Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will require NHS employers to provide ongoing (a) education, (b) training and (c) health surveillance for staff who (i) handle and (ii) may be exposed to hazardous medicinal products.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2025 to Question UIN 84444.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to (a) employers and (b) service providers on making reasonable adjustments for people with (i) misophonia and (ii) other sensory conditions.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled employee, would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act and providing guidance on reasonable adjustments.

Employers have a key role to play in supporting workers with long term health conditions or disabilities in the workplace. DWP's current offer to employers includes a digital information service, www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/ which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees to remain in work. This includes guidance on health disclosures and having conversations about health, plus guidance on legal obligations, including statutory sick pay and making reasonable adjustments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Work Coaches have been trained to understand domestic abuse; and who that training is provided by.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

All staff new to DWP complete learning on Domestic Abuse as part of their induction.

Work Coaches then complete role specific learning which includes further learning on domestic abuse which will build their knowledge to develop the relevant skills to help all customers, by tailoring their support to their individual needs. All learning is delivered by DWP staff.

In total 27,714 work coach staff have completed domestic abuse learning over the last five years. Please note that the number of trained staff may include individuals who have since moved roles or left the organisation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department are recorded as having a (a) mental health condition and (b) physical disability by grade.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP does not require staff to declare whether they have a disability. When a disability is declared, they are not required to give details. Any details that are given are in a free text box where multiple conditions could be shared. Therefore, the data is not broken down any further than declaration of a disability and obtaining this breakdown would incur significant cost.

Information on the number of people declaring a disability by each government department are published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025, an accredited official statistics publication. Latest published data are as at 31 March 2025 and can be found at Table 29 of the statistical tables at the following web address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2025

Information for 31 March 2026 is due for publication in July 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the West Midlands Combined Authority on increasing the availability of apprenticeships in the West Midlands.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Officials meet regularly with combined authorities to discuss post-16 skills including apprenticeships. Recent discussions with West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) skills leads have included the newly introduced foundation apprenticeships and led to a subsequent session with training providers in the WMCA to explain foundation apprenticeships and their potential benefits for local young learners.

Similarly, Skills England meets Mayoral Combined Authorities, including the WMCA, on a regular basis to discuss how to address a wide range of skills challenges, the promotion of growth, and simplifying access to skills opportunities.

The government also facilitates the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network of employers and apprentices which works closely in all regions, including the WMCA area, to promote apprenticeships across the region.

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 Construction Industry Training Board levy on (a) the profitability of the construction sector in the past five years and (b) the level of health and safety in that sector.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Responsibility for the Construction Industry Training Board transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions on 16 September 2025. The Secretary of State has not yet made any assessment of the potential impacts of the Construction Industry Training Board’s levy.

Responsibility for health and safety within the construction industry in England sits with the Health and Safety Executive.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the offer of two seat convertible Mazda MX-5 cars as part of the Motability Scheme.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme.

As Motability is independent of government, the management of the scheme including the choice of vehicles rests with them and their respective Boards of Governors. We are however committed to ensuring that the Motability scheme is fair for both users of the scheme and the taxpayer.

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 provide an adequate allocation of funding through the Youth Guarantee Scheme for people not in work, employment or training in North Shropshire constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are developing a Youth Guarantee to ensure young people aged 18-21 can access high-quality training, apprenticeships, or personalised support to find work.

As a first step, we are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers across England who are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities. We will use the learning from these Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls out across the rest of Great Britain, including North Shropshire.

We have also recently announced that we will offer a guaranteed job to eligible young people on Universal Credit, who are unemployed for over 18 months. This forms a key part of the government’s Youth Guarantee, and further details will be announced in due course.

We also continue to deliver targeted support through the Youth Offer, which provides tailored assistance to 16–24-year-olds claiming Universal Credit. In North Shropshire, this includes a local Youth Hub offering the 6 Steps to Succeed programme – a six-week course that builds confidence, communication, and customer service skills, leading to formal qualifications.

We also want to ensure we provide support for young people with health conditions and disabled young people. If you take UC health and ESA for example, the number of young people claiming these has increased by more than 50% in the last five years from 156,000 to 239,000, with 80% of young people on the UC Health element currently citing mental health reasons or a neurodevelopmental condition among declared health conditions.

We are currently organising talking therapies to be delivered from the Youth Hub to support young people with Mental Health challenges. We are also delivering Sector-Based Work Academies for roles in Teaching Assistance, Hospitality, Warehouse, Logistics, and HGV driving. Additionally, we have run employment sessions for customers with health conditions promoting Access to Work, Adjustment Passports, and Disability Confident Employers.

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 help tackle unsafe gas works in homes.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) forms the basis of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) approach to ensuring safe gas work in homes within Great Britain. This includes taking enforcement action against those who do not comply with their legal obligations, including carrying out gas work whilst not competent to do so.

GSIUR also allowed for the establishment of the Gas Safe Register (GSR) which aims to protect the public from unsafe gas work through:

• Ensuring all gas engineers have the appropriate qualifications;

• Operating a national investigations team tracking down un-registered gas workers;

• Carrying out regular inspections of registered engineers, to ensure they are applying gas competence and complying with GSIUR;

• Investigating reports of unsafe gas work; and

• Educating consumers and raising awareness of gas safety.

GSR will apply appropriate sanctions on those businesses found carrying out unsafe gas work as per their Sanctions Policy.

GSR can pass concerns to HSE who will consider the concern in line with the HSE Enforcement Policy statement available to view here HSE - Enforcement action.

The best way to maintain gas safety is by ensuring that only competent, registered engineers undertake gas work. HSE encourages consumers to ask to see Gas Safe Registration ID before permitting engineers to enter their homes. This can also be checked on the Gas Safe Register website: Find or check a Gas Safe registered business.

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 improve employer (a) awareness and (b) training on autism-inclusive workplace practices.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism.

We are supporting employers to be more inclusive in their workplace practices, regardless of diagnosis. DWP's current offer to employers includes a digital information service, www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/, this service guides employers through workplace scenarios, including making reasonable adjustments, explaining the steps they need to take to understand and support their employees’ health and disability in the workplace.

In addition, DWP oversees the voluntary Disability Confident Scheme which encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. This includes resources around employing people with hidden disabilities including autism and other neurodiverse conditions. We know there is more to do and DWP are actively engaging with stakeholders to strengthen the scheme.

DWP also operates Access to Work, which provides grant funding to support Workplace Adjustments that go beyond an employer's duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010.  The grant provides personalised support and workplace assessments, travel to work, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment. In March 2025, we published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to consult on the future of Access to Work. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.

Lastly, in January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel have reviewed the workplace barriers neurodivergent people encounter in getting into or remaining in employment. We have now received the panel’s findings and recommendations and will consider these alongside the findings of Keep Britain Working, our recently published major independent review on healthy and inclusive workplaces.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) digitising and (b) introducing an online portal for the Child Maintenance Service.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) offers a range of digital services designed to support separated families. These include 'Child Maintenance Calculator’, ‘Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance’ and ‘My Child Maintenance Case’(MCMC). Through these services, parents can explore their options, calculate potential payments and submit an online application to the CMS to receive or pay child maintenance. For customers with existing cases, the online services allow them to report changes, check progress, view correspondence and make payments online 24/7.

Digital services were developed and will continue to evolve based on research and feedback from charities supporting separated families, victims of domestic abuse, and users with assisted digital needs.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 29 of the document by the OBR entitled Fiscal risks and sustainability, published on 8 July 2025, whether her Department has made its own assessment of the long-term sustainability of the state pension.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.

State Pension payments are paid from the National Insurance Fund (NIF). The Government reviews forecasts of the NIF balance every five years to inform future decisions. The Government Actuary’s Department is currently undertaking its quinquennial review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has considered exemptions or streamlined processes for PIP claimants with (a) Type 1 diabetes and (b) other lifelong and progressively complex conditions.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Other than for claims made under the special rules for people nearing the end of their life, all claims to PIP are treated in the same way. Entitlement to PIP is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition and so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances, including age and the ability to manage a condition without supervision or assistance.

I have launched the Timms Review with the aim of ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends.

The Timms Review will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.

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 help reduce the potential impact of PIP reassessments for chronic conditions on the mental health of families affected.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Other than for claims made under the special rules for people nearing the end of their life, all claims to PIP are treated in the same way. Entitlement to PIP is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition and so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances, including age and the ability to manage a condition without supervision or assistance.

I have launched the Timms Review with the aim of ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends.

The Timms Review will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to (a) review and (b) amend carer's allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government keeps all aspects of Carer’s Allowance (CA) under review to see if it is meeting its objectives.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has a statutory duty to review State Pension and benefit rates each year based on a review of trends in prices and earnings growth in the preceding year. In April 2025 the rate of Carer’s Allowance increased by 1.7% to £83.30 per week.

We have taken steps to improve the way CA operates and to support those who can combine their caring responsibilities with some paid work, including changing the weekly CA earnings limit to match 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since CA was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. Over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive CA between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as a result of investment worth around £500 million.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to ensure that low paid workers have adequate income in retirement.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

This government is committed to enabling tomorrow’s pensioners to have security in retirement. The Pensions Commission has been revived to consider what is required in the long term to deliver a pensions framework that is stronger, fairer and more sustainable. Amongst other things, the Commission will look at how to improve retirement outcomes, especially for those on the lowest incomes and at the greatest risk of poverty or under-saving.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many overpayments of Carer’s Allowance in relation to earnings there are in the value brackets (a) £0.01.00 - £500.00, (b) £501.00 - £1000.00, (c) £1,001.00 - £5,000.00, (d) £5,000.01 - £20,000 and (e) over £20,000 in each year for the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Data on fraud and error overpayments is published annually and can be found using the following link: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK. 2024/25 estimates show that Carer's Allowance Overpayments relating to earnings / employment represented 1.3% of the £4.2bn expenditure on Carer’s Allowance.

Further breakdowns, as requested in the above PQs, are not published as part of any official statistical release.

This Government commissioned Liz Sayce OBE to lead an Independent Review into Carer’s Allowance Overpayments. We are carefully considering the recommendations of this Review which investigated how they occurred, how we can best support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of them occurring in future. We have committed to publish the review and the Government’s response to it by the end of this year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers have Carer’s Allowance overpayment debts as a result of breaching the earnings limit in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in the last six years for which data is available.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Data on fraud and error overpayments is published annually and can be found using the following link: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK. 2024/25 estimates show that Carer's Allowance Overpayments relating to earnings / employment represented 1.3% of the £4.2bn expenditure on Carer’s Allowance.

Further breakdowns, as requested in the above PQs, are not published as part of any official statistical release.

This Government commissioned Liz Sayce OBE to lead an Independent Review into Carer’s Allowance Overpayments. We are carefully considering the recommendations of this Review which investigated how they occurred, how we can best support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of them occurring in future. We have committed to publish the review and the Government’s response to it by the end of this year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women are in debt to his Department through overpayments of Carers Allowance in relation to earnings.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Data on fraud and error overpayments is published annually and can be found using the following link: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK. 2024/25 estimates show that Carer's Allowance Overpayments relating to earnings / employment represented 1.3% of the £4.2bn expenditure on Carer’s Allowance.

Further breakdowns, as requested in the above PQs, are not published as part of any official statistical release.

This Government commissioned Liz Sayce OBE to lead an Independent Review into Carer’s Allowance Overpayments. We are carefully considering the recommendations of this Review which investigated how they occurred, how we can best support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of them occurring in future. We have committed to publish the review and the Government’s response to it by the end of this year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Carer’s Allowance overpayments there have been in relation to earnings in each year for the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Data on fraud and error overpayments is published annually and can be found using the following link: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK. 2024/25 estimates show that Carer's Allowance Overpayments relating to earnings / employment represented 1.3% of the £4.2bn expenditure on Carer’s Allowance.

Further breakdowns, as requested in the above PQs, are not published as part of any official statistical release.

This Government commissioned Liz Sayce OBE to lead an Independent Review into Carer’s Allowance Overpayments. We are carefully considering the recommendations of this Review which investigated how they occurred, how we can best support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of them occurring in future. We have committed to publish the review and the Government’s response to it by the end of this year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will reinstate the winter fuel payment in full.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has increased the level at which Winter Fuel Payments are means-tested in England and Wales from winter 2025/26 so that the vast majority of pensioners – around 9 million individuals – will benefit from them.

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 the time taken to process Access to Work applications.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are committed to reducing the time taken to process Access to Work applications and are considering the best way to deliver that for customers. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work applications. We prioritise applications from customers who are about to start a job or are renewing existing support. In March 2025, DWP published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to consult on the future of Access to Work. Alongside this, we are exploring further changes within the current policy framework to reduce the time taken to process Access to Work applications.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure employers are encouraged to support people with disabilities into employment.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are funding local authorities to open our supported employment programme, Connect to Work, throughout England and Wales. Crucially, as part of this programme, specialist employment advisers work with both participants and employers, ensuring that participants are supported and workplaces are inclusive.

It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The Independent lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield’s report has now been released - Keep Britain Working: Final report - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) work coaches and (b) vacancies there were at Jobcentres in each month since July 2024.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

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 value of Carer’s Allowance overpayment debts in relation to earnings.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Data on fraud and error overpayments was published earlier this year: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK. 2024/25 estimates show that Carer's Allowance Overpayments relating to earnings / employment represented 1.3% of the £4.2bn expenditure on Carer’s Allowance.

This Government commissioned Liz Sayce OBE to lead an Independent Review into these overpayments. We are carefully considering the recommendations of this Review which investigated how they occurred, how we can best support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of them occurring in future. We have committed to publish the review and the Government’s response to it by the end of this year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Carer’s Allowance overpayments in relation to earnings there are.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Data on fraud and error overpayments was published earlier this year: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK. 2024/25 estimates show that Carer's Allowance Overpayments relating to earnings / employment represented 1.3% of the £4.2bn expenditure on Carer’s Allowance.

This Government commissioned Liz Sayce OBE to lead an Independent Review into these overpayments. We are carefully considering the recommendations of this Review which investigated how they occurred, how we can best support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of them occurring in future. We have committed to publish the review and the Government’s response to it by the end of this year.

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 potential impact of unqualified operatives performing gas works on levels of public safety.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) accepts that unqualified operatives performing gas work pose significant risks to gas safety and believes focusing on the prevention of unsafe gas work through installation, regular servicing and maintenance by qualified, Gas Safe Registered engineers is key to achieving safer homes.

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) enabled the establishment of the Gas Safe Register (GSR) and places a legal requirement on all those conducting gas work in homes to be competent to do so and Gas Safe Registered. HSE will consider enforcement action against those who do not comply with this legal obligation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to reform the Personal Independence Payment reassessment process for people with (a) Type 1 diabetes and (b) other lifelong conditions.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Other than for claims made under the special rules for people nearing the end of their life, all claims to PIP are treated in the same way. Entitlement to PIP is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition and so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances, including age and the ability to manage a condition without supervision or assistance.

I have launched the Timms Review with the aim of ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends.

The Timms Review will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.

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 PIP reassessments on (a) teenagers with Type 1 diabetes and (b) their carers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Other than for claims made under the special rules for people nearing the end of their life, all claims to PIP are treated in the same way. Entitlement to PIP is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition and so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances, including age and the ability to manage a condition without supervision or assistance.

I have launched the Timms Review with the aim of ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends.

The Timms Review will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.

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 potential impact of the two-child benefit cap on working class people in Newton Abbot constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children are published annually and provide various breakdowns including by households with someone earning.

The latest publication, with April 2025 data, is published here: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK data by Parliamentary Constituencies can be found in tables 12A, 12B, 12C in the published spreadsheet.

All previous releases of these statistics are published here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many vehicles were leased through the mobility scheme in each year since 2020; and how many of those vehicles were British made.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation with oversight of the Motability Scheme. DWP is responsible for the main disability benefits (excluding Scottish disability benefits) that provide a gateway to the Scheme. If a claimant chooses to join the Scheme, DWP facilitates the transfer of these benefits to Motability Operations.

Whilst the Department works closely with Motability Foundation, responsibility for the terms and administration of the Scheme, including the choice of vehicles, sits with Motability Foundation and its Board of Governors. Motability Foundation publish annual reports which set out the number of customers on the Scheme as a whole and can be found on this link: Annual Reports and Accounts | About Us | Motability Foundation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on preparing Jobcentres for the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Our Get Britain Working strategy is driving forward reforms and helping create a more inclusive labour market that supports economic growth and opportunity for individuals. The Employment Rights Bill is key to this agenda as it aims to deliver greater security in work, support higher living standards and contribute positively to productivity.

This complements our approach to Jobcentre reform; the new Jobs and Careers service will have a renewed focus on helping people into good quality work, with career progression and increased earnings potential. It will also put employers’ needs at the heart of the service - we are engaging closely with employers on the design of a future service.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has engaged with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the government’s approach to these labour market reforms.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has a target for the number of work coaches employed by his Department.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of Personal Independence Payment are aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18; how many of those are in full time education; and how many of those are in each constituency in England.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested on the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) recipients aged 16, 17 and 18 in full-time education is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Information on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) recipients by age and parliamentary constituency in England is available via Stats-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml). Guidance on how to use PIP data on Stat-Xplore is also available here: Personal Independence Payment data on Stat-Xplore: user guide - GOV.UK. An account is not required to use Stat-Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

The relevant information can be found in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ dataset.

To filter for parliamentary constituencies in England, under the ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituency 2024’ category, select ‘DWP policy ownership’. Click on the arrow beside ‘England’ and select ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituency 2024’ to include all English constituencies.

Next, to filter by specific ages, under ‘Age (bands and single year)’, expand the ‘16-19’ category and select the ages 16, 17 and 18 as required.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of taper rates on young people living in supported accommodation who take on paid work; and if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that those young people are better off when they increase their hours of work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for working age customers (including young people) residing in supported and temporary accommodation.

Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since 21 March 2024.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and National Records Scotland (NRS) publish annual data on deaths by sex and age group on their websites.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on ensuring that vulnerable pensioners in the North East are protected from online benefit scams.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

DWP is taking a number of steps to protect our vulnerable customers from online benefit scams. This includes raising public awareness of benefit scam messages on the Gov.uk website. Our most recent press release relating to Winter Fuel Payment warned our customers to be alert to text message scams in advance of next month’s payments and urging them to forward any suspicious texts to 7726. This is free of charge and helps phone providers block the numbers involved. Customers are also encouraged to forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.

We are also working together with Action Fraud raising awareness on social media sites including Facebook and X formerly known as Twitter. This is alongside DWP’s continued work with trusted partners and charities such as Independent Age to ensure accurate and timely information is available. DWP has also developed a recorded message for our telephone lines to raise awareness of Winter Fuel Payment scams.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to encourage self-employed workers to pay into private pension funds.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The proportion of the self-employed who are saving into a pension has fallen significantly from almost 50% in the late 1990s to less than 20% at present. While self-employed workers are not eligible for Automatic Enrolment, the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) must accept individuals who are self-employed, meeting certain conditions, who wish to join a pension scheme.

The Department is currently working with Nest Insight and partners to test potential solutions. The Pensions Commission will also explore steps to improve pension outcomes, especially for those at the greatest risk of undersaving, such as self-employed workers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were employed by the (a) Pensions Regulator and (b) Health and Safety Executive in each year since 2005.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Pensions Regulator and Health and Safety Executive are directly accountable to Parliament. The information requested is published in their respective annual report and accounts, which are laid before the House of Commons and publicly available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Universal Credit claimants were recorded in the last 12 months who were categorised as (1) refugees, (2) having pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, (3) having settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, (4) having indefinite leave to remain, and (5) having limited leave to remain.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

To access Universal Credit a person must be British, Irish, have a right of abode, or have a valid UK immigration status that permits recourse to public funds as well as meeting all the other entitlement conditions. The Department recently published Universal Credit Immigration status and Nationality summary statistics through ODS tables on GOV.UK.

For statistical production purposes, immigration status data has been categorised into 8 groups (see attached document).

Taken from the published statistics, the following table shows the number of people on Universal Credit by immigration status for each month from August 2024 to July 2025. The additional breakdowns requested for the EU Settlement Scheme are not readily available and to provide them would incur disproportionate cost.

Total number of people on Universal Credit by Immigration status each month from August 2024 to July 2025, Great Britain

Source: Universal Credit Immigration status and nationality summary statistics

Notes

1. The latest Nationality recorded on the UC system declared by the claimant, reported across all previous UC claims.
2. Immigration status is sourced from Habitual Residence Test (HRT) data. The latest immigration status is recorded and reported against the corresponding claim at the point in time it applied.
3. Aligned UCFS Nationality and HRT data are available from April 2022 onwards only.
4. Cells in these tables have had statistical disclosure control applied to avoid the release of confidential data. Due to adjustments totals may not be the sum of the individual cells.
5. Figures for the most recent month are provisional. These figures will be subject to revision in subsequent releases in line with our statistical revisions policy.
6. HRT revisions can occur and can be retrospectively applied and supersede previous decisions. Hence changes to previous months are possible.
7. If a claimant has dual nationality and one is CTA then they will be recorded as CTA - UK, Ireland, Right of Abode.
8. Non-EU individuals can be in the EUSS, such as Non-EU family members of EU citizens.
9. Non-Ukrainians/Non-Afghans can be in resettlement schemes.
10. Right of Abode individuals include some groups of Commonwealth citizens.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Universal Credit claimants were recorded in non-UK immigration status groups in each year since 2019.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

To access Universal Credit a person must be British, Irish, have a right of abode, or have a valid UK immigration status that permits recourse to public funds as well as meeting all the other entitlement conditions. The Department recently published Universal Credit Immigration status and Nationality summary statistics through ODS tables on GOV.UK.

For statistical production purposes, immigration status data has been categorised into 8 groups (further details provided in Table Guidance in the attached document).

Taken from the published statistics, the following table shows the number of people on Universal Credit by immigration status for each April from 2022 to 2025. Data is not held prior to April 2022.

Total number of people on Universal Credit by Immigration status for April 2022 to April 2025, Great Britain

Source: Universal Credit Immigration status and nationality summary statistics

Notes

1. The latest Nationality recorded on the UC system declared by the claimant, reported across all previous UC claims.
2. Immigration status is sourced from Habitual Residence Test (HRT) data. The latest immigration status is recorded and reported against the corresponding claim at the point in time it applied.
3. Aligned UCFS Nationality and HRT data are available from April 2022 onwards only.
4. Cells in these tables have had statistical disclosure control applied to avoid the release of confidential data. Due to adjustments totals may not be the sum of the individual cells.
5. Figures for the most recent month are provisional. These figures will be subject to revision in subsequent releases in line with our statistical revisions policy.
6. HRT revisions can occur and can be retrospectively applied and supersede previous decisions. Hence changes to previous months are possible.
7. If a claimant has dual nationality and one is CTA then they will be recorded as CTA - UK, Ireland, Right of Abode.
8. Non-EU individuals can be in the EUSS such as Non-EU family members of EU citizens.
9. Non-Ukrainians/Non-Afghans can be in resettlement schemes.
10. Right of Abode individuals include some groups of Commonwealth citizens.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the effectiveness of benefit sanctions in supporting claimants into sustained employment.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions published a draft report on the Impact of Benefit Sanctions on Employment Outcomes, on the 6th April 2023.

The draft report is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-impact-of-benefit-sanctions-on-employment-outcomes-draft-report

And can also be found in the attached document.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to increase the availability of the test digital service for applicants for (a) the Personal Independence Payment and (b) other benefits in (i) Horsham constituency and (ii) other areas.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are enabling customers to complete parts of their application online, as announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper. We are also planning to increase the number of face-to-face assessments.

We are transforming the way in which DWP delivers services, including the provision of online and self-serve options, while protecting and improving other channels.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 83176 on Universal Credit, how many and what proportion of claims were made by people with the support of a paid interpreter; and what was the the total cost of (a) translation and (b) interpretation for supporting claimants in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not retain data on how many and what proportion of Universal Credit claims were made by people requiring the support of paid interpretation services. The breakdown of costs for translation and interpretation across all benefits including Universal Credit, from 2019/2020 to present is shown below. This data is not available prior to 2019.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the impact of benefit sanctions on (1) the mental health of claimants, (2) levels of household debt, and (3) food bank use.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We engage on an individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring support to their individual needs. This includes agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into, or closer to, work, where appropriate. These conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant. This would include tailoring to reflect any mental health issues the claimant raised.

When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

The Fair Repayment Rate (FRR) was implemented on 30 April 2025; this meant the overall deductions cap was reduced from 25% to 15% of a customer’s Universal Credit Standard Allowance. Approximately 1.2 million Universal Credit households with deductions will retain more of their award, on average, £420 a year or £35 per month.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any potential abuses of the Motability Scheme, and what consideration they have given to reforms that might better target those in need.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is responsible for the disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), that provides a passport to the Motability scheme.

The Department takes benefit fraud extremely seriously. Whilst Motability is independent of government, the Department meets with Motability regularly to discuss the scheme, including how it is taking action against any misuse.

The PIP mobility element is in scope of the Timms Review, which aims to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on clearing the backlog of Carer’s Allowance overpayment debts in relation to earnings.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP secured additional funding for 2025/2026 for a 27% increase in resource to clear the stock of Carer’s Allowance (CA) Verify Earnings and Pensions (VEP) alerts. VEP enables DWP to receive real time identification of changes in a claimant’s income through an interface with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay as You Earn (PAYE) information.

This focus has ensured DWP has now cleared this stock of CA VEP alerts, moving DWP to a position of actioning all alerts as close as possible to the date of generation by HMRC, and helping reduce the risk of large overpayments building up over many years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department’s plans to process all Carer’s Allowance overpayments in relation to earnings.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP secured additional funding for 2025/2026 for a 27% increase in resource to clear the stock of Carer’s Allowance (CA) Verify Earnings and Pensions (VEP) alerts. VEP enables DWP to receive real time identification of changes in a claimant’s income through an interface with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay as You Earn (PAYE) information.

This focus has ensured DWP has now cleared this stock of CA VEP alerts, moving DWP to a position of actioning all alerts as close as possible to the date of generation by HMRC, and helping reduce the risk of large overpayments building up over many years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on processing Carer's Allowance overpayments; and when that process will be completed.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP secured additional funding for 2025/2026 for a 27% increase in resource to clear the stock of Carer’s Allowance (CA) Verify Earnings and Pensions (VEP) alerts. VEP enables DWP to receive real time identification of changes in a claimant’s income through an interface with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay as You Earn (PAYE) information.

This focus has ensured DWP has now cleared this stock of CA VEP alerts, moving DWP to a position of actioning all alerts as close as possible to the date of generation by HMRC, and helping reduce the risk of large overpayments building up over many years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual budget was for the (a) Pensions Regulator and (b) Health and Safety Executive in each year since 2005.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Both the Health and Safety Executive and the Pensions Regulator are funded from a mix of sources. These include direct government funding, levies on industry (in the case of the Pensions Regulator) and from charging or cost recoveries.

The full spend, and financial breakdowns, for these bodies by year can be found in their respective Annual Report and Accounts. This information is available in the public domain via The Pensions Regulator and Health and Safety Executive respective ARAs. They can be found using the following links:

The Pensions Regulator (see Financial Review sections)

HSE Annual Reports and Accounts (see statement of Cashflows section)

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Reports produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of SEND diagnoses on levels of welfare spending.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It is not possible to quantify the totality of the impact of SEND in terms of welfare spending. The department will continue to work closely with the Department for Education on improving the support for and chances of all young people.

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 number of employment advisers that will be employed to work in community healthcare settings.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

With 2.8 million people out of work due to health conditions, Connect to Work is part of the Government’s plan to get Britain working again. Connect to Work is designed to give local areas considerable flexibility in determining how they deliver it, including decisions about integration into health care settings.

Connect to Work is rolling out across all areas of England and Wales. As of 12 November 2025, 23 of the 49 delivery areas have a live service funded by Connect to Work. Every delivery area is expected to be open for participants by early 2026. Further details will be set out as more areas go live.

JobCentre Plus sites also have discretion to co-locate work coaches and Disability Employment Advisers, in health settings (including GP surgeries) with agreements made locally.

The Department has a regular quarterly GP forum that includes the BMA and representative bodies for GPs where Employment Support policies and programmes are discussed. There is a DWP Chief medical Advisor Clinical Advisory Group and ad hoc meetings focussed to discuss GP involvement in health and work policy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many GP surgeries will have employment advisors; and what his planned timetable is for rollout.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

With 2.8 million people out of work due to health conditions, Connect to Work is part of the Government’s plan to get Britain working again. Connect to Work is designed to give local areas considerable flexibility in determining how they deliver it, including decisions about integration into health care settings.

Connect to Work is rolling out across all areas of England and Wales. As of 12 November 2025, 23 of the 49 delivery areas have a live service funded by Connect to Work. Every delivery area is expected to be open for participants by early 2026. Further details will be set out as more areas go live.

JobCentre Plus sites also have discretion to co-locate work coaches and Disability Employment Advisers, in health settings (including GP surgeries) with agreements made locally.

The Department has a regular quarterly GP forum that includes the BMA and representative bodies for GPs where Employment Support policies and programmes are discussed. There is a DWP Chief medical Advisor Clinical Advisory Group and ad hoc meetings focussed to discuss GP involvement in health and work policy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what engagement he has had with (a) the BMA and (b) GP surgeries on embedding employment advisers in GP surgeries.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

With 2.8 million people out of work due to health conditions, Connect to Work is part of the Government’s plan to get Britain working again. Connect to Work is designed to give local areas considerable flexibility in determining how they deliver it, including decisions about integration into health care settings.

Connect to Work is rolling out across all areas of England and Wales. As of 12 November 2025, 23 of the 49 delivery areas have a live service funded by Connect to Work. Every delivery area is expected to be open for participants by early 2026. Further details will be set out as more areas go live.

JobCentre Plus sites also have discretion to co-locate work coaches and Disability Employment Advisers, in health settings (including GP surgeries) with agreements made locally.

The Department has a regular quarterly GP forum that includes the BMA and representative bodies for GPs where Employment Support policies and programmes are discussed. There is a DWP Chief medical Advisor Clinical Advisory Group and ad hoc meetings focussed to discuss GP involvement in health and work policy.

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 ensure the Child Maintenance Service provides proof, if requested, of calculations of collection fees.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is committed to ensuring transparency in the operation of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).

The CMS provides two service types: Direct Pay, where parents arrange payments between themselves, and Collect and Pay, where the CMS calculates the liability and manages the transfer of funds. Collection fees only apply to the Collect and Pay service. A fee of 20% is added to what the paying parent needs to pay, while 4% is deducted from maintenance paid to receiving parents.

For cases on the Collect and Pay service, details of what collection fees apply and how they are calculated are included in notifications sent to customers whenever there is a change to their child maintenance calculation. Customers can also view additional information about their payments and child maintenance calculation by accessing their online Child Maintenance account.

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 ensure that the Child Maintenance Service do not send arrears letters to people who pay on time.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Robust processes are in place to ensure correspondence issued by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is accurate and reflects each customer’s payment status. CMS systems monitor compliance of expected payments and where payments are not made in full and on time, arrears or missed payment notifications will be issued. Where a payment has been made in full and on time, no arrears letter should be sent.

The CMS are committed to modernising and regularly reviews processes and updates guidance to staff to minimise errors and improve accuracy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on benefit payments to foreign nationals in the 2024-2025 financial year.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to promote more positive mental wellbeing in the workplace.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new additional funding by 2030. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.

In recognition of employer’s vital role in addressing health-related economic activity we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working independent review, which was published on 5 November. In partnership with DBT and DHSC colleagues we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work, putting his key recommendations into action from day one, including working with Northern Ireland and the other Devolved Governments. In the review, Sir Charlie has recommended that mental health in young people should be a potential priority area as a deep dive for the Vanguards.

Additionally, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Directorate has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Timms Review plans to (a) hold discussions with (i) carers and (ii) disabled people from and (b) considers the potential impact of proposed changes in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts, including carers. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends.

We recognise that unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting disabled people, which is why, in keeping with the commitments made in Parliament, we have explicitly included carers in the list of groups who will be involved in the co-production of the Review.

PIP is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland, but there is a long-standing principle of parity between the social security systems of the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government. It is therefore important that the Review hears from disabled people in Northern Ireland and the organisations that represent them.

As the Review progresses, we will continue to engage closely with officials and disability stakeholders from across the devolved governments, to ensure that its work is informed by the diverse approaches to disability support from across the United Kingdom.

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 (a) number and (b) percentage of Access to Work applicants who have lost their employment after a reassessment resulted in a reduction in the support they receive through the programme.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions has not assessed the (a) number and (b) percentage of Access to Work applicants who may have lost their employment following a reassessment that resulted in a reduction in the support they receive. The programme does not collect data on employment outcomes following reassessment decisions. Customers who disagree with a reassessment outcome may request a reconsideration of their award.

The scheme is there to support disabled people to start and stay in employment by providing tailored support based on individual needs. However it has not been substantially changed since its introduction in 1994. Given that, the government has consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in his Department since 2017.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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 ensure that child maintenance calculations adequately reflect disparities in parents' earning, regardless of custody arrangements.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in. The maintenance calculation is intended to represent what a parent would pay for their child if they lived with them. We assume that in the event of a disparity in parental income, parents will each still spend the same proportion of their income on their child(ren) - but one parent will bear a greater amount of the overall spending on the children where their income is higher. The income of the receiving parent is therefore not included as they are already providing as the child’s primary care giver and therefore spending the amount they would if the parents lived together.

If a parent feels that a decision taken by the Child Maintenance Service is incorrect, they can ask it to look at the decision again. This is known as a mandatory reconsideration.

The CMS is aware that paying parents can face difficulties when attempting to spend meaningful time with their child following separation. Issues relating to access and contact are managed by family courts, however, reductions can be made for the extra cost of care where it is shared by the paying parent. The paying parent must have overnight care of any qualifying children for at least 52 nights a year, equivalent of 1 night per week. The amount payable is reduced by a maximum of fifty percent within bands based on the number of nights overnight care is provided over a 12-month period. The bands are used to give greater stability to maintenance payments and as a result there is greater reliability of payments, which contributes towards the welfare of the children in the case.

If evidence shows that both parties are providing equal day-to-day care of a qualifying child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance.

The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and considering how to ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends.

Options for proposed reforms are currently being considered. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to extensive public consultation, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.

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 implications for his Department's policies of Turn2us's report entitled From stigma to support, published in October 2025; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of work coaches.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The findings from the Turn2us report, entitled ‘From Stigma to Support’, demonstrate the importance of tackling stigma in the benefits system and the need for reform to build a more supportive and tailored service.

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain. Our new service will remove the stigma of going to a Jobcentre and move away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach that Jobcentre Plus has today. We will shift the focus of the customer-work coach relationship away from compliance and box-ticking to make room for more constructive, personalised, and career-focused discussions.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee. This will be backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. This will help us build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.

There are now over 1000 Pathways to Work Advisors in Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales who are helping disabled people and people with health conditions towards and into work. This increased deployment will help ensure that everyone impacted by the benefit change in April 2026 is offered support.

People affected by the changes will be able to access a conversation about their needs, goals and aspirations; offered one-to-one follow-on support, and given help to access additional work, health and skills support that can meet their needs.

We have also launched the Timms Review with the aim of ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, we are co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. Once in place, the Review’s steering group will agree the approach to considering evidence and gathering input.

The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.

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 make it easier for people who cannot use the telephone to communicate changes in their circumstances online.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We understand that not everyone can use the telephone to communicate with us and we are committed to making our services more accessible, inclusive and responsive to customer needs.

We already offer alternative channels for several services. We’ve successfully launched the ability for customers to request Proof of Benefit evidence online, available 24/7 and used by thousands to access key services without needing to call.

We are continually developing our service, informed by customer needs, to include the capability for customers to communicate changes in their circumstances. The service is being designed as a multi-channel service, enabling people to engage with us through their preferred means.

These improvements are being delivered incrementally, guided by user feedback and inclusive design principles, to ensure our services work for everyone.

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 impact of increasing Statutory Maternity Pay to the level of the National Living Wage on women’s labour market (a) participation and (b) retention following childbirth.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government has committed to review the parental leave and pay system. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements are in scope of the Parental Leave and Pay Review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work placements have been (a) delayed or (b) cancelled due to delays in processing Access to Work applications in the past 12 months.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are committed to reducing the time taken to process Access to Work applications and are considering the best way to deliver that for customers. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work applications. We prioritise applications from customers who are about to start a job or are renewing existing support.

The Department does not hold data on how many work placements may have been (a) delayed or (b) cancelled due to delays in processing Access to Work applications in the past 12 months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the equitableness of the Child Maintenance Service's (a) fee structure and (b) case prioritisation (i) where a paying parent has multiple children across different claims and (ii) all other cases.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.

Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest tax year available. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately.

The calculation can also take into account other aspects such as where care of the child is shared between the parents and any other children that the paying parent provides care.

The CMS recognises the complexity of cases where a paying parent has multiple children across different claims and is committed to ensuring that all children receive fair and timely support.

Where a paying parent has multiple children across different claims, the CMS recalculates the total maintenance liability based on the number of qualifying children across all cases, fees are based on a percentage of the total ongoing maintenance (OGM) amount, not on the number of arrangements.

The calculation can also take into account any other children outside of the statutory scheme for whom the paying parent provides support. This ensures the Child Maintenance Service fulfils its responsibility to consider the welfare of all children connected to a case.

A consultation on proposed CMS reforms was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. The consultation was extended by the Government at the end of July and ran until 30 September 2024. The Government published a response on 23 June 2025. This included plans to reform the CMS fee structure for the Collect and Pay Service, reducing fees to 2% for receiving parents, deducted from maintenance received, and 2% for compliant paying parents in addition to their calculated maintenance amount, while maintaining the 20% rate for non-compliant paying parents, in addition to their calculated maintenance amount.

The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and considering how to ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends.

Options for proposed reforms are currently being considered. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to extensive public consultation, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has provided to access to work administrators on communication with (a) service users, (b) employers and (b) providers.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Access to Work guidance is publicly available on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-staff-guide/access-to-work-staff-guide). All requisite information is contained therein.

Access to Work staff receive training and coaching on the Access to Work principles and processes to ensure their communication is clear, effective in managing expectations and supported by explanations and signposting where necessary. In addition, the Department provides other mandatory learning including understanding responsibilities with customer equality and accessibility.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who is able to reduce agreed hours for (a) self-employed job coaches and (b) support providers who have both (i) an agreed support plan under Access to Work and (ii) not had a consultation on the reduction of these hours.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The support that a customer will receive from Access to Work is dependent upon their needs and circumstances at the time they make an application. Case managers will use the current guidance to ensure Access to Work principles are considered when making a decision on support.

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 proportion of paying parents who have (a) avoided and (b) reduced child maintenance payments through (i) advance benefit payments and (ii) other similar means.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) recognises the importance of ensuring that child maintenance payments are made fairly and consistently, and that children receive the financial support to which they are entitled.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced that from 30 April 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would reduce the Universal Credit (UC) overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of the standard allowance, introducing the Fair Repayment Rate (FRR). Without changes, this would reduce the number of child maintenance (CM) deductions. To prevent this, DWP implemented a temporary regulatory and policy change for one year from 30 April 2025 meaning CM deductions moved to first place in UC’s deductions priority order and deductions can exceed the 15% cap ensuring CM payments continue. Evidence gathered during the year will inform whether to make the change permanent or adopt an alternative approach.

In relation to other similar means: The CMS monitors claims to ensure they are accurate and works closely with HMRC to verify income data and identify discrepancies. Where a receiving parent believes their assessment does not reflect the paying parent’s true financial position, CMS offers a variation process to challenge the assessment.

The CMS continues to refine its systems to detect and prevent avoidance, including through legislative reforms and improved data sharing.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to publish details of (a) findings, (b) good practice and (c) value-for-money assessments from Trailblazer schemes.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Trailblazers were launched from April 2025 across 17 areas and are testing more localised delivery approaches to support young people and those who are economically inactive to move closer to the labour market.

The Trailblazer areas are required to demonstrate to the Department satisfactory progress towards implementing their agreed delivery plans. Management Information is being collected by the areas and will be shared with the Department, which includes volumes and characteristics of people supported by the Trailblazers.

The Department expects to publish scoping research in 2026, which was commissioned to baseline Trailblazer plans and inform the evaluation design. The Department will be commissioning a new evaluation contract, starting in December 2025, and we will then agree the most effective approach to evidencing outcomes, good practice and value for money. Where applicable this will include evidence on improving mental health, tackling social isolation and supporting sustained employment. We expect to publish interim findings during the next two years and will develop the value for money assessment once longer term impacts have been developed.

In addition, the Department is working closely with Trailblazer areas to support the design of their own local evaluations.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will set out his Department’s plans to provide support to help sick and disabled people into work.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.

Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, WorkWell and NHS Health and Growth Accelerators.

In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new additional funding by 2030. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.

In recognition of employers’ vital role in addressing health-related economic activity, we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the independent Keep Britain Working Review. The Report was published on 5 November. In partnership with the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work and develop a Healthy Workplace Standard, putting Sir Charlie’s key recommendations into action from day one.

Additionally, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Directorate has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.

The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan states our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It also outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.

Found: investment in a new over-75s (pension credit) system, that automatically checks entitlement with DWP

Found: Written evidence submitted by Do No Harm (CCN0024) Compensation Recovery (repayment of benefits to DWP

Found: 2.6 million children in the UK are living in food insecure households, according to Department for Work and Pensions

Found: DWP), and/or NHS biosimilar savings - de-commissioning older NICE technologies that are no longer cost-effective

Found: To inform this work, Department for Work and Pensions officials are engaging with a range of organisations

Found: To inform this work, Department for Work and Pensions officials are engaging with a range of organisations

Found: Spending by local authorities on temporary accommodation – In 2023-24, DWP spent £780 million on AME

Found: although the Department are working on a whole host of use cases— everything from anonymity to accessing DWP

Found: Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office acquisition of former HMP Northeye HC 361 6th DWP

Found: If they are to be identified, legacy systems in the DWP could have a totally different data format,

Found: The childcare element of Universal Credit sits in DWP, has faced ongoing operational challenges is not

Found: available leave entitlements are accompanied by statutory pay entitlements set by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: There will be an estimated £726,000 increase to the DWP Departmental Expenditure Limit as a result of

Found: Council, Construction Launches Skills Mission at Leaders Meeting, 26 June 2025. 370 The Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office acquisition of former HMP Northeye HC 361 6th DWP

Found: (DWP).

Found: Yours sincerely, Pat McFadden MP Secretary of State DWP Peter Kyle MP Secretary of

Found: The tables below are based on the Department for Work and Pensions ‘Households Below Average Income’

Found: The plan connects DWP resources, social prescribing, and new funding to prevention and community-led

Found: Business and Trade (DBT), and include HM Treasury, the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: SMEs need clear pathways between local authorities, mayoral authorities, HMRC, DWP, and DBT.

Found: Financial Impact Per 4-Person Team  Average income per person: £25K–£30K/year  Savings to DWP (benefits

Found: Many chair renters are not saving for retirement, increasing future pressure on the DWP.

Found: Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office acquisition of former HMP Northeye HC 361 6th DWP

Found: my married name, since that is the name by which I am known by all UK authorities including HMRC, DWP

Found: that the way that the local housing allowance works is an issue that we will be discussing with both DWP

Found: significant decline in uptake: where previously 89% of eligible children identified by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: significant decline in uptake: where previously 89% of eligible children identified by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: If the DWP does not do something in addressing child poverty and making sure that parents are not unfairly

Found: The DWP still retains levers for unemployment.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is offering to people affected by alleged sexual abuse relating to medical checks carried out between the 1970s and 2016 British Army recruitment processes.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

There is no place in Defence for sexual abuse or misconduct, and we are fully supporting Wiltshire Police’s investigation. I urge anyone who has more information to contact Wiltshire Police as soon as possible, we will stand with the survivors.

For those personnel still serving, every unit has a comprehensive welfare system, ready to support them. . The network of agencies includes Unit Welfare Officers, Welfare Services, chaplains, Equality and Diversity Advisers, and Women’s Royal Voluntary Service. Personnel also have access to the Army confidential helpline, SpeakOut, and the Samaritans helpline, Combat Stress 24-hour mental health helpline (0800 138 1619) for serving personnel and veterans.

For veterans, the MOD provides an MOD Veterans Service, which offers bespoke advice and assistance following a holistic assessment of needs tailored to each individual's specific circumstances. Welfare Managers provide free and confidential advice and work closely with voluntary organisations, local authorities and all areas of the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure veterans and their families are offered the best possible help and advice. Further information on this service can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/veterans-welfare-service

Victims and survivors of sexual assault can access information and support via the Government’s site https://sexualabusesupport.campaign.gov.uk/

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the rehabilitation of prisoners.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.

We know that education, employment, and accommodation can reduce the chance of reoffending. That is why we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers. We are also expanding our community accommodation service - to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness by providing up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation for those under probation supervision.

We also know that drug treatment is effective in reducing the risk of reoffending. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug need, refer them into treatment, and support recovery. We have funded Incentivised Substance-Free Living units (ISFLs) in 85 prisons, where prisoners sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce repeat offending.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.

We know that education, employment, and accommodation can reduce the chance of reoffending. That is why we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers. We are also expanding our community accommodation service - to support prison leavers at risk of homelessness by providing up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation for those under probation supervision.

We also know that drug treatment is effective in reducing the risk of reoffending. We work closely with health partners to identify prisoners with a drug need, refer them into treatment, and support recovery. We have funded Incentivised Substance-Free Living units (ISFLs) in 85 prisons, where prisoners sign a behaviour compact, agree to be regularly drug tested and can access enhanced opportunities compared to a standard wing.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025, to Question 86664, on Ministers: Official Cars, how much has been invoiced to each department in each month since July 2024; and how much has been paid through an internal transfer for the Cabinet Office in each month since July 2024.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) transferred to the Cabinet Office from the Department of Transport, as a result of a machinery of government change, on 1st April 2025. Therefore all invoicing data prior to that date remains with the Department for Transport.

Invoicing data post April 2025 is included below. A significant proportion of invoicing activity was paused during the transition period which resulted in two invoicing runs for April 2025 with costs normalising in subsequent months.

Charges to the Cabinet Office include services provided to No10, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leaders of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the Cabinet Secretary, in addition to core Cabinet Office ministers.

The figures provided represent total charges to departments, inclusive of all associated costs such as Transport for London (TfL) congestion charge, as well as travel and subsistence claims submitted by drivers in the delivery of the service.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage businesses to offer work experience placements to recent university graduates.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business and Trade published the UK’s Industrial, Trade and Small Business Strategies, which were developed in partnership with business, with positive feedback from leading business organisations. For example, the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2bn of investment in the skills system by 2028-29.

The Department for Work and Pensions has an established strong network of partnerships with external training providers, universities, and graduate employment platforms to enhance graduate employment opportunities.

DWP are reforming Jobcentre Plus to create a new, more personalised employment support service across Great Britain. This new service will move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and recognise that individuals – including graduates – have different needs. It will provide tailored help to find good, meaningful work and support progression in employment, with a stronger focus on skills and careers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the affordability of employability courses for students; and whether she plans to increase funding to help improve access to such courses.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Approximately £8.6 billion 16 to 19 programme funding has been allocated during the 2025/26 academic year to colleges, schools and other providers of education and training. This funding enables young people to take part in study programmes or T levels. These are designed to enable students to progress to employment, an apprenticeship or further study including higher education.

Responsibility for adult skills has moved from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Through the adult skills fund (ASF), we have allocated £1.4 billion in academic year 2025/26, ensuring that adults can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.

Currently, 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and the allocation of the ASF to learning providers.

In non-devolved areas, adults who earn less than £25,750, are eligible for full funding through the ASF, ensuring courses are accessible for those who are either unemployed or on the lowest incomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve access to (a) specialist healthcare, (b) information at diagnosis and (c) financial support for people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their population, including for Parkinson’s. In doing so, the Government expects ICBs to take account of the relevant guidelines and best practice in designing their local services. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on Parkinson’s disease, code NG71, states that people with Parkinson’s should have an accessible point of contact with specialist services, which can be provided by a Parkinson’s nurse specialist, and that all individuals should be offered access to the services provided by these specialist nurses to support ongoing care and advice

NHS England has established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support ICBs to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including for those with Parkinson’s. This focuses on providing access equitably across the country, care as close to home as possible, and early intervention to prevent illness and deterioration in patients with long-term neurological conditions. A toolkit is being developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which will include components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services.

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and RightCare Toolkit for Progressive Neurological Conditions aim to improve care for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s Connect allows healthcare professionals to refer patients at the point of diagnosis directly to support that Parkinson’s UK offers, such as local support groups, a confidential helpline, and online learning resources.

The Diagnosis Connect service will directly refer patients to specialist charities at the point of diagnosis for personalised advice, information, guidance, and support.

The Department for Work and Pensions offers Personal Independence Payments (PIP) to individuals with health conditions or disabilities. However, there is currently no automatic entitlement to PIP in relation to a specific health condition, except in cases of people nearing the end of life.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people were employed by the (a) Office of Gas and Electricity Market, (b) Office for Nuclear Regulation and (c) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in each year since 2005.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) and NDA are directly accountable to Parliament. The information requested is published in Ofgem’s and NDA's annual report and accounts, which are laid before the House and publicly available

Whilst ONR’s government sponsor is DWP, we can confirm that the information requested can be found in ONR’s annual report and accounts, which is laid in Parliament. The first date that their annual report and accounts is available from is 2014-15 as ONR was not made a public corporation until 2013 under the Energy Act of that year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the annual budget was for the (a) Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, (b) Office for Nuclear Regulation and (c) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in each year since 2005.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) and NDA are directly accountable to Parliament. The information requested is published in Ofgem’s and NDA's annual report and accounts, which are laid before the House and publicly available

Whilst ONR’s government sponsor is DWP, we can confirm that the information requested can be found in ONR’s annual report and accounts, which is laid in Parliament. The first date that their annual report and accounts is available from is 2014-15 as ONR was not made a public corporation until 2013 under the Energy Act of that year.

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