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 is he is taking to support job seekers in rural areas.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In Lincolnshire, and across the country, our Jobcentre teams are supporting people back into work and helping those in work to progress. We have a comprehensive range of support in place and are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, job fairs, and work trials. Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside national and local organisations to help meet the needs of their communities, including in rural areas.
In Lincolnshire, the department worked with the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership on provision to assist with a shortage of drivers in the logistics sectors, with training delivered through Boston, Stamford, and Lincoln colleges with good levels of take up.
Adequate transport links can be a major factor that affects employment, and claimants are made aware of the bus fare cap operating throughout Lincolnshire and the East Midlands, operated by local bus companies.
DWP works closely with Boston College that provides outreach services in Spalding, as well as bus transport to facilitate access to their services from rural areas. Boston College also delivers their digital course within Spalding Jobcentre, for those unable to travel into Boston. Where access is still difficult, we have engaged with other providers to deliver virtual programmes, for example NetUK and Steadfast. We have also worked with Lincolnshire County Council for delivery of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision to be delivered in the Spalding Jobcentre.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce economic inactivity among women between the ages of 45 and 64.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP supports people up and down the country to start, stay and succeed in work.
At Autumn Statement, we announced DWP’s Back to Work Plan alongside a suite of other measures to reduce economic inactivity. These included;
· Doubling the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme, to provide support for 100,000 people per year when fully rolled out;
· Formally launching WorkWell, which will bring together the NHS, local authorities and other partners, in collaboration with jobcentres, to provide light touch work and health support in approximately 15 pilot areas;
· Building on the extension of the certification of the fit notes to a wider range of healthcare professions, exploring new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to work and health support; and
· Establishing an expert group to support the development of the voluntary national baseline for Occupational Health provision.
This is alongside pre-existing support such as the Midlife MOT which was rolled out in Jobcentres from January 2023 to encourage individuals to optimise re-skilling prospects and improve health and longer-term financial resilience. The Mid-life MOT acts as a vital prompt to engage more people in planning more actively for later life – both for work and retirement. It provides individuals in their 40s, 50s and 60s with signposting to information and guidance on wealth, work and wellbeing, providing a holistic assessment to ensure that individuals can plan for the later life that they want. We continue to work with organisations, and with employers, on how they can offer the Mid-life MOT.
The DWP 50PLUS Champions network also provides dedicated support to Work Coaches to enable them to effectively direct suitable support to claimants who are aged 50 and over.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) tackle in-work poverty, and (2) create more job opportunities across the UK.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government believes that work is the best way to boost living standards and reduce poverty. Jobcentres across Great Britain provide personalised interventions to support those both in and out of work, including helping low-paid earners to increase their earnings.
We are also making work pay. On 1 April 2024, the Government will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 per hour, representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.
Ensuring a strong economy with a diverse and vibrant jobs market allows everyone to use their talents to the full.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 support disabled people with mobility problems into employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has a wide range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with mobility problems, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include:
Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023. This includes:
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentre clients have been assisted by an Armed Forces Champion in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since July 2023, 47 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the Selly Oak constituency.
The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.
Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)
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 expand the support available through Jobcentres in Broadland constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The local Jobcentre team are collaborating with a range of partners to support people into work and help employers fill vacancies. In addition to hosting jobs fairs and delivering sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPs), they are working with Breckland, Kings Lynn & West Norfolk and North Norfolk District Councils, Duke of Lancaster Academy and Fakenham Academy to provide an employment and skills offer to help meet the recruitment needs of local employers.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued on (a) the circumstances in which a hospital in-patient would be required to attend a meeting at a jobcentre and (b) the circumstances in which a hospital in-patient would be required to attend a meeting if that necessitated the attendance of NHS staff.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no references within our Guidance which state we would require a hospital in-patient to attend a meeting at a Jobcentre.
Where a claimant is required to attend Work Focused Interviews, guidance states that work coaches have discretion to vary the frequency and appointment channel in light of the claimant’s needs, circumstances and capability. Guidance also states that in exceptional circumstances, where a claimant is absolutely prevented from accepting a Claimant Commitment, the requirement to do so is temporarily lifted. This includes, but is not limited to, instances where a claimant is undergoing medical treatment as an in-patient in a hospital.
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 women who are physically unable to work to state pension age.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that older people are more likely to develop a disability or health condition that impacts on their ability to work, and the Department has initiatives to support them as part of the core Jobcentre Plus offer, as well as through specialist provision.
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it, including when they near or reach retirement. Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work, are on a low income or have additional costs as a consequence of a long-term health condition or disability but are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age. Good work is generally good for health. Therefore, where possible and appropriate, the Government supports disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work through an ambitious programme of initiatives.
These include: the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; a digital information service for employers; Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care. Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 including to explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support; and establish an expert group to advice on a voluntary national baseline for Occupational Health provision. Access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. This can support people to find work they can do, and the appropriate adjustments to allow them to work successfully with their disability or health condition.
The principle of having a State Pension age that is the same for everybody is fundamental in the UK. Unlike a personal or workplace pension, which can potentially be drawn earlier, it has always been the case that nobody can claim their State Pension early, before they reach their State Pension age. We have no current plans to change this principle.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
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 job centre clients that have been assisted by an armed forces champion in the Gower constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since July 2023, 30 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the Gower constituency.
The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.
Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for annually indexing Local Housing Allowance to rent levels.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State (SoS) has recently completed his review of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 2024/25. As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit, or the Housing Element of Universal Credit will gain, on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. This is a significant investment of £7bn over five years.
The SoS has committed to reviewing LHA rates annually, usually in the Autumn. The rates for 2025/26 have not yet been reviewed.
The department works closely with stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.