Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of legally-binding child poverty reduction targets on cross-departmental coordination and prioritisation of resources.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Child Poverty Strategy fulfils our commitment to reducing poverty this Parliament and sets out our ambition to fundamentally fix the structural drivers of child poverty as part of a long-term, 10-year strategy for lasting change. From the beginning of our time in government we have acted on child poverty including through increasing the minimum wage, the Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and the removal of the two child limit from April 2026.
In addition to the existing statutory duty on Government to publish poverty statistics annually, we will be monitoring progress using two complementary headline metrics. These will measure overall child poverty using our leading measure of relative low income and our new measure of deep material poverty that looks at families’ ability to afford essentials as well as their income and housing costs.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, published alongside the Strategy, sets out our plans to track progress against these metrics as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and continued learning. There will continue to be a dedicated team in government that, with Ministerial oversight, will work across government, the public and private sectors and civil society as we develop milestones and plans for delivering, monitoring and evaluating our strategy.
We will publish a baseline report next summer which will set out the latest statistics and evidence, with annual reporting thereafter to monitor and evaluate progress.
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, what steps his Department is taking to reduce youth economic inactivity in rural communities.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is investing in all young people’s futures irrespective of where they live in Great Britain. At Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:
Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.
Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.
c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.
The Youth Guarantee ensures paid work for eligible 18–21-year-olds in Great Britain who have been on Universal Credit and seeking work for 18 months. Through the Jobs Guarantee scheme, participants get six months of government-funded employment at minimum wage for 25 hours weekly, plus extra support to build skills and experience. The program aims for an 80% employment rate and includes safeguards for quality and fairness. It will benefit about 55,000 young people over three years.
Prevention: We are improving support for young people at risk of becoming NEET by enhancing data sharing, monitoring further education attendance, and using new tools to help local areas target assistance effectively. We are also funding work experience opportunities for high-risk pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings. These efforts build on measures from the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper announced earlier this autumn.
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are also working closely with the seven Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who are delivering the eight Youth Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper.
The West of England Combined Authority is running a Rural Access Pilot as part of its Youth Guarantee Trailblazer. This pilot focuses on supporting young people in rural areas by providing tailored employment coaching and practical transport solutions, alongside bursaries to cover work-related costs. A free travel pass is designed to remove transport barriers for young people in these areas, enabling them to access employment opportunities, training, and support services.
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, what steps he is taking to help ensure that local carer services are able to provide Income Maximisation services and crisis support to unpaid carers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Overall Government responsibility for support for unpaid carers in England sits with the Department for Health and Social Care.
DWP can provide financial support to qualifying unpaid carers through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and the Carer Addition in Pension Credit. Income Maximisation Services and other Crisis Support may be available to unpaid carers locally through a number of routes, including independent organisations such as the Carers Trust. DWP staff can signpost unpaid carers to this support where appropriate. DWP can also support unpaid carers who wish to combine their caring responsibilities with paid work through our Jobcentre Plus network and other employment support.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of claimants who move into work via Jobcentre support who remain in work for more than six months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department has made no estimate of the proportion of claimants who move into work via Jobcentre support who remain in work for more than six months.
The Department monitors Jobcentre performance through an internal performance framework aligned with the priorities set out in Get Britain Working White Paper.
The Department recently published data on movements into work amongst people in the Universal Credit (UC) searching for work group - Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights October 2025 - GOV.UK.
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.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of requiring JobCentre Plus districts to report outcomes for (a) full-time work, (b) part-time work and (c) training and skills provision.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department monitors Jobcentre performance through an internal performance framework aligned with the priorities set out in Get Britain Working White Paper. The framework is designed for internal management purposes and the data is not published externally.
The Department recently published data on movements into work amongst people in the Universal Credit (UC) searching for work group - Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights October 2025 - GOV.UK.
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.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged i) 18, ii) 19, iii) 20 and iv) 21 have been claiming Universal Credit for 18 months or longer.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department regularly publishes the number of people on Universal Credit by age and claim duration on Stat-Xplore. The provisional statistics for the number of people aged 18 to 21 who have been claiming UC for up to 18 months and for 18 months or more in October 2025 is shown in table 1.
Table 1: Number of People aged 18 to 21 on Universal Credit for up to 18 months and for 18 months or more, October 2025
Age | Duration: 0 months up to 18 months | Duration: 18 months or more | Total |
18 | 59,404 | 3,149 | 62,554 |
19 | 87,151 | 15,804 | 102,951 |
20 | 67,448 | 43,783 | 111,237 |
21 | 56,062 | 60,457 | 116,521 |
Total | 270,065 | 123,196 | 393,262 |
Source: DWP Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) Extract
Notes:
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 estimate his Department has made of the number of Universal Credit claimants awaiting mandatory reconsideration decisions as of the most recent month for which information is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As at end of October 2025, there were 61,000 outstanding mandatory reconsiderations (MR) for Universal Credit (UC).
Notes:
Asked by: Lizzi Collinge (Labour - Morecambe and Lunesdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential merits of creating a sick pay scheme for self-employed people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid for by employers and there is no mechanism to include the self-employed in SSP.
It is important to highlight that many self-employed people already choose to take out some form of insurance or income protection to financially support them during periods of sickness absence.
The Government does have a wider safety net to ensure self-employed people are supported through the welfare system. Where an individual’s income is reduced while off work sick and they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit and/or new style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), depending on their personal circumstances.
New Style ESA is an income-replacement benefit for people who are unable to work because of a health condition or disability and is not an in-work benefit. The aim of ESA is to provide support to individuals who are unable to work due to their disability or health condition, and to help them move towards employment if and when they are able to do so. Eligibility is dependent on satisfying the basic conditions of entitlement and contribution conditions.
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, what plans his Department has to publish annual constituency-level child poverty indicators in relation to the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Details of new statistics currently under development are also set out in the DWP Statistical Work Programme, available at: Statistical work programme - GOV.UK. This includes proposals for a new measure of low income for families in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) and new local area Official Statistics on children in low-income families on an after housing costs (AHC) basis, which will provide additional local area level insights.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, published alongside the Strategy, sets out how we will track progress and evaluate success as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability and continued learning. We will use two complementary headline metrics, relative poverty (after housing costs) and deep material poverty, as well as a comprehensive programme of analysis focussing on the drivers of child poverty and the impact of specific interventions. We will publish a baseline report next summer with further details, which will set out the latest statistics and identify what further indicators and wider evidence will be used to monitor and evaluate the Child Poverty Strategy at both a national and local level.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support more young people into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy.
Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:
Growth and Skills Levy’s £725 million package of reforms includes a change to fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25, and £140 million pilot of new approaches to better connect young people aged 16-24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities. These are important steps in the government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, which will also be supported by expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people.
In Northern Ireland, all DWP policy areas are transferred (apart from the private pensions regulatory regime), including employment support. This is the responsibility of the Department for Communities.