Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 minimum (a) English and (b) maths requirements to complete an apprenticeship; and whether he plans to review these requirements.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In February, the government introduced flexibilities around the English and maths requirements for apprentices in response to significant feedback from employers and providers.
Adults over 19 no longer need to achieve a standalone English and maths qualification on top of the apprenticeship, where their employer agrees this is not an essential part of their training. This will allow many thousands more apprentices to qualify each year, including in key sectors such as adult care, construction and early years.
Upskilling in English and maths remains a key feature of all apprenticeships. All apprentices will continue to be required to secure and be assessed on the job-specific English and maths skills they need as part of the apprenticeship standard.
Young apprentices who are aged 16-18 at the start of their apprenticeship continue to be required to achieve English and maths qualifications to put them in the best position to progress in their life and careers.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure short courses in (a) digital, (b) AI and (c) engineering are eligible for Growth and Skills Levy funding from April 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government wants employers to be able to use the levy on short, flexible training courses to meet their business needs from April 2026. The first wave of these courses will be called apprenticeship units. The initial roll-out will be in priority areas such as artificial intelligence, digital, and engineering, and will be expanded over time to other critical skills needs.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing levels of funding for level 7 apprenticeships on the number of nurses in training.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer to Question 83834.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on how many bedrooms should be provided to benefit claimants with children.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is support through the social security system for low-income households renting in the private or social rented sector which is paid to those in receipt of either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.
The number of bedrooms required to calculate housing support is determined using a size criterion. The criterion takes account of the number of people in a household and their ages. These size criterions provide a bedroom for a couple, a single person aged 16 or over, two children of the same sex under the age of 16, two children of the same or opposite sexes under the age of 10 and a sole or remaining child. There are exceptional circumstances where support for an additional room can be awarded.
The latest guidance to local authorities was issued following changes to the size criterion in 2017 Housing Benefit Circular: A3/2017. The criteria has not changed since.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
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 the Universal Credit savings threshold for disabled claimants who are permanently unable to work and need to pay for (a) mobility equipment, (b) vehicle repairs, (c) respite care and (d) other disability-related costs; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (A) introducing exemptions to and (B) increasing the Universal Credit savings threshold for disabled people who are unable to work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. PIP is non-contributory, and non-means-tested. Individuals can choose how to use the benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences.
The benefit can also be paid in addition to any other financial or practical support someone may be entitled to such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, NHS services, free prescriptions, and help with travel costs to appointments. It can also act as a passport to additional support such as premiums and additional amounts paid within certain benefits, Carer’s Allowance for an informal carer or the Blue Badge scheme. The benefit has been consistently uprated in line with inflation since it was introduced and was last increased by 1.7% from 7 April 2025.
The current system allows people to continue to receive benefit even though they may have an amount of capital from £6,000 by gradually reducing the level of their entitlement. The capital limit above which Universal Credit entitlement ends is above £16,000.
Whilst we keep all policies under review there are no current plans to change the capital limits for disabled customers.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
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 disabled people who are (a) unable to work and (b) on Universal Credit awaiting a Work Capability Assessment are not left in financial hardship for extended periods due to the time taken (i) by her Department to undertake that Assessment and (ii) to access additional support elements.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People on low, or no income or earnings who have a health condition or disability which restricts the amount of work they can do, can claim UC. They must provide medical evidence to support their claim - most commonly a Statement of Fitness for Work, usually referred to as a fit note. Claimants whose health condition or disability continues for four weeks or more are referred for a work capability assessment (WCA).
Universal Credit awards include a standard allowance, which is the core component of any award and is paid according to age and household unit. The purpose of the standard allowance is to provide towards basic living costs. Additional amounts are added to provide for individual needs such as housing, children, disability, and childcare costs.
Demand for initial WCA assessments has risen so we continue to prioritise initial claims. This enables us to ensure that claimants receive the right level of benefit, and we establish capability for work at the outset of a claim.
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 ensure (a) timely and (b) adequate disability payments to blind people in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment in a timely manner and always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.
Personal Independence Payments (PIP) provide support to disabled people, and those with long-term health conditions, including blindness, to help them live independent lives.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 changes in mobility awards on (a) disabled people’s ability to travel to employment and (b) local labour markets.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to ensuring that Personal Independence Payment (PIP) remains a non-means tested cash benefit which is there for people in and out of work, now and into the future.
The Timms Review aims to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Review will take a comprehensive look at PIP and the PIP assessment criteria to consider whether these effectively capture the impact of long-term health conditions and disability in the modern world. Both the daily living and mobility elements of PIP are in scope.
We will ensure that the Review hears from diverse sources of evidence and the full range of views and voices. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.
We will not seek to make further changes to PIP eligibility until the Review has reported its findings.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing recipients of universal credit to receive performance based bonuses without penalty.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
A Universal Credit award is calculated on the basis of the set benefit rate against money coming in to ensure fairness of treatment for all customers against the money that they have earned. This means as earnings increase Universal Credit is gradually reduced. This is a long-standing principle of means-tested benefits.
Bonuses are usually treated as earnings and are treated in the same way as any other earnings. This is already true for tax and other purposes, regardless of whether or not an individual is claiming a benefit. All earnings, above any applicable work allowance, are subject to the 55% taper and the Universal Credit award is calculated on that basis.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how frequently the Lead Ministers for Disability have met over the last year; and if he will publish the (a) agenda and (b) topics discussed by the Lead Ministers for Disability in the last year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 3 December 2024, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I announced new Lead Ministers for Disability in every Government department.
In addition to their day-to-day Ministerial portfolios, the Lead Ministers for Disability have a specific responsibility to break down barriers to opportunity right across the Government’s long-term missions, and to fulfil the manifesto commitment that this Government will champion the rights of disabled people and work with them so that their views and voices are at the heart of everything we do.
To do this effectively, I and my fellow Lead Ministers for Disability work together across Government and routinely engage with disabled people and those with lived experience, along with a broad range of disabled people’s organisations and other external stakeholders. Feedback I have received suggests that this engagement is well received and beneficial to all involved.
The Government does not intend to publish an annual or periodic report on the work of Lead Ministers for Disability. However, I chair regular meetings of the group throughout the year, to ensure that the needs and rights of disabled people are being properly considered and addressed across all Government departments.
To date, we have met in December 2024, March and June 2025 and are expecting to meet again in the near future.
Although we do not publish the minutes, outcomes and performance monitoring for meetings of Lead Ministers for Disability, the agendas for the meetings so far have consisted of updates from Lead Ministers for Disability on progress across their departments’ policies which particularly impact disabled people; updates on the British Sign Language Act 2022 and the requirement for Departments to develop and publish five year plans on how they will improve the use of BSL (all published in July 2025); discussion of issues relating to collection across Government of data on disability; and the Government’s intention to develop a Plan for Disability.