers and that we must see people in the round and take a joined-up approach to how we offer support.

We also know that we cannot solve this challenge only when a young person walks through the jobcentre door. Prevention must begin much earlier. There is a strong relationship, as hon. Members have said, between disengagement from school and becoming NEET later in life. That is why improving attendance is fundamental to our approach. We have set a national ambition to increase school attendance to over 94% by 2028-29, and we are supporting schools through clearer expectations, better data and new RISE—regional improvement for standards and excellence—attendance and behaviour hubs. Alongside those actions, we are fixing the broken SEND system and reforming careers provision so that young people have greater exposure to the workplace before they leave education.

I mentioned earlier how crucial work experience is. That is why our ambition is for every young person to receive two weeks of meaningful workplace experience during secondary school, building progressively through key stages 3 and 4. There are 44 careers hubs supporting that work, while additional provision is targeted towards young people who face the greatest barriers.

[Gareth Snell]

The aspiration of work experience is laudable, but the guidance that came out in the recent keeping children safe in education update now requires, if a young person will be spending more than three days in a workplace, that workplace to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check, as part of its being an unregulated activity. That is a significant barrier for many small businesses, particularly those that have previously hosted young people, but now have to go through the burden of getting a check. Could the Minister take that back to the Department and work with the Department for Education to find a way of ironing out that kink, so that we keep children safe but do not preclude the opportunities they previously had?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I can assure my hon. Friend that we are aware of that issue and we are setting about addressing it.

Alongside all those measures, we are reforming post-16 education so that young people can have clearer academic, technical and vocational routes. We are transforming the apprenticeship levy, backed by an additional £1 billion, supporting 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. New foundation apprenticeships, fully funded apprenticeships for eligible under-25s and additional support for employers will all create more routes into skilled employment. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) rightly said, the skills needs are changing in the world of AI.

These reforms represent significant action, but we recognise that the Government must continue to listen and learn. Alan Milburn’s interim report set out starkly the scale and complexity of the participation challenge facing this generation. Our ambition is straightforward: wherever a young person starts from, whatever barriers they face, they should have a genuine route into education, training or good work. I hope that reassures my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central.

Achieving that ambition means intervening earlier and joining up services across departmental boundaries, as my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns) said. It means working with employers, colleges and local organisations such as those highlighted by many hon. Members, including Saints Works in Southampton, the Spear Programme in York and Making It in Aylesbury, because, as my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Patrick Hurley) said, place-based solutions show great results. It also means refusing to accept that any young person is destined to remain outside opportunity. I should have said that it also means better public transport, especially in rural areas, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) and my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby) emphasised.

[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

It is worth noting that 13% of NEETs are university graduates. I meet many people who have just graduated with good degrees from good universities, who are applying for more than 300 jobs and not even getting a response. There is very little talk about support for graduates, and we are disappointed that in the Budget there was no mention of reforming the student loan system that is adding pressure on them. Will the Minister assure us that the Government are looking at the student loan system?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I can assure the hon. Member that we are considering the issues for graduates, as well as for younger people leaving school with lower-level qualifications.

Tackling the NEET challenge is not only an economic imperative, important as that is; it is about fairness, aspiration and ensuring that every young person has the chance to build a better future. We look forward to the publication of the final “Young People and work” report in the coming weeks. Its findings will provide an important opportunity to consider what more must be done to address the challenges facing young people today, and to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to participate, to progress and to thrive.

Benefits: DWP Eligibility Verification Measure

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lilian Greenwood)]

I am informing the House that the Department for Work and Pensions has issued the first eligibility verification notice under powers introduced by the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025, which amends the Social Security Administration Act 1992.

This marks an important step in the Department’s use of data to assist with identifying and preventing fraud and error, correcting inaccurate benefit payments sooner and helping prevent avoidable debt.

The eligibility verification measure is expected to save the taxpayer £1.2 billion over the next five years and will help ensure that people receive the support to which they are entitled, while protecting public money and addressing suspected fraud. Eligibility verification notices require banks and other financial institutions to check relevant accounts receiving specified benefit payments against eligibility indicators.

These indicators are criteria that can help DWP identify whether a specified benefit is, or has been, paid incorrectly, having regard to the benefit rules relating to a person’s capital or time spent abroad. Limited information is only returned where an account meets an eligibility indicator, indicating that a payment may be incorrect.

The information received will act only as a prompt for further checks. Information received through EVM will not, in isolation, imply that a person is guilty of any wrongdoing or that their benefit entitlement will change. DWP will have regard to all information relevant to a benefit decision, including information that was not obtained through EVM. Decisions will continue to be made by trained departmental staff through established processes.

Implementation will begin through a controlled test-and-learn phase so that systems, data quality, operational impacts and customer outcomes can be assessed before the measure is scaled up.

The measure contains a number of clear and vital safeguards. The legislation clearly sets out the benefits in scope, the purpose of the power and the type of information that can and cannot be shared under it, including a prohibition on financial institutions sharing transaction information or special category data, except for information indicating that an account is in receipt of a specified benefit. The Department will exercise these powers in accordance with the legislation and the statutory code of practice, issued and published on www.gov.uk in May 2026. Further information about the eligibility verification measure, including how the power will be used, accounts in scope and where relevant, other accounts linked to them can be found on www.gov.uk.

Independent oversight will be provided by an independent reviewer, appointed through an open, fair and transparent process, who will annually review the Department’s use of the power and produce reports, which will be laid in Parliament delivery of this vital new measure forms part of the Department’s strong response to fraud and error which has already saved £27 billion in 2025-26 using preventive frontline controls and detection by counter fraud teams.

[HCWS415]

Manufacturing Skills

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lilian Greenwood)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing this important debate and making such a strong case for manufacturing skills, both on the Isle of Wight and across the country. As he set out, the Isle of Wight punches above its weight in advanced manufacturing. Businesses including Wight Shipyard, Diverse Marine and GKN Aerospace demonstrate the breadth of modern British manufacturing, from shipbuilding and aerospace to clean energy, defence and precision engineering. My hon. Friend is right that this is not simply about preserving Britain’s industrial heritage; it is about building the industries, supply chains and skilled careers of the future.

I particularly welcome my hon. Friend’s focus on the new Large Structures Innovation Centre and Isle of Wight College’s specialist centre for engineering and advanced manufacturing training. Investment in facilities and innovation must go hand in hand with investment in people, so that employers have access to workers with the skills they need, and local people can benefit from the opportunities being created.

My hon. Friend was also right to recognise the strengths of Derby, from rail and automotive to aerospace and nuclear power. Alongside the Team Derby initiative, those strengths demonstrate the benefits of bringing together industry, skills and investment to support growth.

As we have heard, across the UK manufacturing contributed £229 billion to the economy last year and supported 2.5 million jobs, with advanced manufacturing alone supporting around 770,000 jobs. But we need to prepare for the future: 36% of the manufacturing workforce is aged over 50, and Skills England projects demand for around 148,000 workers in priority occupations in advanced manufacturing by 2035, reflecting both growth and the need to replace those who leave the sector. That is why skills are central to our approach to growth in every postcode. We are investing more than £1 billion in sector skills packages, including £182 million for engineering, to strengthen technical training and build the workforce needed by advanced manufacturing and other growth-driving sectors.

My hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West made an important wider point. As well as creating the skilled workforces that businesses need to grow, we need to ensure that young people have the opportunities they need to start, stay and succeed in high-demand sectors. The Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti), talked about youth unemployment; I remind him that between 2021 and 2024 the number of young people not in employment, education or training rose by a quarter of a million and the Conservatives did nothing. That is why we are reforming vocational routes for young people, including apprenticeships and technical education, and investing in technical excellence colleges, strengthening careers education and expanding work experience to help young people to move from education into skilled employment.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) said, we need clear technical pathways that begin before young people make crucial choices and continue into further education, apprenticeships and skilled work. That starts with technical education from age 14, on an equal footing with academic education, to help more young people to access technical qualifications alongside their GCSEs, careers guidance and relevant work experience.

[Perran Moon]

Will the Minister give way?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I will not because I am short on time. If I have time later, I will.

We have also announced new vocational GCSEs to give young people greater choice and equip them with practical knowledge and skills. After GCSEs, young people need routes that are easy to understand and valued by employers. This week is T-level week; these qualifications in engineering and manufacturing combine specialist classroom learning with a substantial industry placement, giving students experience of the workplace and a route into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or further study.

From 2028, V-levels in engineering design and engineering manufacturing will provide a broader applied route, while occupational certificates will offer a two-year route towards skilled roles such as engineering operative, autocare technician and welder. Foundation certificates will help students who need additional preparation before they progress to level 3 study. Together, the reforms will provide greater choice and clearer progression into manufacturing careers.

[Gareth Snell]

I declare an interest as a governor of City of Stoke-on-Trent sixth-form college. The previous Government decimated the BTEC programme, creating the gap that V-levels are filling, but V-levels are going to be short qualifications as opposed to larger qualifications that mirror BTECs. Given that the Department is looking at the roll-out of future V-levels, will the Minister consider making them a large qualification that could be studied independently—rather than alongside A-levels, or requiring three for a university application—as a way to make the breadth of opportunity mirror BTECs while keeping the values of the V-levels that the Government are going to try to introduce?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. The whole point is that we want to offer young people a range of options and choices.

Apprenticeships will remain central to our offer because they allow people to earn while they learn, and help employers to develop the skills that they need. I know there are calls for the maximum funding band levels to be reassessed in certain occupational areas, and we are working closely with the sector and Skills England to determine how best to use all available funding sources, based on robust evidence of cost of delivery.

Transforming the apprenticeship levy into a growth and skills levy is giving employers greater flexibility and supporting 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. New apprenticeship units will also help the system to respond more quickly to changing skills needs. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) for recognising that apprenticeship units in battery manufacturing, mechanical fitting and assembly, and mechanised welding were developed by Skills England in just three months, following consultation with employers and sector experts. I am sure the Skills Minister will be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the dedicated support that Skills England has established.

We are also increasing support for employers. We fully fund apprenticeship training for employers of all sizes for eligible young apprentices under 25, while smaller employers will receive a £2,000 hiring payment when they recruit an apprentice who is under 25. That support matters, particularly to smaller manufacturers, which are vital to local supply chains but can find it harder to meet the initial cost of recruiting and supporting an apprentice.

Alongside clearer routes and strong apprenticeships, colleges need the specialist facilities, equipment and teaching expertise required by modern manufacturing. That is why we have established four advanced manufacturing technical excellence colleges, including the one my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Sureena Brackenridge) highlighted in her city. They are part of a wider network of 29 technical excellence colleges, representing an investment of £295 million, that is expected to benefit more than 100,000 learners by the end of this Parliament. The colleges will provide advanced facilities, expert teaching and training shaped by employer demand. Through a hub-and-spoke approach, they will share expertise with other providers, thereby strengthening technical education beyond their own campuses.

[Perran Moon]

The announcements over the past two months relating to post-14 skills have been largely targeted at mayoral strategic authorities. Some 48% of the country is not in a mayoral strategic authority, and Cornwall never will be. Does the Minister agree that funding and flexibility for post-14 skills need to be spread across every postcode, not just in mayoral strategic authorities?

[Lilian Greenwood]

My hon. Friend pre-empts what I was going to say, which is that a key part of our approach is about shifting power, funding and accountability away from Westminster. We will work with mayoral and strategic authorities to shape their local skills systems and support economic growth in their regions. I assure my hon. Friend that that will apply to Cornwall, just as it will apply to the opportunity to work with our mayors in the west midlands, west Yorkshire and south Yorkshire, as colleagues asked about.

We want to design locally tailored, vocationally focused pathways for each region. Strategic authorities are well placed to bring together employers, schools and colleges, to strengthen the links between education and work, and to help to broker relevant work experience. As my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) highlighted, they can build on existing successful partnerships such as that between Nottingham Trent University and West Notts college. They can connect skills decisions with their understanding of local investment, workforce demand and the needs of employers. That really matters, because the opportunities available on the Isle of Wight are not the same as those in Derby, Stoke-on-Trent, Mansfield, Lichfield, Cornwall, Doncaster, Portsmouth, Wolverhampton, Lancashire, Alloa and Grangemouth, Taunton and Wellington, Glasgow, Cambridgeshire or Meriden and Solihull. Local leaders can shape delivery around the strengths and needs of their economies—I hope the devolved Government in Scotland have listened carefully to hon. Members’ points.

My hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West rightly highlighted the success of manufacturing on the Isle of Wight and the importance of investing in the workforce that will sustain it. The businesses that hon. Members have described demonstrate that world-class advanced manufacturing can thrive and create skilled jobs throughout the country. But that is only half the job; investing in the skills that power them is what turns ambition into long-term economic success. That is already visible on the Isle of Wight, showing what is possible. Our task now is to ensure that more people, particularly young people in all parts of the country, have the skills and opportunities to be part of that success. I have not had a chance to address a number of questions raised by colleagues, but I am sure that my noble friend the Minister for Skills will listen to their representations and perhaps write to them on any specifics.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

My constituents are facing extremely large delays in getting a response from the DWP. One of my constituents has now been waiting for two months for a response with regard to his dispute with the Child Maintenance Service, despite receiving a final letter before action. Another constituent has been waiting for four months for a response to his PIP review claim. Why are we seeing such long delays, what is the Minister doing to resolve them, and why have my constituents not had a response in months?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lilian Greenwood)]

We know that increased volumes and more complex cases have led to increased response times, and we are working hard to bring those down by deploying additional resources, strengthening oversight and improving case management. I agree that this is not acceptable. We are working to improve the situation.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Highgate) (Lab)]

It took the DWP hotline 29 working days to respond to me about a constituent’s PIP arrears, and 39 working days to reply to a email about a reduction in state pension for one of my constituents. Can the Minister help me with this, please?

[Lilian Greenwood]

As I have said, we recognise that response times are not good enough, and I am putting extra resources in to improve them. Of course, if my hon. Friend wants to raise particular cases with me, I will look into them and ensure that she gets a speedy outcome.

[John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

In Scotland, benefit crime has effectively been decriminalised, and the Scottish Conservatives have raised the case of people being coached on how to fiddle the system. When I have asked the DWP about it, the reply has basically been, “Nothing to do with us, guv.” Is there not a moral imperative to do something about that issue?

Disability Living Allowance: Qualifying Period for Children

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Lilian Greenwood)]

I am delighted to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) on securing this important debate. She has made a particularly valuable, thoughtful and passionate contribution this morning, and I join her in wishing Mabel, her mum Rachael and their whole family well.

My hon. Friend called this debate to discuss the qualifying period for disability living allowance for children. As we have heard, DLA contributes to the extra costs that may arise as a result of a disability or health condition. For some, it can provide a total of just over £10,000 a year. It is usually paid to the child’s parent or guardian; it can help with the overall family finances and can be used as they see fit to meet their needs. It continues to be paid in full to children and young people under the age of 18 when they are in hospital.

DLA is available if a child’s condition or illness is both of a long-term nature and one that gives rise to care or mobility needs. Payment begins once the three-month qualifying period has been satisfied. That helps to establish that the disability and resulting needs are of the long-standing nature for which this benefit is designed to offer support. The qualifying period provides a sensible division between short and long-term disability, but, importantly, it does not begin with the date of the claim; it starts with the beginning of the need for care and/or mobility that makes the child eligible for DLA. That period can start before the date of claim. The question as to when the need started will be taken into account by decision makers, meaning that consideration will always be given to whether the qualifying period has already been partly or fully completed prior to the date of claim.

[Jim Shannon]

If I have correctly understood what the Minister is saying, if a consultant, GP or other doctor sent a letter confirming that the condition started way before the application was made, that would be the qualifying period, and that would be done by a medical person. Am I reading it right?

[Lilian Greenwood]

It starts with the issue of need. The point at which the child became eligible for disability living allowance marks the start of the qualifying period, even if that precedes the point at which parents make a claim. Understandably, when parents are in very difficult circumstances, their first thought is probably not about applying for disability living allowance. For children who are severely disabled at birth, the qualifying period can start at birth.

The date of claim is usually the date the request for a claim pack is received. Provided that the customer returns the claim form within six weeks, the date of claim will be treated as the date that the claim form was requested. The Secretary of State also has the discretion to extend that period beyond six weeks if the delay is considered reasonable. In the sort of circumstances that my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest has described, we can understand how those issues can arise.

If a child sadly has an end-of-life diagnosis, special rules are rightly in place. Those claims are always fast-tracked and the three-month qualifying period does not apply. The highest rate of the DLA care component will be paid from the date of the claim. My officials are currently exploring options to enhance bereavement support for parents through the social security system, and we will continue to engage with stakeholders as that work develops.

Given that this debate stems from concerns about how quickly families get the support they need, it is worth highlighting that we have recently made significant improvements to waiting times for new child DLA claims. People are not waiting nearly as long as they did for their claim to be processed. My hon. Friend rightly highlighted the need to address long waits.

[Rachael Maskell]

In the light of the fact that we are moving into a new era of a can-do Government, will the Minister look, together with clinicians, at the opportunity and benefit of delivering DLA from day one, and then bring the evidence back to the House?

[Lilian Greenwood]

I will perhaps come later in my speech to what the Government are planning to do.

I am pleased to tell colleagues that between October 2024 and March 2025, the Department recruited and redeployed in excess of 100 case managers to improve clearance times for child DLA new claims. Between 1 August 2025 and 31 March this year, the Department cleared around 185,900 child DLA new claims, of which 68.3% were cleared within 45 working days. In that time, the percentage of claims cleared within these planned timescales rose from 4.7% to 90.7%. I hope that colleagues will recognise that that is a significant and necessary improvement.

The social security system exists to provide opportunity and security. It is there to help people to navigate the difficult circumstances that any of us can find ourselves in. There can, of course, be few circumstances more exceptionally difficult than those faced by seriously ill children and their parents. Along with the emotional strain, parents can understandably experience a significant impact upon work and household income, as well as facing extra costs, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest very ably set out. It is understandable that many parents in this situation are likely to need additional support through the social security system.

It is worth reiterating that beyond the support that DLA provides in and of itself, it can also passport to a range of additional support. That includes premiums in income-related benefits, carer’s allowance, the Motability scheme and exemption from the benefit cap. That is providing comprehensive help for families. For those who qualify, financial support is available through universal credit, including for those who are in work but on lower incomes. If needed, that support can be available on day one through an advance. Alongside the universal credit standard allowance, additional amounts such as child element, disabled child addition, carer element or housing costs are added as appropriate. Although universal credit is means tested and therefore not available to households that are better off financially, it is there as a safety net should those financial circumstances change.

The social security system will always be a cornerstone of our support for unpaid carers and parents of disabled children, but it is not the only way we can help. Rightly, this is something that we have been thinking about across Government. Indeed, the Government have recognised precisely the issues that have been raised by both my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest and my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell). As I am sure they are aware, only yesterday the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade closed its “Make Work Pay” consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children. That included seeking views on a possible new statutory entitlement to leave and pay for parents of seriously ill children, which is often referred to as Hugh’s law. That is in recognition of the campaigning undertaken by the family of Hugh Menai-Davis, who very sadly died aged six from cancer in 2021 but left this important legacy. I know that my colleagues will look carefully at the submissions to that consultation and will respond to it in the coming months, and I am sure that my hon. Friends present will look to colleagues in the Department and the work that they do.

My hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest rightly highlighted the importance of parents being able to support their children at these incredibly distressing times. In April last year, the Government introduced a new element of up to 12 weeks of neonatal care leave and pay for parents of babies in neonatal care to ensure that they have appropriate support during that time. The national cancer plan for England was published in February and was warmly received, not least for its introduction of a children and young people’s travel fund, backed by £10 million, and its recognition of the specialist approach that is needed for cancer in children and young people. Of course, our goal across Government remains to relentlessly work towards improving outcomes and experiences for children and young people with serious illnesses and supporting their families. I give that commitment to my colleagues today.

Caring for a child who is seriously ill must be one of the most worrying and stressful situations that a parent can experience, which is why I am so glad that we have had the opportunity to discuss this issue today. Although there are no current plans to remove the three-month qualifying period from disability living allowance for children, my Department is already doing a significant amount of work and offering significant support. I assure my hon. Friend that we will continue to search for the right levers across Government to further strengthen support for parents in these terrible circumstances, and that we will always approach these issues with compassion. Once again, I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate on an important and sensitive subject and all Members who have contributed.

Question put and agreed to.