Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Access to Work scheme on the ability of disabled people to (a) enter, (b) remain and (c) succeed in employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work has not been substantially changed since its introduction in 1994. There is a strong case for updating the role it plays in making work accessible for disabled people.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme. We also considered the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption.
We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course. The Green Paper launched a consultation that will inform the chosen future direction of Access to Work. Once this is established, we will consider timelines and work closely with stakeholders to ensure an appropriate transition.
This government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to the representative organisations and people that support them. That is why we brought forward the Green Paper and opened a public consultation. We are now carefully reviewing responses to the Green Paper as we further develop proposals, alongside facilitating other ways to involve disabled people in the reforms.
One such way is through the Collaboration Committees, which we launched on the 2 July, which bring together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas, including Access to Work, to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to address the impact of Access to Work delays on disabled people in (a) West Dorset and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Access to Work Scheme is centrally administered and makes no distinction between the processing of applications from different regions.
Demand for Access to Work has been growing. In 2023-2024, 67,720 people were approved for Access to Work provision. This is around a 32% increase when compared to the previous year.
We are continuing to streamline delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. Since May 2024, 118 additional staff have been redeployed to support Access to Work.
Despite this, the number of Access to Work applications waiting to be processed is continuing to grow, with over 62,000 applications outstanding as of February 2025. In addition, the average processing time for Access to Work applications was 92 days from April 2025 to June 2025. We are prioritising customers who are making new applications, those who are due to start a job within the next 4 weeks, or those whose existing grant requires renewal.
We recognise that Access to Work is providing a poor experience for some applicants with processing delays affecting employees’ ability to start or continue in employment, and employers’ ability to support them.
This combination of delays, poor experience and perceived inconsistency by some customers means the Access to Work scheme needs reform in order to support disabled people starting or continuing in employment better, and to support their employers more effectively.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to make reasonable adjustments for people with complex learning difficulties to complete Universal Credit applications.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring that Universal Credit is accessible to all, including individuals with complex learning difficulties. We recognise that some claimants may require additional support to make and maintain their claim. A range of reasonable adjustments and tailored support is available, including:
These measures are part of our broader commitment to equality and inclusion, ensuring that no one is disadvantaged in accessing the support they are entitled to. Where individuals cannot manage their own affairs sufficiently, DWP allows an appointee to undertake actions on the claimant’s behalf.
A range of reasonable adjustments are embedded across the UC service, supported by recent enhancements to improve visibility, responsiveness, and operational delivery.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Access to Work funding on disabled people in West Dorset.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of Access to Work funding on disabled people in West Dorset and currently does not have plans to do so.
Access to Work spending has however increased every year since 2021/22. In 2023/24, the average amount an individual received across all Access to Work provision was around £4,180, which is around a 6% increase in real terms compared to the previous year.
Demand for the service has increased - in 2023/24 Access to Work provision was approved for 67,720 people, an increase of 32% in real terms in comparison to the previous year.
We are pleased to confirm that Access to Work will continue to be funded as part of the Spending Review 2025.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of children in poverty in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.
Answered by Liz Kendall - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No child should be in poverty, and we are determined to ensure a better start for every child in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where nearly a quarter are in relative poverty.
Ahead of our Child Poverty Strategy, we have tripled our investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million in 2025/26, and I’m pleased that Langdale Primary School and The Meadows Primary were selected to take part in the early adopter programme. 4,760 children in Newcastle-under-Lyme will also benefit from our extension of Free School Meals.
It’s my personal priority to reduce child poverty not just in Newcastle-under-Lyme but across the whole country.
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, how many children in Dundee Central constituency are in households in receipt of (a) Universal Credit and (b) Child Tax Credit with three or more children that are not receiving a child element for at least one child.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, with the latest statistics available to April 2025. The accompanying tables provide breakdowns by country, region, local authority and parliamentary constituency. Child Tax Credit closed in April 2025
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to make reasonable adjustments for autistic people to complete Universal Credit applications.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring that the Universal Credit (UC) service is accessible to all, including autistic people and others with complex needs.
We recognise that some customers may require additional support to make and maintain a UC claim. A range of reasonable adjustments and tailored support is available, including:
The Department continues to work with stakeholders and user groups to improve accessibility and ensure that the UC service meets the needs of all claimants.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a judicial-review mechanism to hold the Government accountable for meeting statutory poverty reduction targets.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to tackling poverty, including deep poverty across the UK.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious child poverty strategy which we will publish in the autumn. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach to delivering lasting change, as reflected in the proposals in our plan for Making Work Pay and our Get Britain Working White Paper. We have also commenced reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have begun this work by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit and announcing the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced.
As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year including Barnett impact, investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2bn including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 implications for her policies of the report by The Big Issue entitled Poverty Zero, published in June 2025.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to tackling poverty, including deep poverty across the UK.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious child poverty strategy which we will publish in the autumn. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach to delivering lasting change, as reflected in the proposals in our plan for Making Work Pay and our Get Britain Working White Paper. We have also commenced reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have begun this work by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit and announcing the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced.
As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year including Barnett impact, investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2bn including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing cyclical target-setting for poverty reduction.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to tackling poverty, including deep poverty across the UK.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious child poverty strategy which we will publish in the autumn. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach to delivering lasting change, as reflected in the proposals in our plan for Making Work Pay and our Get Britain Working White Paper. We have also commenced reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have begun this work by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit and announcing the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced.
As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year including Barnett impact, investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2bn including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.