Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 delays by the Child Maintenance Service on (a) parents and (b) children who rely on child maintenance payments.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that children in separated families are more likely to live in poverty than those in non-separated families. Child maintenance payments through both statutory and non-statutory arrangements keep approximately 120,000 children out of poverty each year.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) works hard to make sure parents pay in full and on time to minimise delays in payments.
Where parents fail to take responsibility for paying for their children, the CMS will not hesitate to use the range enforcement powers available. The CMS is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families. CMS has implemented significant improvements to speed up action when payments first break down, targeting enforcement actions more effectively.
CMS undertake regular quality assurance checks to ensure processes are delivered accurately, reducing the requirement for rework and reinforcing our aim to ‘get it right first time’. These measures demonstrate our commitment to minimising delays and ensuring that child maintenance reaches children promptly.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 adequacy of staffing levels and caseload pressures within the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As more customers apply to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) the demand for its service is increasing. To allow it to meet this demand and provide an efficient service, the CMS continuously reviews its resources and where to focus its efforts to get the greatest value for money and deliver the best service to customers.
The CMS reviews its overall resource supply and takes appropriate steps to ensure that staffing levels meet current demands. The service is currently resourced at a level appropriate to its operational demand, ensuring that support is directed to the teams and functions where it is most needed.
There is an ongoing recruitment campaign for 2026; this will ensure CMS continues to be resourced to meet current and future forecast demand.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide additional resources to the Child Maintenance Service to reduce delays in case progression.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As more customers apply to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) the demand for its service is increasing. To allow it to meet this demand and provide an efficient service, the CMS continuously reviews its resources and where to focus its efforts to get the greatest value for money and deliver the best service to customers.
The CMS reviews its overall resource supply and takes appropriate steps to ensure that staffing levels meet current demands. The service is currently resourced at a level appropriate to its operational demand, ensuring that support is directed to the teams and functions where it is most needed.
There is an ongoing recruitment campaign for 2026; this will ensure CMS continues to be resourced to meet current and future forecast demand.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Budget Statement on 26 November 2025, what estimate his Department has made of how many 16-24 year olds in Poole constituency will have access to the Youth Guarantee and the right to earn or learn.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances.
In Poole, Jobcentre teams already work closely with the Local Authority, employers, local colleges and training providers to give opportunities for young people to learn and earn. To support this, the Jobcentre offers various a range of local provisions, including Sector Based Work Academy Programmes, Mentoring Circles and Group Information Sessions, covering CV writing, application completion and job search upskilling. These initiatives help young people develop skills they need to enter employment. Our Employment and Partnership Team also hosts and attends job fairs, runs job and apprenticeship matching sessions and engages directly with employers to bring vacancies closer to young people. In addition, we have dedicated Youth Employment Coaches who provide personalised, tailored support to the most vulnerable young people.
This Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820m for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million to help support apprenticeships for young people, including a change to fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25. This investment will also fund an £140 million pilot of new approaches to better connect young people aged 16-24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.
These are important steps in the government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, which will also be supported by expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people.
Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:
Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.
Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.
c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.
Guaranteeing jobs: For long-term unemployed 18–21-year-olds on Universal Credit, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment. This will reach around 55,000 young people over the next three years. We know young people need support quickly and that is why we will begin delivery of the Jobs Guarantee in six areas from spring 2026 in: Birmingham & Solihull, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire & Essex, Central & East Scotland, Southwest & Southeast Wales. We will deliver over 1,000 job starts in the first six months. This will be followed by national roll-out of the Jobs Guarantee across Great Britain.
We are also making it easier to identify young people who need support, by investing in better data sharing for those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), further education attendance monitoring, and new risk of NEET data tools giving local areas more accurate insights to target support where it's needed most. We are also investing in work experience opportunities for young people at particular risk of becoming NEET, focused on pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings, (education provided outside mainstream or special schools for children who cannot attend a regular school, often due to exclusion, health needs, or other circumstances). This builds on measures announced in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper earlier this autumn.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 promote heritage craft and stonemasonry apprenticeships as part of the wider skills and construction workforce strategy.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Apprenticeships are a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
A range of apprenticeships, including the level 2 stonemason apprenticeship standard, are available to support employers and learners in the heritage sector to develop the skills they need.
To support more apprenticeship opportunities, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers for eligible people aged under 25. The department currently pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21 at non-levy paying employers and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Additionally, we pay £1,000 to employers of all sizes when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or aged 19 to 24 who are care leavers or have an education, health and care plan.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what safeguards will be put in place to help ensure that jobs under the new youth employment guarantee will pay the living wage and lead to long-term secure employment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Too many young people are spending the first years of their adult life out of work or education. Long periods of unemployment in these early years have lifelong negative impacts.
As part of the Youth Guarantee, we are breaking the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing paid work for every eligible 18-21 year-old who has been on Universal Credit, looking for work, for 18 months.
The Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment, for 25 hours a week, at the relevant minimum wage, with the government covering 100% of employment costs. This, will help young people take that crucial first step into sustained employment, supporting the government’s long-term ambition for an 80% employment rate.
The Jobs Guarantee will also provide wraparound support to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment.
Appropriate safeguards will be built into the scheme to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.
The Jobs Guarantee will reach around 55,000 young people over the next three years.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how their department can work with others across Government to ensure there are the right skills and workforce in place to support local authorities in developing careers in amenity horticulture and parks.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is working alongside sector-owning departments to ensure people have access to training to acquire the skills needed by employers, including Local Authorities.
Local agencies and local government are well placed to understand their local labour market, build connections with employers, and help knit together local services to address the barriers their citizens face to securing and succeeding in good work.
To achieve this, we are already delivering Local Get Britain Working plans in all areas of England. Led by local government and co-developed with local NHS, Jobcentre Plus and wider stakeholders, these plans will identify local labour market challenges/priorities and support the integration of locally-delivered services.
We know that a key part of unlocking local growth is ensuring that skills provision is matched to employer need at all skills levels. Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), overseen by Skills England, bring together employers, local leaders, colleges, universities and independent training providers to identify and address skills gaps from entry level to postgraduate qualifications. They are three-year Plans, with the second cycle now in development.
Your constituency is covered by the East Midlands LSIP. The designated Employer Representative Body is the Federation of Small Businesses, who are working closely with Skills England and the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA). This will ensure employer views continue to shape the LSIP whilst drawing on the deep local economic insight of EMCCA and its ability to influence and implement key interventions across priority local sectors.
Skills England have developed several occupational standards, apprenticeships and technical qualifications that support career development in horticulture, landscaping, parks management, and associated technical services. These span entry-level through to advanced management roles and include,
There are qualifications and Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQ) available that are developed and approved by Skills England based on the above occupational standards. These include the T Level in Agriculture, Land Management and Production, which has a specific occupational specialism in Ornamental and Environmental Horticulture and Landscaping, and a Higher Technical Qualification in Horticulture and Applied Science.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support increased participation in apprenticeships among young people in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer that will give greater flexibility to employers and support young people, including those in Surrey, at the beginning of their careers.
In August, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.
More recently, we have announced an ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships and backed this with an additional £725 million of investment. This will enable us to expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people. It also provides £140 million to pilot new approaches, with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to better connect young people aged 16–24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.
In addition, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises) for all eligible people aged under 25. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care.
Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.
The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England, including in Surrey, through nine regional networks which provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to help improve work incentives within the benefits system and reduce long-term economic inactivity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the heart of our reforms is the principle that those who can work should work, but if you need help into work the government should support you, and those who can’t work should be supported to live with dignity.
We’ve recently published draft regulations on our Right to Try guarantee, which will give disabled people the confidence to try work and, in July, the Universal Credit Act provided for the first ever, sustained rise in the standard allowance of Universal Credit, benefitting millions of those on the lowest incomes. We have also introduced reforms through the Universal Credit Act 2025, to rebalance support within UC, to address perverse incentives and better encourage those who can work to enter or return to employment. We have also put in place the equivalent of over 1000 full-time Pathways to Work advisers, offering tailored support to support people into work across Britain and we have begun testing our new support conversation.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on introducing a new contributory benefit in Great Britain, provisionally called ‘Unemployment Insurance’ (UI). The introduction of UI would simplify the contributory system by removing the distinction between jobseekers and those considered unable to work
Introducing UI would also improve the income protection available to people who lose their job to give people the time and space to find the right job, while time-limiting that entitlement to create a strong incentive to return to the labour market.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is currently undertaking its internal business planning process, through which it will set programme budgets ahead of the new financial year. Details on DWP budgets are to be published in the explanatory memo for the 2026/27 Main Estimate.