Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rise in the UK unemployment rate to 5.1 per cent between August and October 2025; and what steps they are taking to support employment opportunities for young people.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK’s unemployment rate is now 5.1%.
But since the start of 2025 363,000 more people are in employment – outweighing the increase in unemployment over the same period (280,000).
At the end of the last Government the UK was the only country with economic inactivity higher - rather than lower - than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we have seen a significant fall in economic inactivity as people reengage with the labour market. Our economic inactivity rate (21.0%) has fallen to its joint lowest level in over five years (and was last lower in January to March 2020).
The Government’s number one mission is to grow the economy and raise living standards across the UK. However, almost one million young people across the UK are currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET). That is why our manifesto set out the ambition to transform young people’s prospects by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee.
We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee, to ensure that all 16–24-year-olds in Great Britain can access support to find work, training, or an apprenticeship. We have launched Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, announced funding to almost double our Youth Hubs across Great Britain, and we recently launched an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities.
We are now going further through an expansion of the Youth Guarantee. This expansion is backed by a £820 million investment over the Spending Review period to reach almost 900,000 young people, including through Youth Hubs in every area in Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24–year-olds on Universal Credit. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training and provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21.
Taken together, these measures show the Government’s commitment to backing young people, transforming lives, driving the economy and ensuring background is no barrier to success. Delivered in partnership with local government and devolved authorities, they will ensure no young person falls through the cracks.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the rates of New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance in relation to living costs for a single adult.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefit rates. In a statement made on 26 November 2025, the Secretary of State announced that from April 2026, Jobseeker’s Allowance will be increased by 3.8% in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2025, subject to parliamentary approval.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2025 to Question 96708 on Access to Work Programme, what the salary bands are of people on the Access to Work scheme who are receiving payments per customer of (a) £40,000 - £49,999, (b) £50,000 - £59,999, (c) £60,000 - £69,999 and (d) above £70,000.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the salaries of Access to Work recipients. Access to Work eligibility is not linked to salary, so this information is not routinely collected by the Department.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has used international examples of reforms to (a) sickness and (b) disability benefits to help inform his policies.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department uses a range of evidence, including international examples, when developing policy. For instance, the Pathways to Work Green Paper included a range of international systems that were considered when developing the proposals.
Asked by: Markus Campbell-Savours (Independent - Penrith and Solway)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current waiting times are for Access to Work applications.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For details on the average processing time for Access to Work grant applications from April to June 2025, please refer to the answer I gave on 3 July 2025 to Question UIN 63906.
We are committed to reducing waiting times for new applications and have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims. Applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing are prioritised.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussion he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, (b) trade unions and (c) employers on the Health and Safety Executive's news report entitled Offshore process isolation failures present major accident hazard risk, published on 17 December 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Energy Division within the Health and Safey Executive (HSE) leads on regulatory activity in the offshore oil and gas sector. As part of their regulatory activity they regularly engage with employers, their representatives, and other government departments. One such forum is the Offshore Major Accident Hazards Advisory Committee (OMAHAC). OMAHAC is a tripartite committee that includes HSE, members who represent regulators, operators and owners and worker representatives. The matters identified in the news report have been discussed in that forum as well as with other relevant stakeholders.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many providers of (a) apprenticeships, (b) training and (c) education have signed up to the Youth Guarantee scheme.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public and private sector employers, the third sector, and education and training providers are integral to the success of the Youth Guarantee. Many employers recognise that investing in young people and training their workforce drives both business success and economic growth.
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places.
Employers will also benefit from a tailored DWP support service to help fill vacancies with Jobcentre candidates, including job description support, faster recruitment, vacancy promotion, use of Jobcentre space for interviews, access to the free Find a Job site, and expert advice from a dedicated Recruitment Manager.
Regarding the Jobs Guarantee for long-term unemployed young people, at this initial stage we will be delivering through partner organisations. We have started engaging with stakeholders through various forums and this will continue over the coming year.
The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will list the employers which have been engaged with the Youth Guarantee scheme.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public and private sector employers, the third sector, and education and training providers are integral to the success of the Youth Guarantee. Many employers recognise that investing in young people and training their workforce drives both business success and economic growth.
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places.
Employers will also benefit from a tailored DWP support service to help fill vacancies with Jobcentre candidates, including job description support, faster recruitment, vacancy promotion, use of Jobcentre space for interviews, access to the free Find a Job site, and expert advice from a dedicated Recruitment Manager.
Regarding the Jobs Guarantee for long-term unemployed young people, at this initial stage we will be delivering through partner organisations. We have started engaging with stakeholders through various forums and this will continue over the coming year.
The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) private sector, (b) public sector and (c) third sector organisations have signed up to the Youth Guarantee scheme.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public and private sector employers, the third sector, and education and training providers are integral to the success of the Youth Guarantee. Many employers recognise that investing in young people and training their workforce drives both business success and economic growth.
We will be working closely with Youth Guarantee supporters and partners across the country to deliver jobs, apprenticeships, work experience and training places.
Employers will also benefit from a tailored DWP support service to help fill vacancies with Jobcentre candidates, including job description support, faster recruitment, vacancy promotion, use of Jobcentre space for interviews, access to the free Find a Job site, and expert advice from a dedicated Recruitment Manager.
Regarding the Jobs Guarantee for long-term unemployed young people, at this initial stage we will be delivering through partner organisations. We have started engaging with stakeholders through various forums and this will continue over the coming year.
The government will set out details of Youth Guarantee employers and partners in due course.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will consider removing the charges for the Child Maintenance Service's collect pay service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Cases on the Collect and Pay service are typically those where the paying parent has demonstrated an unwillingness to pay, or has not been compliant in a Direct Pay arrangement. For this service, a fee of 20% is added to what the paying parent needs to pay, while 4% is deducted from the amount paid out to receiving parents.
Following a public consultation on wider reforms to consolidate the Child Maintenance Service into a single service type where the CMS collects and transfers payments, the Government published its response setting out plans to reform the CMS. This includes plans to reduce fees to 2% for both receiving parents and paying parents, maintaining the 20% rate for non-compliant paying parents on top of their calculated maintenance amount.
We believe fees are an important part of the service, offsetting the cost of the service and investment needed to make the reforms, reducing the burden on the taxpayer. The proposed fee structure is also intended to incentivise compliance by the paying parent.