Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
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 support people living with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions to (a) return to and (b) enter into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Just under 18 million people in England were estimated to be affected by musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions in 2023 and improving their health and work outcomes will help deliver this government's mission to kickstart economic growth.
MSK problems were one of the leading causes of sickness absence in the UK in 2024. Early detection and prevention, including increasing access to employment advice, can support people with MSK conditions getting into and remaining in work.
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including arthritis and MSK conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well Connect to Work and WorkWell.
The Keep Britain Working review, published in November 2025, examined how employers can support healthier and more inclusive workplaces. Sir Charlie Mayfield was appointed to work in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Business and Trade and Department for Health and Social Care to oversee the implementation of his recommendations. Over 100 employers and ten regions are working with us through employer-led vanguard sprints, reshaping how health and disability are managed at work.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the official closing date under section 14 of the Inquiries Act 2005 was for the public inquiry entitled ICL Inquiry.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The independent public inquiry entitled ICL Inquiry, officially closed when its final report was presented to the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament under Section 26 of the Inquiries Act 2005 in July 2009.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2020 to Question 85078, if she will disregard compensation payments for Historical Institutional Abuse in Northern Ireland for the purposes of establishing eligibility for (a) housing benefit, (b) universal credit and (c) pension credit in Great Britain.
Answered by Will Quince
Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Treasury government officials are working together on how payments from the scheme should be treated in Northern Ireland. Once that situation is clarified, then treatment of the payments in Great Britain can be decided upon.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether compensation payments for Historical Institutional Abuse in Northern Ireland are taken into account in establishing eligibility to claim (a) housing benefit, (b) universal credit and (c) pension credit in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) England.
Answered by Will Quince
The Housing Benefit, Pension Credit and Universal Credit schemes in Northern Ireland are matters for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
With regard to Great Britain, currently, payments made from the scheme would be treated as capital sums, with those sums taken into account in the calculation of all of the benefits mentioned above.
Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Treasury officials are working together on how payments from the scheme should be treated in Northern Ireland.