Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.
Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is increasing apprenticeship starts through targeted external recruitment and we are commencing a pilot ‘social mobility program’ utilising the Cabinet Office ‘Going Forward In Employment’ apprenticeships. DCMS will also be involved with the ‘Civil Service Career Launch apprenticeship’, exploring Levy transfer options and broadening its internal apprenticeship offer in professions such as Digital.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity.
A new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. The Department for Work and Pensions has been supporting Cabinet Office with the development of this new scheme, sharing learning from our own school leaver Social Mobility Apprenticeship pilot, which has run successfully for the last two years, with our first cohort of school leavers all securing permanent employment within the Department.
In addition, in the Department for Work and Pensions we are developing an internal apprenticeship strategy, which will utilise the flexibility provided by the new Growth and Skills Levy to develop skills and support the future needs of the Department. Expansion of opportunities to recruit new apprentices are being explored, including continued use of our Social Mobility Apprenticeship schemes and direct recruitment of apprentices into entry level roles. We have recently run a campaign for 50 new Level 3 apprentices in Counter Fraud and Compliance, with a further 40 roles due to go live next month.
We are committed to Getting Britain Working, driving growth through employment. Our plan includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who have commenced phased delivery of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper from May 2025. The Department is committed to offering high quality apprenticeships for all and working with professions to identify opportunities to fulfil business needs.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 1 April, what assessment they have made of the number of people who moved into work as a result of previous employment programmes, and what the cost of those programmes was.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There have been many impact assessments that estimate the extra people in work as a result of previous employment programmes, and also the benefits saved to the Exchequer and Society set against the costs of the programmes. Some recent evaluations cover the: Work Programme, European Support Fund, Work Choice, Job Entry Targeted Support, Job Finding Support and Kickstart programmes. I am depositing these impact documents in the Libraries of the House. See links to these reports below.
The Work Programme: impact assessment - GOV.UK
Impact evaluation of the European Social Fund 2014-2020 programme in England - GOV.UK
Work Choice impact evaluation - GOV.UK
JETS (Job Entry Targeted Support) Impact Evaluation - GOV.UK
Job Finding Support programme: A Quantitative Impact Assessment - GOV.UK
Kickstart Scheme: A Quantitative Impact Assessment - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support people with a musculoskeletal condition back into work, and whether they plan to use chiropractors to help people return people to work.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Improving health and work outcomes for the over 20 million people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions in the UK forms a key part of this government's missions to build an NHS fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.
Healthcare professionals play a vital prevention and early intervention role in supporting people to self-manage their musculoskeletal (MSK) condition and enabling them to get in and get on in work.
The 2025 Healthcare Professionals’ Consensus Statement for action on health and work, published 20 January 2025, commits to work over the next five years to support healthcare professionals, including allied health professionals, to engage more proactively with, and to promote ‘good work as a health outcome’ across the health and care sector. This will support patients, including with MSK conditions, to return and remain in good work.
To support people back into work, the Occupational Health Workforce Expansion Funding Scheme (launched July 2023) funded registered health professionals to undertake occupational health training and qualifications. To date, over 200 doctors and nurses have commenced training.
Government recognises the role complementary and alternative medicine treatments such as chiropractic can play in supporting people. NHS England does not currently support or commission chiropractic care in the NHS.
Asked by: Alan Mak (Conservative - Havant)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what funding was allocated to each Cyber Local project announced on 8 January 2025.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Cyber Local is a UK government scheme to deliver tailored support for the cyber security sector across regions of England and Northern Ireland. It is part of the government’s work to kickstart economic growth and ensure good jobs, skills and growth benefit every part of the country. £1.9 million of funding will be shared by 31 projects, details of which can be found here
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-local-projects-2025
The downloadable spreadsheet indicates whether the project focuses on skills, resilience or innovation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what purposes the Pensions Regulator has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has used artificial intelligence (AI) over the past 12 months to support its regulatory functions and decision-making to better protect savers.
To ensure AI is used responsibly and effectively, TPR has established an AI Accelerator Team and is exploring the creation of an AI Advisory Council. These initiatives aim to promote safe and ethical AI adoption both within TPR and across the pensions industry.
Key areas where AI has been applied by TPR include detecting pension scams, monitoring market trends, predicting pension scheme health and managing website feedback.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to work with healthcare professionals, including chiropractors, to address workplace-related musculoskeletal issues.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving health and work outcomes for the 543,000 workers in Great Britain who reported a work-related musculoskeletal disorder in 2023/24 forms a key part of the Government's missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.
Healthcare professionals play a vital prevention and early intervention role in supporting people to self-manage their musculoskeletal condition and enabling them to get in and get on in work.
The Occupational Health Workforce Expansion Funding Scheme, launched July 2023, funded registered health professionals to undertake occupational health training and qualifications. To date, over 200 doctors and nurses have commenced training.
The 2025 Healthcare Professionals’ Consensus Statement for action on health and work, published 20 January 2025, commits to work over the next five years to support healthcare professionals, including allied health professionals, to engage more proactively with, and to promote good work as a health outcome across, the health and care sector. This will support patients, including those with musculoskeletal conditions, to return and remain in good work.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, for what purposes the Crown Prosecution Service has used AI in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is exploring new and existing technologies, including AI, to enhance efficiency. AI has the potential to support the CPS day-to-day in the delivery of justice. I am keen to explore the opportunities for efficiency that this new technology can bring, being mindful of ethical considerations.
A pilot of Microsoft Copilot concluded in August 2024, with approximately over 400 staff across the organisation given access to Copilot to assist them in everyday tasks such as summarising emails, creating PowerPoint presentations, and analysing excel data.
The scheme established that that Copilot reduced the amount of time it took staff to complete administrative and day-to-day tasks and has the capacity to save thousands of hours across the organisation.
Asked by: Alex Baker (Labour - Aldershot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cost of living on the numbers of (a) businesses at risk of insolvency and (b) people in debt in Aldershot constituency; and what fiscal steps she is taking to support those (i) businesses and (ii) people.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
The Government recognises the significant impact the cost of living has had on personal finances, and particularly for those struggling with debt. We regularly engage with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor personal finances and debt levels. The Money and Pensions Service conducts an annual survey of people in financial difficulty. The results of their latest survey were published on 29 February 2024.
Given cost-of-living pressures, the Government remains committed to helping people that are in problem debt and vulnerable circumstances. For this reason, the Government offers a variety of debt advice services through the Money and Pensions Service to support individuals facing debt issues in England, including both national and community-based debt advice provision.
The Government has also put in place several measures to support the households who face the greatest hardships, including the Fair Repayment Rate for debt deductions in Universal Credit, which means approximately 1.2 million families will keep more of their award each month. The Household Support Fund has also been extended to 2025-26, which will help households facing financial crisis by supporting them with the cost of essentials such as food, energy and water.
We’ve also increased the National Living Wage to £12.21 per hour, an increase of 6.7% which is worth up to £1,4000 for a full-time worker.
With respect to business debt, this is principally a commercial matter. However, the Government is strongly supportive of the work of the British Business Bank as a critical tool to help ensure finance reaches those parts of the economy that otherwise may struggle to obtain the capital they need.
This is why at Autumn Budget, to help support the Government’s mission to kickstart economic growth, the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) settlement will allow them to invest over £1 billion across 2024–25 and 2025–26 for the BBB to enhance access to finance for small businesses, including over £250 million each year for small business loans programmes, including Start Up Loans and the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will relaunch the Kickstart scheme.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are currently no plans to relaunch The Kickstart Scheme.
The Kickstart Scheme was a time-limited response to the effects of the pandemic economic downturn on young people. The scheme came to an end in September 2022 with over 163,000 Kickstart jobs started by young people since its launch.
There continue to be a range of initiatives businesses can get involved in to give opportunities and experience to young people, including apprenticeships, mentoring circles, and work experience. Our Strategic Relationships Team continuously work to connect DWP with employers and partners to strengthen working relationships and to build new opportunities to support young people back to work. This will be strengthened with the introduction of the Youth Guarantee which was announced in The Get Britain Working White Paper.
The Youth Guarantee is for all 18-21 year olds to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work to reduce the number of young people not earning or learning.
Learning from the evaluation of the Kickstart scheme is also being utilised in the design of other employment support.