Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who want to work but are not currently engaged with Jobcentre Plus services.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of our plans to Get Britain Working and create a new Jobs and Careers Service, we are making employment and careers support available to everyone, including those who are not currently engaged with Jobcentre Plus services. This includes our recently launched digital service, ‘Work Hub’, which provides customers with access to an AI work assistant, CV builder and job-search tool, whenever they need it. In addition, the National Careers Service website provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers and skills.
We have also expanded our community-based employment and careers support to reach those who might not otherwise engage with DWP services, including increasing the number of Jobcentre vans to nine, and working with partners to deliver employment support in libraries, GP surgeries and local authority buildings.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 effectiveness of cross-government approaches to tackling poverty in areas experiencing deprivation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The drivers of poverty span employment, social security, housing, education, childcare, health and the cost of living. Cross-government action is therefore essential to effectively tackle poverty.
That is why the Child Poverty Strategy was developed by a cross-government Ministerial Taskforce and its implementation is overseen by an Interministerial Group on Child Poverty. The strategy brings together measures to increase family incomes, reduce essential costs and strengthen local support for children and families.
We recognise that deprivation is often concentrated in particular places, which is why the strategy also includes support delivered through local partners and communities, including the Crisis and Resilience Fund, Best Start Family Hubs and other place-based initiatives including Pride in Place.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 adequacy of the contribution of local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to reducing poverty and supporting employment outcomes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is clear that tackling poverty and improving employment outcomes requires partnership working and that government cannot achieve this alone. The voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector is the bedrock of our communities, providing vital support to individuals and families experiencing poverty or unemployment.
The Civil Society Covenant demonstrates our commitment to working with the VCSE sector, recognising the value of civil society and supporting collaboration between government and VCSE partners. In addition, VCSE organisations will be fundamental to the delivery of our £500 million Better Futures Fund, which will support vulnerable children, young people and their families through innovative place-based projects seeking to break down barriers to opportunity and give children the best start in life.
Over the last 5 years we have spent £650m within the VCSE sector, the vast majority of which (at least 70% annually) is in Employment Services, which represents almost £500m in the sector over the period. We have ambitious plans with ministers for approval that aim to almost double our overall spend with the sector over the next two years and more importantly demonstrate a real commitment to engaging and working more effectively with both the VCSE and Small and Medium-sized Enterprise sectors and have already commenced delivery of these plans.
To develop and deliver the Child Poverty Strategy, we work in partnership with VCSE organisations at a national and local level. We will continue to engage directly with the VCSE sector to deliver our wider ambitions to reduce poverty and improve employment outcomes.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 adequacy of the availability of (a) apprenticeships and (b) technical training opportunities for young people in coastal communities.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is transforming the Apprenticeships Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships and give employers, including in coastal communities, greater flexibility to develop the workforce they need to grow and succeed.
As published in the Apprenticeships Accredited Official Statistics publication there were 260 apprenticeship starts by apprentices under the age of 25 in the Southport parliamentary constituency for the 2024/25 academic year (August 2024 to July 2025).
To support non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) to meet the additional costs associated with employing young apprentices, we are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 when they take on eligible 16–24-year-old apprentices, at all levels, as new employees.
Additionally, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible young people aged under 25 from the next academic year, to boost small business starts. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Regarding wider technical training opportunities, we are supporting providers across the country, including in coastal areas, with over £18 billion per year of funding in post-16 education and skills, delivering record investment this Parliament. This includes specific interventions to drive skills and address shortages in areas such as construction, digital and engineering.
The Post16 Education and Skills White Paper set out our reforms to strengthen the skills system. New V Levels, the expansion of T Levels, and clearer Level 2 routes through Occupational and Further Study Pathways will ensure every young person has a clear choice of education pathways that support them to succeed in work and in life.
T Levels deliver strong outcomes, with 92% progressing to work or further study and many staying in related fields. Alongside other improvements the new T Level industry placement framework allows providers to tailor provision locally, including remote placements where needed, helping overcome barriers to face-to-face opportunities particularly in coastal communities.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department have made on the potential impact of place-based employment support programmes such as JobsPlus in addressing levels of economic inactivity and unemployment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Jobs Plus is a community-based model with strong potential to tackle inactivity and unemployment. The department is testing the model in ten social housing communities across England. Jobs Plus and other place-based programmes such as the Get Britain Working Trailblazers, Work Well and Connect to Work will be evaluated to assess their effectiveness in helping people enter and remain in work.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 potential impact of furniture provisions as a core component of the Crisis and Resilience Fund on people in receipt of Housing Benefit; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people experiencing a crisis can access essential items.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The new Crisis and Resilience Fund will be introduced from 1 April 2026. This represents the first ever multi-year settlement for locally delivered crisis support. This longer-term funding approach aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities – working with the voluntary and community sector – as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis
We are working closely with local authorities and external stakeholders on the detailed design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund and we will issue further information on our planned approach in due course.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people who receive the Universal Credit (UC) health element and do not receive the Personal Independence Payment daily living component will lose their entitlement to the UC health element once the Work Capability Assessment is abolished.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper announced that we would be scrapping the Work Capability Assessment and moving to a single assessment for financial support related to health and disability benefits.
The UC and PIP payment Bill currently before Parliament sets out that existing claimants will continue to receive additional financial support for health on Universal Credit health (the LCWRA addition), frozen at its current cash value, until 2029-30.
We are currently considering how the future system will operate and will provide further information, including on transitioning to a reformed system, in a White Paper in the autumn.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
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 disabled people into work in Southport constituency.
Answered by Liz Kendall
Disabled people in Southport deserve the same choices and chances to work as anyone else.
That is why we will transform support for disabled people who can work to get the jobs they want and deserve, including by investing an additional £1 billion a year through our Pathways to work employment programme.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure equitable treatment of parents with shared custody arrangements by the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.
Reductions can be made for the extra cost of care where it is shared by the paying parent. The paying parent must have overnight care of any qualifying children for at least 52 nights a year, equivalent of 1 night per week. The amount payable is reduced by a maximum of fifty per cent within bands based on the number of nights overnight care is provided over a 12-month period. The bands are used to give greater stability to maintenance payments and as a result there is greater reliability of payments, which contributes towards the welfare of the children in the case.
If evidence shows that both parties are providing equal day-to-day care of a qualifying child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance.