Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of employer-partnership programmes on labour market participation in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions continually monitors and evaluates the impact of its programmes on labour market participation across Great Britain, including in Buckingham and Bletchley.
Employer-partnership initiatives such as the Restart Scheme, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), and Skills Bootcamps are subject to independent evaluation, which informs future policy and contractual decisions. For example, the Restart evaluation by the Learning & Work Institute and Ipsos UK, and the Skills Bootcamp evaluation by CFE Research, are publicly available on GOV.UK.
Locally, Jobcentres in Aylesbury and Milton Keynes deliver a range of employer-led programmes to help people move into sustainable employment. These include tailored support through Restart, mentoring circles with NHS and other employers, and SWAPs in sectors such as construction, logistics, retail, and health and social care.
The Department’s wider reforms will create a new service across Great Britain, enabling people to access support to find good, meaningful work and progress in employment, while working with employers to overcome recruitment barriers and meet skills needs.
Through these measures, the Department aims to improve labour market participation and ensure inclusive employment opportunities in Buckingham, Bletchley, and beyond.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme reviews were outstanding as of 5 July 2024; how many remain outstanding; what steps he is taking to reduce the backlog; and what the average time is for processing a review.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On 1 July 2025, I announced the closure of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme to new applicants via Written Ministerial Statement (Hansard Link: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-07-01/hcws763). Four years on from the scheme’s launch and with over 95% of first-time applications now found ineligible, the time was right. Closing the scheme will also allow the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to process all outstanding applications and focus on supporting those already in the pipeline to restart their lives in the UK as soon as possible.
Two Reviews exist in the ARAP scheme, the Review that follows an ARAP ineligible decision and the Review that follows the rejection or partial rejection of an Additional Family Members application.
On 1 July 2024, 1,514 ARAP Reviews remained outstanding, and 387 AFM Reviews remained outstanding. The current number of outstanding applications is, as of 17 July 2025, is 1,033 ARAP Reviews and 280 AFM Reviews. The mean average time for all ARAP and AFM reviews, closed with a decision made, as 17 July 2025, is 194 days for ARAP reviews and 297 days for AFM reviews.
This Government inherited a large proportion of these cases from the previous administration, and I am determined that every outstanding case will be addressed as soon as possible. From the autumn, I will be introducing new key performance indicators for the ARAP caseload. This will help people understand where they stand in the process - and when they should receive a decision. To help support this work the MOD is also recruiting additional caseworkers to ensure cases are processed as swiftly as possible.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Restart Scheme in regions with persistently high unemployment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department is currently undertaking a quantitative impact evaluation of the Restart Scheme. This evaluation will assess the overall effectiveness of the scheme nationally, including areas of high unemployment, but will not necessarily be able to draw conclusions about these areas in isolation, we aim to publish the findings by the end of this year.
In addition, the Restart Scheme Evaluation, published in May 2024 The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme – May 2024, provides analysis of delivery across different Contract Package Areas.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the Work and Health programme that last took applicants in September 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The decision to end the Work and Health Programme was made by the previous Administration.
The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap. We have a clear ambition to raise the overall employment rate to 80%. We are delivering the biggest employment support package for disabled people and people with health conditions in more than a generation as part of our Pathways to Work Guarantee, which will provide work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions claiming out of work benefits. The Pathways to Work Guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030 and a total of £2.2 billion over four years.
Separate to this, our new, voluntary, locally led, Supported Employment programme, Connect to Work, is rolling out across England and Wales. Over the five-year duration of the programme, it will provide specialist employment support to over 300,000 disabled people, people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment.
This is on top of our Jobcentre core offer, which includes the extended Restart Scheme, Disability Employment Advisers and 1000 Pathways to Work Advisers providing additional work coach support for disabled benefit recipients and those with work-limiting health conditions.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the fraud and error of the Film and TV Production Restart Scheme; what processes are in place to identify, quantify and mitigate fraud and error in that scheme; and how much has been recovered as a result of those processes as of the most recent date available.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
External auditors were appointed to review the level of fraud and error in the Film and TV Production Restart Scheme, which ran between October 2020 and April 2022 under the previous Government. This was an indemnity scheme with robust checks at application and claims stages by the scheme administrator and loss adjusters.
The evaluation found an error rate of less than 1%, and did not identify any fraud. The supplier concluded that the scheme had strong governance controls in place reducing the risk of fraud, and the rate of error was within expectations, particularly in the context of a pandemic where there is a need to prioritise speed and financial support to organisations. Errors were reviewed by the administrator and corrected where appropriate within the terms of the scheme, with £2240 recovered accounting for the majority of the error rate.
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what lessons her Department has learnt from the covid-19 pandemic support schemes to ensure that adequate protection is provided to for (a) directors of small limited companies and (b) shielding households.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
Decisions on eligibility for Covid-19 financial support were taken by the previous Government.
The previous Government decided to provide support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) based on two principles: a) targeting support at those who needed it most; and b) guarding against error, fraud and abuse, whilst reaching as many individuals as possible.
People may have been eligible for the other elements of the financial support provided by the Government, including the welfare system. This package included Restart Grants, the Recovery Loan scheme, business rates relief, and other business support schemes.
The previous Government evaluated the COVID-19 labour market support schemes. These were published in 2023 and can be found on Gov.uk. The Government will continue to learn lessons through formal evaluations and reports by independent bodies, such the National Audit Office, and through the work of the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry.
Asked by: Jacob Collier (Labour - Burton and Uttoxeter)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Restart Scheme.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department undertook a mixed-method, multi-strand evaluation of the Restart Scheme, delivered by external research providers Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and Ipsos. The research comprised three strands: a longitudinal cohort study, a survey of Restart Scheme providers, and case study research of 12 geographic areas. The report was published in May 2024 and can found on gov.uk here The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme - GOV.UK.
Official Statistics on the Restart Scheme are published bi-annually and can be found on gov.uk here Restart Scheme statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how Serco performed against key performance indicators at the most recent performance review of their Restart Scheme contract.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her previous Question UIN 50919.
Cabinet Office Statistics publish some of the Serco Key Performance Indicators on a regular basis. The latest publication is available here.
Ongoing performance reviews have identified a need for performance improvement in the two Contract Package Areas (CPA) CPA1a and CPA6 that Serco delivers in. Therefore, the department has implemented intensified support and heightened monitoring as part of our established performance management intervention regime.
This activity incorporates more frequent and more senior scrutiny and includes requiring Serco to implement comprehensive action plans to address concerns, with the intensity of support and challenge increasing at higher intervention levels.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Serco's performance against key performance indicators in the Restart Scheme contract.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Serco’s performance against the contracted Key Performance Indicators has been varied. As part of our established performance management intervention regime, the department has therefore implemented intensified support and heightened monitoring for the two Contract Package Areas in which Serco delivers.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing Afghans resettled under the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme who were directly employed by the UK Government with Proof of Employment certificates.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On 1 March 2025, the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme and the Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will become part of the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP). The ARP is a cross-Government delivery programme which will bring existing resettlement routes into one, single pipeline. It is designed to make the delivery of Afghan resettlement simpler and more cost-effective, to help deliver better outcomes overall.
Unfortunately, it is not feasible to breakdown those relocating to the UK by job role, including those who worked directly for His Majesty’s Government, in order to issue Proof of Employment certificates. However, the Government will continue to support those Afghans who have resettled in the UK through the ARP. This includes through supporting Afghan arrivals into self-sufficiency as quickly as possible to restart their lives in the UK.