Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, under what circumstances a decision-maker is required to order new a) work capability and b) personal independence payment assessments under Right to Try regulations.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to giving disabled people and people with health conditions the confidence that working will not trigger a reassessment and a potential loss of benefits.
Under the Right to Try regulations, staff cannot order a new Work Capability Assessment or Personal Independence Payment assessment solely because a claimant has started paid or voluntary work.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to guidance issued to staff regarding the Right to Try regulations, what checks are in place to ensure that an order made by a decision-maker for a new a) work capability assessment or b) personal independence payment assessment is appropriate.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to giving disabled people and people with health conditions the confidence that working will not trigger a reassessment and a potential loss of benefits.
Under the Right to Try regulations, staff cannot order a new Work Capability Assessment or Personal Independence Payment assessment solely because a claimant has started paid or voluntary work.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department amended the draft Right to Try regulations from The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 2026 following the publication of the report by the Social Security Advisory Committee entitled The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 2026, published on 13 April 2026.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We carefully considered the Social Security Advisory Committee’s report and have taken its recommendations on board. While the regulations were laid to provide immediate clarity that work, in and of itself, will not trigger a reassessment, the Department has committed to a programme of further work in response to the Committee’s feedback.
This includes strengthening the monitoring and evaluation of the Right to Try approach and ensuring that clear communications and appropriate safeguards are in place so claimants can engage with work confidently.
The Secretary of State has written to the Committee setting out these commitments, and officials are now taking this work forward to ensure the policy delivers as intended in practice.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the Timms Review plans to engage with disabled people reliant on both personal independence payment and means-tested benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review is committed to a wide programme of participation and engagement, drawing on a broad range of evidence and voices. The Terms of Reference state the Review must be “co-produced with disabled people, along with the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard”.
The Review’s steering group will set out shortly its initial plans for engagement.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to engage with a) disabled people and b) disabled people's organisations during next the phase of reform for the Disability Confident scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring that the next phase of Disability Confident reform is shaped by the lived experience of disabled people and disabled people’s organisations.
As set out in the Disability Confident Reform Delivery Plan the reformed scheme will embed disabled people’s voices throughout design, testing and evaluation. This includes planned engagement through qualitative interviews, surveys, and employee feedback mechanisms, ensuring that reforms reflect the real experiences of disabled employees and those with long-term health conditions.
We will also work directly with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations as part of our stakeholder engagement work. Their expertise will inform the development and testing of strengthened standards, verification processes and tools, with opportunities to contribute through engagement sessions, workshops and ongoing feedback loops.
Taken together, these measures will ensure that disabled people and the organisations representing them have clear and meaningful opportunities to shape the next phase of Disability Confident reform.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the letter of 24 October 2025 from the hon. Member for Lewisham North.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We apologise for the delay in responding to this case. A reply was issued on 27 January 2026.
MP casework is handled by the Department’s complaints and correspondence teams as a priority, with a target response time of 15 working days. However, increased volumes of complaints and a rise in more complex cases have led to some delays. To address this, the Department has recruited additional staff to improve the timeliness and efficiency of responses.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 87802 on Access to Work Programme, whether his Department has any plans to collect data on employment outcomes for Access to Work customers following reassessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work is only available to individuals who are in employment. The Department for Work and Pensions does not therefore collect data on employment outcomes for Access to Work applicants, including after reassessments.
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: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 87803 on Access to Work Programme, whether his Department holds data on the (a) number and (b) proportion of Access to Work applications that have closed in each financial year from 2022-2023 to 2025-26 to date by (i) stage of the claim and (ii) reason for closure.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not close Access to Work applications. Instead, applications may be approved or not approved following assessment. The Department holds data on the number of applications that were not approved at the application outcome stage for each financial year as follows:
This represents a total of 108,314 applications not approved between April 2022 and October 2025, accounting for 28% of all decisions made during that period.
Data on non-approvals is only recorded at the application outcome stage.
The reasons for non-approval include:
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of Access to Work reassessments conducted in (a) 2022-2023, (b) 2024-2025 and (c) the financial year 2025-26 to date which resulted in (i) a reduction in funding, (ii) an increase in funding and (iii) no change in funding for the individual.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not record the outcomes of Access to Work reassessments in a way that allows for data extraction. This exercise would incur disproportionate cost.
Access to Work has not been substantially changed since its introduction in 1994. There is a strong case for updating the role it plays in making work accessible for disabled people. We recognise that Access to Work is providing a poor experience for some applicants with processing delays affecting employees’ ability to start or continue in employment, and employers’ ability to support them.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department holds data on (a) the number and (b) the proportion of Access to Work awards terminated within (i) six months and (ii) a year of reassessment for each of the financial years from 2022-2023 to 2025-26 to date.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not record award terminations in a way that allows for data extraction. This process would incur disproportionate cost.
Access to Work has not been substantially changed since its introduction in 1994. There is a strong case for updating the role it plays in making work accessible for disabled people. We recognise that Access to Work is providing a poor experience for some applicants with processing delays affecting employees’ ability to start or continue in employment, and employers’ ability to support them.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.