Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 help jobseekers manage their mental health while looking for employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with mental health conditions, with their employment journey. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Government announced an 80% employment rate ambition in the Getting Britain Working White Paper.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. My department therefore is investing in a range of support for individuals to help them stay in work and get back into work, including several that join up employment and health systems.
Additional Work Coach Support, delivered through our Jobcentres, provides disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales. This rollout has been informed by trialling in Jobcentres. This personalised support from Work Coaches aims to enable disabled people and people with health conditions, to access employment, wider support including our employment programmes earlier.
Work coaches receive specialist support from Disability Employment Advisers on how to tailor their support to help disabled customers move closer or into the labour market. Disability Employment Advisers can also offer “direct support” to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, including mental health conditions, where additional bespoke support would benefit the customer. We will continue to ensure that every Work Coach has access to support from a Disability Employment Adviser.
The Access to Work Scheme provides grant funding to disabled people, as well as those with a health condition. The grant supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. The Scheme also includes the Mental Health Support Service which provides up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while in employment. In 2023/24, 49,920 people were in receipt of a payment for an Access to Work element. Of those, 14,310 (29%) received one or more payments for the Mental Health Support Service element in the same period.
Work in partnership between the DWP and health systems, currently includes Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) a Supported Employment programme (using the place, train and maintain model) delivered in primary care settings and is aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities, both out of work who need help into work, and those needing support with their health issues to stay in work. IPSPC is integrated with an individual’s normal health treatment encouraging recognition of employment as an important driver of an individual’s health and wellbeing. We will be bringing this approach to all areas of England and Wales through the roll out of the Connect to Work Programme which will support 100,000 people a year from 2026/27. This complements the delivery of Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness which is delivered in secondary mental health services by the NHS in England.
The Employment Advice in Talking Therapies programme combines the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Employment Advisors support patients in NHS Talking Therapies irrespective of their employment or benefit status. People who are looking for work will be supported to improve the quality of their CVs, complete application forms and improve the quality of their performance in interviews. If the client wishes, Employment Advisors can also work with NHS Talking Therapies clients and their employers to support returns to work following mental health-related absences. This could include suggesting coping mechanisms empowering clients to have better conversations with their colleagues or manager, or through suggesting workplace reasonable adjustments or a graduated return to work.
WorkWell sites went live in 15 areas across England from October 2024, providing low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. Each area designs and delivers an integrated work and health support offer, that brings together partnerships between Integrated Care Boards, local government, Jobcentres and community partners, including mental health services. People can be referred via their GP, Jobcentre, via other local services or can self-refer. By Spring 2026, WorkWell is expected to support up to 56,000 disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, to get into work or get on at work.
Furthermore, in March we announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.
As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure mental health services are integrated into employment support programmes.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with mental health conditions, with their employment journey. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Government announced an 80% employment rate ambition in the Getting Britain Working White Paper.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. My department therefore is investing in a range of support for individuals to help them stay in work and get back into work, including several that join up employment and health systems.
Additional Work Coach Support, delivered through our Jobcentres, provides disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales. This rollout has been informed by trialling in Jobcentres. This personalised support from Work Coaches aims to enable disabled people and people with health conditions, to access employment, wider support including our employment programmes earlier.
Work coaches receive specialist support from Disability Employment Advisers on how to tailor their support to help disabled customers move closer or into the labour market. Disability Employment Advisers can also offer “direct support” to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, including mental health conditions, where additional bespoke support would benefit the customer. We will continue to ensure that every Work Coach has access to support from a Disability Employment Adviser.
The Access to Work Scheme provides grant funding to disabled people, as well as those with a health condition. The grant supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. The Scheme also includes the Mental Health Support Service which provides up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while in employment. In 2023/24, 49,920 people were in receipt of a payment for an Access to Work element. Of those, 14,310 (29%) received one or more payments for the Mental Health Support Service element in the same period.
Work in partnership between the DWP and health systems, currently includes Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) a Supported Employment programme (using the place, train and maintain model) delivered in primary care settings and is aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities, both out of work who need help into work, and those needing support with their health issues to stay in work. IPSPC is integrated with an individual’s normal health treatment encouraging recognition of employment as an important driver of an individual’s health and wellbeing. We will be bringing this approach to all areas of England and Wales through the roll out of the Connect to Work Programme which will support 100,000 people a year from 2026/27. This complements the delivery of Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness which is delivered in secondary mental health services by the NHS in England.
The Employment Advice in Talking Therapies programme combines the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Employment Advisors support patients in NHS Talking Therapies irrespective of their employment or benefit status. People who are looking for work will be supported to improve the quality of their CVs, complete application forms and improve the quality of their performance in interviews. If the client wishes, Employment Advisors can also work with NHS Talking Therapies clients and their employers to support returns to work following mental health-related absences. This could include suggesting coping mechanisms empowering clients to have better conversations with their colleagues or manager, or through suggesting workplace reasonable adjustments or a graduated return to work.
WorkWell sites went live in 15 areas across England from October 2024, providing low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. Each area designs and delivers an integrated work and health support offer, that brings together partnerships between Integrated Care Boards, local government, Jobcentres and community partners, including mental health services. People can be referred via their GP, Jobcentre, via other local services or can self-refer. By Spring 2026, WorkWell is expected to support up to 56,000 disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, to get into work or get on at work.
Furthermore, in March we announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.
As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with the Motability charity on inclusion of Attendance Allowance recipients in their scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Motability scheme is open to recipients of enhanced mobility Personal Independence Payment, higher rate mobility Disability Living Allowance, War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement and Armed Forces Independence Payment.
Attendance Allowance does not have a mobility component for those whose needs arise after State Pension age. This is because it is expected that many older people will develop mobility issues as part of the ageing process. Eligible benefits such as DLA or PIP are awarded to individuals under pensionable age and, as long as entitlement conditions remain satisfied, the mobility component can continue to be paid beyond State Pension age.
There are no current plans to include Attendance Allowance as an eligible benefit for the Scheme.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to provide additional financial support to disabled people in receipt of the State Pension.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ensuring a decent foundation State Pension for pensioners is a priority for this Government. That is why we have set out our commitment to the Triple Lock, which will substantially improve outcomes for current and future pensioners.
There are already other benefits for those who are disabled, Attendance Allowance (AA) provides additional financial support towards the extra costs faced by those over State Pension age (SPa) with a severe disability who have care needs. It is neither means-tested, nor based on National Insurance contributions paid and recipients can choose how they wish to spend it.
Those already in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment when they reach SPa can continue to receive those benefits. They are not obliged to switch to claiming AA.
Disability benefits open the door to additional amounts in means tested support, receipt of a disability benefit can provide a passport to additional amounts in means-tested benefits (notably Pension Credit and Housing Benefit) for those on low incomes and to Carer’s Allowance for the person providing care for them.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on advertising the Back to Work Plan since November 2023 by advertising method.
Answered by Jo Churchill
To date, the Department has not spent anything on advertising the Back to Work Plan.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on rectifying errors in state pensions.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The overall rate of State Pension underpayment due to official error remains low as a proportion of expenditure (0.5% in 2022/2023). Where errors do occur, we are committed to fixing them as quickly as possible.
The Department of Work and Pensions is currently progressing Legal Entitlement and Administrative Practice (LEAP) exercises to rectify errors in the State Pensions caseload. Our priority is to ensure that everyone receives the State Pension payments to which they are entitled.
The latest update on the progress activity for the State Pension LEAP activity was published on 30 November and shows that between 11 January 2021 and 31 October 2023:
o 593,964 cases were reviewed
o 82,323 underpayments were identified
o £497 million was paid in arrears.
DWP is on track to complete the exercise for Category BL and Category D cases by the end of 2023.
The Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) corrections activity started in Autumn 2023 with HMRC sending letters to potentially affected customers, who are invited to make a claim for missing HRP. Once a customer’s national insurance record has been corrected, DWP will process any state pension changes to ensure ongoing payments are correct and any arrears are paid as quickly as possible. Updates on progress will be communicated as the exercise progresses.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing full compensation to people affected by underpayment errors in state pensions.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Government is fully committed to rectifying any historical errors resulting in State Pension underpayments to ensure individuals receive the State Pension they are due in law, with any arrears payments paid as quickly as possible.
The Department for Work and Pensions is currently addressing, through Legal Entitlement and Administrative Practices (LEAP) exercises, two areas where we know there are State Pension underpayment errors. The Department does not routinely make special payments in such exercises.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been affected by underpayment errors in state pensions in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The information requested is not held by the Department.
The overall rate of State Pension underpayment due to official error remains low as a proportion of expenditure (0.5% in 2022/2023).
Information on the broad categories where State Pension underpayments are most often identified was set out in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23.
DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
DWP is taking action to rectify historic errors in the State Pensions caseload. Our priority is to ensure that everyone receives their correct State Pension entitlement.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 the accuracy of state pension payments.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Overall error within State Pension is low – the 2022/2023 Annual Report and Accounts show 0.01% overpayment and 0.6% underpayment.
A robust Quality Framework of both local and independent quality checking is in place to assure the accuracy of State Pension payments. Where error is identified proportionate action is taken through root cause analysis and focused improvement activities. Appropriate oversight and governance is provided by a Quality Governance Board.
Fraud and Error risks are further mitigated through the development and design of our online ‘Get your State Pension’ digital service.
In addition to robust quality checking and digital design, lessons learned from the State Pension LEAP exercise have resulted in new data matching rules to reduce the risk of further error entering the caseload and amendments to legacy IT systems reduce the likelihood of human error.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 Reducing Parental Conflict programme in supporting at-risk children of alcohol dependent parents.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Reducing Parental Conflict programme aims to improve child outcomes by reducing parental conflict that is frequent, intense and unresolved.
In 2018 the DWP and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents (CADeP) programme. This included funding of £5.7 million for 9 areas (13 local authorities), to reduce parental conflict alongside improving existing systems of treatment for parents with alcohol dependency.
To ensure that the learning from the programme was shared, DHSC commissioned an independent evaluation of the innovation fund. This evaluation has been published and can be found at Evaluation of the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents programme innovation fund: full report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The following findings of the evaluation were of particular interest to DWP in relation to the RPC elements of this programme:
The current phase of the Reducing Parental Conflict programme runs between 2022 and 2025, with up to £19 million to fund training, delivery of support, co-ordination and evaluation. This supports Local Authorities to choose activity that best suits local need.
This government remains committed to strengthening the support available to children and families, working with local authorities through government funded programmes including Reducing Parental Conflict, Supporting Families and Family Hubs /Start for Life.