Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of maintaining the state pension age at 67.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
State Pension age will rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, as set out in section 26 of the Pensions Act 2014.
Under Section 27 of the Pensions Act 2014, the Secretary of State has a statutory duty to periodically review whether the existing rules about State Pension age are appropriate. To date, there have been two reviews of State Pension age, one in 2017 and one in 2023 and both confirmed that the timetable for the rise to 67 remained appropriate.
The 2017 review can be found at: State Pension age review 2017: final report - GOV.UK. The 2023 review can be found at: State Pension age Review 2023 - GOV.UK
The next review of State Pension age must be completed by March 2029.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the planned increase in the state pension age to 68.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under Section 27 of the Pensions Act 2014, the Secretary of State has a statutory duty to periodically review whether the existing rules about State Pension age are appropriate.
To date, there have been two statutory Government reviews, one in 2017 and one in 2023.
The next review must be completed by March 2029.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Housing First pilot schemes; and whether she plans to expand those schemes.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 15811 on 3 December 2024.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will exempt military compensation as income when calculating entitlement to means-tested benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2024 to question UIN 16635.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will extend the Employment Allowance to (a) GPs and (b) other people providing public services.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has not changed the eligibility rules on the Employment Allowance beyond removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold.
Government guidance on the Employment Allowance states that you ‘cannot claim if you’re a public body or business doing more than half your work in the public sector – unless you’re a charity’.
The eligibility of a specific sector or organisation will depend on the make-up of an individual business's work.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the eligibility rules for carer's benefits to enable more carers to combine paid work and unpaid care.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting the elderly, disabled relatives or friends. Sometimes unpaid carers will need to turn to the benefit system for financial support, so it is right that we keep Carer’s Allowance under review, to see if it is meeting its objectives, and giving unpaid carers the help and support they need and deserve.
The Government has announced that from April 2025 the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit will be pegged to the level of 16 hours work at the National Living Wage (NLW) and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This means that unpaid carers will be able to earn up to £196 per week net earnings and still receive Carer’s Allowance compared to £151 now. This means that an additional 60,000 unpaid carers will gain eligibility for the benefit between 2025/26 and 2029/30.
This important change reduces a work disincentive inherent in the current Carer’s Allowance earnings system, but, as the Chancellor said at the Budget, we also need to look at the current “cliff edge” earnings rules. A taper, for example, could further incentivise unpaid carers to do some work. It could also reduce the risk of significant overpayments. However, introducing a taper in Carer’s Allowance is not without challenges and could significantly complicate the benefit as it currently stands and would mean a significant rebuild of the Carer’s Allowance computer system. DWP has begun some scoping work to see whether an earnings taper in Carer’s Allowance might be a feasible option in the longer term.
Many carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance and doing some work will also be receiving Universal Credit. For those receiving Universal Credit, the 55% taper rate and any applicable work allowance will help to ensure that people are better off in work.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of parent-delivered early language interventions for young children with Down Syndrome.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Parents and carers have an important role to play in the learning and development of their child. Practitioners should work jointly with parents and carers to support a child’s speech, language and communication needs in the home environment.
The department is strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve inclusive practice in mainstream settings, which will also consider the important role that parents and caregivers can play in defining and implementing these interventions. The department has also published guidance for local authorities about the expectations around the support they should make available through Family Hubs. This could include, for example, special education needs and disabilities appropriate parenting programmes, peer support for parents, respite provision and support for siblings or specialist health services. In some cases, parent-carer forums and respite provision may be located at the Family Hub, where appropriate.
This should be further supported by statutory guidance published by the NHS in May 2023 requiring that every Integrated Care Board (ICB) must identify a member of its board to lead on supporting the ICB to perform its functions effectively in the interest of people with Down syndrome.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will widen the eligibility of free school meals to all children whose parents are in receipt of Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.
The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps for children eligible for free school meals and their peers. Child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. To support this, a new ministerial taskforce has been set up to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, which will be published in spring 2025. The taskforce will consider a range of policies in assessing what will have the greatest impact in driving down rates of child poverty. As with all policies, the government keeps the approach to free school meals under review.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) children of school age with complex SEND needs and (b) specialist educational places required for such children in the next five academic years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government has inherited a growing tide of unmet need amongst children and young people.
The government does not forecast the number of school-aged pupils with complex needs as a specific category, but has produced national level estimates of the number of all children and young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans. As noted in the National Audit Office report, the department’s central estimate is that, without policy interventions, the number of EHC plans will nearly double from approximately 518,000 in 2022/23 to just over 1,000,000 in 2032/33.
Starting from summer 2023, for the first time, the department has collected data from local authorities on capacity in special schools and special educational needs (SEN) units and resourced provision (attached to mainstream schools), which have been published on GOV.UK. This shows that the government has inherited a landscape of rising demand for specialist provision within mainstream and special schools which is not being met. There were 148,000 special school places reported, with an additional 9,000 places reported in SEN units and 18,000 in resourced provision. Around 63% of special schools are at or over capacity. On average schools that are over capacity have around 12% more pupils than reported capacity.
Therefore, the department understands that many children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) still struggle to find a suitable school placement that is close to their home and meets their needs.
That is why earlier this month, the department announced £740 million in high needs capital funding for 2025/26. Local authorities can use this funding to adapt classrooms to be more inclusive and accessible and create specialist facilities within mainstream schools, alongside continuing to support placements in special schools for pupils with the most complex needs. It will pave the way for the government’s wide-ranging long term plans for reform to help more pupils with SEND to have their needs met in mainstream schools.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the merits of ensuring that the Staying Close programme is accessible to all Looked After Children.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to providing support for care leavers to ensure they have the practical and emotional support they need as they move towards independence. The department intends to legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to ensure all local authorities consider whether care leavers (up to age 25) in their area require Staying Close support and, if their welfare requires it, provide that support.
Evaluation of the initial Staying Close pilots found clear improvements in outcomes for care leavers, including a 20% improvement in mental health outcomes, a 13% reduction in the number of young people who were not in education, employment or training (NEET), and a 21% reduction in anti-social behaviour. The independent evaluations also found that Staying Close supported young people to develop and build the skills needed to prepare for independent living. Feedback showed that young people’s life skills had improved after six months of participating in the project and that young people felt happier in themselves, had better stability in their accommodation and there was increased participation in activities, whether education, employment or wider activities.
The department has commissioned the Centre for Homelessness Impact to undertake a further evaluation of Staying Close’s impact. This is due to report in early 2025.
The government supports the use of supported lodgings for care leavers. When working with the young person to review their individual needs and a suitable package of support through Staying Close they will be able to decide the best form of accommodation together. Any decisions should be tailored to the needs of the young person to help develop their confidence and skills for independent living and for their emotional health and wellbeing.