Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 benefit sanctions on people forced into prostitution due to destitution.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The core objective of Universal Credit is to support people who are out of work or on a low income to enter work, earn more, or to prepare for work in the future, and claimants are generally expected to undertake certain work-related activities in return for financial support.
Any work-related requirements are agreed in discussion with the claimant and will always be tailored in light of a claimant’s circumstances, ensuring they are realistic and achievable. Work coaches have the flexibility to personalise work-related requirements for claimants based on the impact of any health condition, caring responsibilities, or other circumstance.
A sanction is only applicable where a claimant fails to undertake their agreed activity without good reason. Before a sanction decision is made, claimants are always asked to provide their reasoning, and several safety measures, including checking for any vulnerabilities, are in place before deciding whether a sanction is applicable. These include: checking to see if the claimants circumstances had changed and if the requirement remained reasonable; considering whether the claimant had undertaken alternative activity that means the requirement was met; and reviewing any known vulnerabilities and their impact on a claimant’s ability to meet their requirements.
If a claimant is sanctioned and can demonstrate that they cannot meet their most immediate and essential needs, we also have a system of recoverable hardship payments. These needs can include heating, food, and hygiene.
DWP’s commitments to the violence against women and girls (VAWG) Strategy will help align us with the wider cross government ambition to tackle sexual exploitation. This includes strengthening the training and guidance provided to frontline staff and Domestic Abuse SPOCs, ensuring they are better equipped to recognise and respond to all forms of VAWG, including sexual exploitation. In addition, DWP is rolling out its 5-year plan for safeguarding following the Written Statement in December 2025.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 potential impact of the freeze in Local Housing Allowance on levels of rough sleeping and homelessness in England.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The causes of rough sleeping and homelessness are multifaceted and are driven by a range of factors, both personal and structural.
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are annually reviewed, usually in the Autumn. At Autumn budget 2025, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions reviewed LHA and announced that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. Rent levels across Great Britian were considered alongside other factors such as the challenging fiscal context and welfare priorities, including the removal of the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.
DWP worked closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the National Plan to End Homelessness, which is driving sustainable change and addressing the root causes of homelessness and we continue working together with MHCLG and HMT to keep LHA rates under review.
Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for discretionary housing support from local authorities.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 effectiveness of the voluntary and community sector on providing employment support to help tackle the disability employment gap.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Evaluation is a key driver in delivering DWP’s priority outcomes and ensuring alignment with the Government’s Plan for Change. As set out in the DWP Evidence and Evaluation Strategy, ongoing evaluation of employment support programmes assesses whether they are achieving intended results and informs future policy design.
For example, an evaluation of the Work Choice programme - a voluntary scheme supporting disabled people facing employment barriers or at risk of job loss – was published in April 2025. Voluntary sector organisations, including providers such as Shaw Trust and Leonard Cheshire Disability, played a significant role in delivering Work Choice, both as prime contractors and as subcontractors.
The evaluation found that, eight years after referral, participants had a payrolled employment rate 11 percentage points higher than the comparison group. This meant that the programme delivered strong value for money, estimated to return £1.67 to the Exchequer, in benefit savings and taxes, for every £1 spent.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 have left or are at risk of leaving employment due to reductions in Access to Work awards upon renewal.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not collect data on the number of people who may have left or are at risk of leaving employment due to reductions in Access to Work awards upon renewal. Access to Work is only available to individuals who are starting or in employment, so this type of data is not recorded.
Customers who disagree with a renewal outcome may request a reconsideration of their award.
The Access to Work scheme supports disabled people start and stay in employment by providing tailored support based on individual needs.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that any proposals to amend the Access to Work scheme are subject to consultation with disabled people and piloted before implementation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, their representative organisations and people that support them. That is why we brought forward the Green Paper and opened a public consultation. We are now carefully reviewing responses to the Green Paper.
We have recently concluded the Access to Work Collaboration Committees, in which we engaged with a range of stakeholders, including disabled people’s organisation representatives and lived experience users, to provide discussion, experience, and challenge to the design of the future Access to Work Scheme.
We are continuing to work closely with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing legally-binding poverty reduction targets.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to tackling Child Poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious child poverty strategy which we will publish in the autumn. The Taskforce will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty.
The Taskforce will be guided by the leading, internationally-recognised measure of poverty - Relative Poverty After Housing Costs (the proportion of families with below 60% of the median income, after deducting housing costs).
We will also measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty, which we are considering how best to measure as we develop the strategy.
These headline metrics will be supported by a range of other metrics as part of a monitoring framework to ensure the Strategy is on track to meet its aims.
The strategy is focused on metrics related to child poverty, but we are working closely with colleagues on complementary metrics across government. An example is the Plan for Change measure on the percentage of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage assessment.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 potential impact of the proposed reforms to Personal Independence Payment on people above over state pension age.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. In keeping with existing policy, people of State Pension Age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by the proposed changes.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made on people who will no longer be eligible to receive Personal Independence Payment by age.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. In keeping with existing policy, people of State Pension Age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by the proposed changes.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has commissioned an impact assessment on the proposed PIP reforms on household income with (a) at least one person in work and (b) at least one recipient of PIP, whether that be the person working or not.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of PIP recipients were in some form of (a) work and (b) training on 25 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
You can find the proportion of PIP recipients in employment in the evidence pack that was provided alongside the ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’, which shows that 17% of PIP claimants were in employment in March 2024.
Data for March 2025 is not currently available for analysts to access; the latest relevant data is for the financial year ending March 2024.
The department does not hold data regarding PIP recipients in training.