Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases are currently being processed under the Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme; and what the average waiting time is for cases under the scheme.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Eastwood Park Detention Centre Settlement Scheme commenced on 14 January 2025. To date, 659 claims have been received including 264 claims settled with damages paid. There are 6 further claims where settlement has been agreed, and payments will be made shortly.

Of the 264 claims settled to date, the average payment is £3,114.

Since the commencement of the scheme in January, the average length of time taken to settle claims is 136 days (at 30 September 2025). This figure should not be taken as a benchmark expectation for any outstanding or future claims. The amount of time taken to settle a claim will vary in each case based on a variety of factors such as incomplete information provided when the claim is lodged. All claims are subject to appropriate scrutiny and HM Treasury approval.

The Prison Service successfully defends two-thirds of cases brought by prisoners. Any debts owed by offenders to their victims and the courts are deducted before a payment is made.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of claims under the Eastwood Park Compensation Scheme have resulted in payouts; and what the average amount paid out for those claims is.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Eastwood Park Detention Centre Settlement Scheme commenced on 14 January 2025. To date, 659 claims have been received including 264 claims settled with damages paid. There are 6 further claims where settlement has been agreed, and payments will be made shortly.

Of the 264 claims settled to date, the average payment is £3,114.

Since the commencement of the scheme in January, the average length of time taken to settle claims is 136 days (at 30 September 2025). This figure should not be taken as a benchmark expectation for any outstanding or future claims. The amount of time taken to settle a claim will vary in each case based on a variety of factors such as incomplete information provided when the claim is lodged. All claims are subject to appropriate scrutiny and HM Treasury approval.

The Prison Service successfully defends two-thirds of cases brought by prisoners. Any debts owed by offenders to their victims and the courts are deducted before a payment is made.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the (a) underpayment and (b) overpayment of Carer's Allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Carer’s Allowance is a single rate benefit which is either fully awarded to those who meet the qualifying conditions or disallowed. Those who also receive an “overlapping benefit”, such as a State Pension, will have any award of Carer’s Allowance adjusted accordingly.

We commissioned an Independent Review of Carer’s Allowance earnings-related overpayments to see what happened and what changes can be made. The Review and our response to it will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 26719 on Broadband: Telford, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) expand consumer choice and (b) reduce the cost of 5G services in Telford.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has created a pro-competition regulatory framework that has allowed more than a hundred alternative networks to enter the fixed broadband market since 2018. This has led to the fast roll-out of fibre across the UK and more choice for consumers. We continue to support a pro-competition environment for the sector, as set out in our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services, published in July.

The mobile market is highly competitive with three wholesale providers and over 100 retail providers. The Government has no role in setting prices in the mobile market. The average cost per gigabit of data in the UK decreased 8% in real terms between 2023 and 2024.

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 compatibility of the Pathways to Work green paper with the UK's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We take our international obligations including those under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) very seriously.

The measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, and those implemented in the Universal Credit Act, are in accordance with this Government’s commitment to help disabled people fulfil their potential.

We remain committed to constructive engagement with disabled people and broader stakeholders as part of our efforts to develop and implement reforms that support disabled people. This is evidenced with the launch of collaboration committees which bring together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations. The Disability Advisory Panel is being established to convene and connect the expertise of deaf and disabled people and people with long-term health conditions into our policy and strategy design and delivery. This will be chaired by Disability rights expert and consultant Zara Todd, taking a guiding role in the development and focus of the panel.

We are also engaging with disabled people and their representatives as part of the Timms Review, which aims to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence. We have committed to co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other stakeholders.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Carer's Allowance claimants received an (a) underpayment and (b) overpayment of their Allowance in each of the last three years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department published estimates of the proportion of Carer’s Allowance claims overpaid and the proportion of Carer’s Allowance claims underpaid for the financial year 2024-2025, in its annual national statistics: Fraud and error in the benefit system, Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2025 - GOV.UK.

However, Carer’s Allowance was not measured for the National Statistics publication in 2022/23 or 2023/24 and so that information is not available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to (a) reform the National Careers Service and (b) review careers advice contracts.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.

In England, these reforms will include bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.

The current National Careers Service contracts are due to expire on 30 September 2026. Therefore, a decision was required on how to deliver adult careers advice from that point.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has taken the decision to bring adult careers advice in-house into DWP from 1 October 2026. This means that National Careers Service contractors will no longer deliver this service after that date.

This change is designed to ensure maximum flexibility in developing an integrated employment support and careers advice service. It will enable the service to respond more effectively to customer needs, identify and embed improved operational practices, and bring together employment and careers advice to meet the ambitions of the Get Britain Working White Paper

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 the National Careers Service at providing young people with a broad range of career paths.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government regularly assesses the effectiveness of careers guidance for young people, including the role of the National Careers Service (NCS). While the NCS primarily focuses on adults, it also provides support to young people aged 13 and over.

According to the 2025 National Careers Service customer satisfaction and progression survey, 97% of young people surveyed aged 18–24 reported gaining some form of Personal Added Value, such as increased confidence, motivation, and a clearer understanding of their next steps, following contact with the service.

This support for young people complements that provided by schools and colleges, which are legally responsible for securing independent careers guidance for all 11- to 18-year-olds.

We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new Jobs and Careers Service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Our new service will move away from the current one size fits all approach, recognising people are individuals with different support needs and will provide better tailored support. The new service will be universal and must work for everyone, including young people.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) maintain and (b) promote a plastic recycling industry.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra’s Collection and Packaging reforms – Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) and a Deposit Return Scheme - will provide feedstock certainty whilst also stimulating private investment in the recycling industry.

Defra is working with His Majesty’s Treasury on Plastic Packaging Tax reform, to further incentivise producers to use recycled plastic, stimulating demand.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of calculating Carer's Allowance eligibility over longer periods to help reduce the rate of overpayments and underpayments.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Carer’s Allowance is assessed on a weekly basis and paid either weekly or 4 weekly. Payment of Carer’s Allowance (CA) is dependent upon the person being cared for receiving a “trigger” DWP benefit, such as Disability Living Allowance, Personal independence Payment or Attendance Allowance, where entitlement is also assessed on a weekly basis. Where someone has fluctuating earnings, we try and find the most suitable period to average those earnings over to obtain the most accurate figure.

Liz Sayce OBE was commissioned to lead an Independent Review into overpayments of CA. The Government is carefully considering the recommendations of this Review which investigated how overpayments of CA related to earnings occurred, how we can best support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of these problems occurring in future.

We have already taken steps to improve the way CA operates and to support those who can combine their caring responsibilities with some paid work, including changing the weekly CA earnings limit to match 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since CA was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. Over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive CA between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as a result from investment worth around £500 million.

As with all benefits we keep Carer’s Allowance under review to see whether it is meeting its objectives.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps (a) she and (b) her officials are taking to reduce fraud in the (i) Packaging Recovery Note and (ii) Packaging Export Recovery Note systems.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has already introduced a number of measures in the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging. All reprocessors and exporters who handle any packaging waste will now have to register, and to collect and report data on packaging waste received, processed, rejected, and exported.

The Regulations will also place additional requirements on accredited reprocessors and exporters, including monthly reporting of packaging waste reprocessed or exported, and monthly data on PRN/PERN prices by material. Exporters will also need to provide proof of receipt at the final overseas destination site to issue a PERN and retain records of recycling of the packaging waste. There will also be a new “Fit and Proper Person” test for operators as part of the accreditation process.

Found: Current membership Dame Karen Bradley (Conservative; Staffordshire Moorlands) (Chair) Shaun Davies (Labour

Found: Current membership Dame Karen Bradley (Conservative; Staffordshire Moorlands) (Chair) Shaun Davies (Labour