Asked by: Lewis Atkinson (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of the current upper age limits for former members of the Armed Forces seeking to join the Reserve Forces, in the context of the Government's plan to expand reserve forces recruitment.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Alongside delivering the Strategic Defence Review recommendations aimed at re-energising our relationship with, and increasing the strength of our Reserve Forces, we continue to review the policies and legislation which shape the Reserves landscape. This includes the terms and conditions of service for all elements of our Reserve Forces. The age limits for joining the Reserve Forces are, together with all employment polices, regularly reviewed to ensure they meet the demands of the Services and are determined by the branches and trades of each Service.
As well as the Services reviewing their policies, the Ministry of Defence also annually reviews the overarching policies for the Reserve Forces. This is to ensure that we are making the most of the unique skills offered, we attract and retain the personnel needed to deliver Defence outputs and, as much as possible, reflect wider societal norms such as upper age limits which have recently been reviewed across all the Services resulting in retirement ages being raised to align more closely with society.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support expanding employer-led return-to-work schemes for those with mental health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
His Majesty’s Government recognises the vital role that employer-led return-to-work schemes play in supporting individuals with mental health conditions to remain in or re-enter the workforce. A range of initiatives and services are in place to help employers create inclusive, supportive environments that facilitate sustainable employment for those experiencing mental ill health.
Occupational Health (OH) services can be effective in supporting return-to-work planning. OH professionals provide tailored assessments and advice to help employers understand the impact of mental health conditions on work capacity and identify appropriate adjustments. This includes phased return plans, workplace modifications, and ongoing support to ensure a safe and productive reintegration into work. OH services also help employers meet their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 by advising on reasonable adjustments.
The Support with Employee Health and Disability digital service, which provides tailored guidance for employers managing health and disability in the workplace, including mental health. The service, which includes guidance on disclosures, having conversations, legal obligations and making reasonable adjustments, is in national live testing and continues to be updated on an iterative basis, including in response to user research.
The Access to Work scheme offers personalised support for individuals with mental health conditions. This includes grants for workplace adaptations, specialist equipment, and tailored mental health support such as one-to-one sessions with professionals and workplace coping strategies. The scheme complements employers’ legal duties by funding support beyond reasonable adjustments, helping individuals stay in or return to work.
Additionally, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance and resources through its Working Minds campaign, which encourages employers to take proactive steps to prevent work-related stress. The campaign promotes a five-step approach—Reach out, Recognise, Respond, Reflect, and make it Routine—to help businesses address the root causes of stress and foster mentally healthy workplaces.
These efforts are part of a broader Government commitment to reduce economic inactivity and improve employment outcomes for people with health conditions. Importantly, the Keep Britain Working Review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, is exploring what more employers and government can do to tackle economic inactivity due to ill-health and disability.
Together, these measures aim to empower employers with the tools and knowledge needed to support employees with mental health conditions, ensuring that more people can get in and get on in work.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps her Department has taken to help reduce levels of reoffending in (a) South Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
All individuals are assessed for their risk of harm and factors that pertain to re-offending as part of recommending the appropriate sentence and interventions. These deliver a combination of individual supervision and group programmes to assist people on probation developing more pro-social behaviours. Alongside this, timely enforcement is critical when conditions are breached, or risk escalates beyond a manageable level in the community. In relation to South Norfolk and Norfolk, the following specific arrangements are in place to help reduce levels of re-offending:
Partnerships - There is a strong relationship with Norfolk PCC which has enabled co-commissioning of services, for example, HGV Driver and Forklift Truck Driver Training.
Commissioned Rehabilitative Services - There are services directly commissioned by HMPPS providing services for women and ethnic minority people. These services also support people in probation with accommodation, personal wellbeing, finance, benefit and debt. In addition, dependency and recovery workers, co-commissioned with Norfolk County Council are in place for dealing with alcohol and drug misuse.
Local Strategic Engagement - HMPPS convenes and chairs pre-release panels for those leaving prison. These are establishing and developing professional relationships between stakeholders by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to release planning and move-on for people at risk of homelessness. The local Probation Service is an active member of the Community Safety Partnership Group that brings together organisations from across Norfolk to tackle crime and disorder, to ensure the county remains a safe place for people to live, work and visit. The members of the NCSP represent local councils, policing and fire services, probation, youth offending, health and housing.
Additional services - There is currently an education, training and employment pilot in Norfolk which looks to improve employment outcomes (and sustaining employment) for people on release from custody and for those on community orders. This has seen many positive results with people gaining and maintaining employment. Purfleet Trust are also co-commissioned with West Norfolk Local Authority to provide additional support to provide a bespoke programme of support for all individuals referred into the service to help people sustain accommodation. We have an advanced service using Peer Mentors under our engaging people on probation framework which results in better engagement from our people on probation who may otherwise not engage fully with services, breaking down barriers and leading to desistance. It also helps us as a service to develop and enhance our culture to meet the diverse needs of people on probation.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to encourage people who are not in employment but have the capability to work to re-enter the workforce.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our Get Britain Working reforms, set out in a White Paper in November last year, will tackle economic inactivity, build a thriving labour market, and increase the number of people in work. By delivering the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation, with a combined focus on skills and health, we will enable more people to get into work and get on in work. This will move us toward our long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate, which is central to growing the economy.
Building on our Get Britain Working reforms, our ‘Pathways to Work Guarantee’ will provide work, health, and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions claiming out of work benefits. As announced in the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ statement on Welfare Reform on 30 June, we have increased the funding for employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions, investing an additional £300m over the next 3 years. This means our Pathways to Work Guarantee is now an investment of £2.2 billion by 2030 and brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 merits of expanding Jobcentre access to people not in receipt of benefits.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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. The new Jobs and Careers Service will offer employment and careers support for all - not just those on benefits - who want support to find or progress in work.
Supporting our 'Get Britian Working' agenda, we have funded several measures to help unemployed people not in receipt of benefits to find employment:
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support unemployed people not in receipt of benefits to find employment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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. The new Jobs and Careers Service will offer employment and careers support for all – not just those on benefits - who want support to find or progress in work.
Supporting our ‘Get Britian Working’ agenda, we have funded several measures to help unemployed people not in receipt of benefits to find employment:
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of automatically exempting armed forces veterans with severe, long-term PTSD from repeat disability assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Currently, Work Capability Assessment re-assessments are prioritised for customers on Employment and Support Allowance and the health element of Universal Credit who report a change in their health condition. Routine department-led reassessments are scheduled according to expected prognosis length for recovery and subject to available assessment capacity.
Individuals who have Limited Capability for Work- and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA), with the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function means that they will always have LCWRA and are unlikely ever to be able to move into work, are not routinely reassessed.
Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, which is why we will continue to ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with disabled people’s organisations in Wales on the proposed reforms to disability benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of our commitment to hear from members of the public directly, including disabled people and their representatives, we have now held a number of virtual and in person public consultation events, as per the advertised schedule on GOV.UK.
Unfortunately, the Cardiff in person event was postponed from 3 June to 23 June, due to the venue cancelling last minute. We have worked with the Welsh Government to rearrange this event and have reached out to all registered participants directly, including registered members of the public and registered representatives from Welsh charities and other organisations, to rebook their place on a re-scheduled Cardiff event, also offering a priority space on other virtual events. A Wales-only virtual consultation event has now also been arranged and scheduled for 26 June.
Throughout the consultation we are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do. We encourage members of the public, including disabled people’s organisations in Wales, to continue to respond to the consultation online, in writing and via email until the deadline on 30 June.
In the meantime, DWP Ministers continue to engage with individuals and groups in Wales. On 22 April, the Minister for Employment visited Denbighshire in North Wales to announce the launch of the Inactivity Trailblazer, as part of wider efforts to tackle inactivity - with funding from the £125m (in for 2025/26) announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper being designated to this area. The Minister for Employment also visited Mold Jobcentre during this visit to Wales.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the new jobs and careers service will work with employers to help tackle ageism in (a) recruitment and (b) the workplace.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government acknowledges the key role employers play in helping older individuals to remain in or re-enter the workforce, and the importance of embracing policies conductive to this support. The 2010 Equality Act provides strong protection against direct and indirect age discrimination in employment, rendering it unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees or job applicants based on age.
We know that work helps everyone, including older people, play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. That is why we are reforming employment support to ensure it helps everyone who needs it. This includes creating a Jobs and Careers service that will enable everyone, regardless of age, to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings.
We have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent “Keep Britain Working” review as a part of the plan to Get Britain Working again. In recognition of employer's vital role, his review is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence, and recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions. This includes the perspectives of older people themselves, as well as engaging with the Centre for Ageing Better.
My Department also continues to engage with employers to ensure their recruitment practises attract and support the retention of older people. This includes making businesses aware of good practice and encouraging employers to sign the Age-Friendly employer pledge.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the need for amputee veterans to undertake capability assessments every two years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has not proposed to introduce two year assessments for any specific group.
Currently, Work Capability Assessment re-assessments are prioritised for customers on Employment and Support Allowance and the health element of Universal Credit who report a change in their health condition. Routine department-led reassessments are scheduled according to expected prognosis length for recovery and subject to available assessment capacity.
Individuals who have Limited Capability for Work- and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA), with the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function means that they will always have LCWRA and are unlikely ever to be able to move into work, are not routinely reassessed.
Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, which is why we will continue to ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed.