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, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Motability Scheme in providing access to wheelchair accessible vehicles for disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Changes to the Motability Scheme were announced as part of the Autumn Budget. An Equality Impact Assessment including consideration of the impact on affected individuals was undertaken and published by HMT as part of the Autumn Budget and can be found here: Motability Scheme: reforming tax reliefs - GOV.UK.
Vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the Insurance Premium Tax exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles. Moreover, Motability Foundation - an independent charitable organisation with oversight of the Motability Scheme - and Motability Operations - an independent commercial company which delivers the Scheme - will continue to ensure the provision of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles, while continuing to cover the cost of standard adaptations (such as pedal extensions and steering aids). For customers who cannot afford essential costs or need more complex adaptations, the Motability Foundation will continue to provide means-tested grants to those most in need of financial help.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 average time taken to complete earnings assessments for carers in receipt of Carer's Allowance who undertake part-time self-employment; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing monthly online income reporting for self-employed carers to streamline the assessment process.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For most self-employed earners the department relies on their accounts to calculate the relevant weekly net earnings figure for Carer’s Allowance (CA) purposes. The modernisation of DWP IT systems will provide the foundation to deliver DWP’s long-term strategy to improve how earnings are treated in CA. This is being explored through discovery work to explore potential solutions including the automation of earnings.
The department does not collect data on the average time taken to complete earnings assessments for unpaid carers in receipt of CA who are self-employed.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases were awaiting Work Capability Assessment reassessments as of 31 January 2026 in each constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested about Work Capability Assessment reassessments is not held, this is because the data is not held at constituency level.
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 Youth Hubs there were in January (a) 2025 and (b) 2026.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to increasing opportunities for young people. That is why the Department for Work & Pensions is expanding Youth Hubs for 16–24 year olds to increase coverage to more than 360 locations across Great Britain, ensuring that every young person - including those not receiving benefits - can access opportunities and comprehensive support in their local area.
In January 2026, there were 114 fully opened Youth Hubs. For new and existing Youth Hubs, we have introduced a core blueprint for minimum service standards, marking a major step forward in making employment support more accessible and seamlessly integrated with other essential services—such as health, housing, and wellbeing—tailored to local needs and partnerships. In January 2025 there were 97 fully opened Youth Hubs.
The number of open Youth Hubs is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal department use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pre-existing foodbanks have been brought into official statistics each year since 2010.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not hold data on the number of pre-existing foodbanks that have been brought into official statistics.
Statistics on food bank use are published annually in the Households Below Average Income statistics report and are only available from 2021/22 onwards. The most recent publication is available here: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the decision to restrict Level 7 apprenticeship funding for apprentices aged over 21 does not financially disadvantage learners who have completed a Level 6 architectural assistant apprenticeship and wish to progress to a full professional qualification at Level 7.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Since January 2026, the government no longer funds level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This will enable apprenticeships opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people and create more opportunities for those entering the labour market, who need skills and training to get on in their careers.
The government is encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff aged over 22 to level 7 where it delivers a benefit to the business and the individual. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training. The department has published guidance on privately funded apprenticeships, which will enable employers to privately fund level 7 apprenticeships for staff aged over 22: Privately funded apprenticeships: rules and guidance - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has been made of how the Employment Rights Act will help reduce economic inactivity.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Employment Rights Act will support a reduction in economic inactivity by improving job security, job quality and working conditions, particularly for those in lower paid and insecure roles, who are concentrated in more deprived areas of the UK. Over 18 million employees are expected to benefit in some way from the Act’s new protections, with the greatest gains for workers in sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail, where low pay and irregular hours are most prevalent.
By strengthening protections for those at the margins of the labour market, the Act helps make work more stable, predictable and attractive. This is expected to encourage more people to enter or return to the labour market, supporting higher participation and reducing inactivity over time.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 (a) the impact of reducing government co-investment in apprenticeships once levy-paying employers have exhausted their levy funds, and (b) the impact of removing the uplift to levy accounts.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As we introduce new products, such as apprenticeship units and foundation apprenticeships, we are also simplifying the Growth and Skills Levy, improving its transparency, and making it more efficient.
From August 2026, we are removing the 10% top-up for levy-paying employers, changing expiry of levy funds to 12 months, and changing the government’s co-investment rate from 95% to 75% for levy-paying employers once they have exhausted all their funds.
Levy-paying employers will still be able to benefit from a very generous government contribution once their funds are exhausted, but it is right that employers who utilise all their levy funds contribute more to apprenticeship training and assessment.
These changes will ensure funding is available to roll out further flexibility for business and increase opportunities for young people.
We continue to support SMEs to take on apprentices and for the first time we will be fully funding the cost of training eligible apprentices aged 16-24 at non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs). From August 2026, training and assessment will be completely free for SMEs who hire young people, boosting starts and reducing bureaucracy for both SMEs and training providers.
We will carefully monitor the impact of these changes once they take effect.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 recent changes to (a) co-investment in apprenticeships and (b) levy accounts on apprenticeship starts.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As we introduce new products, such as apprenticeship units and foundation apprenticeships, we are also simplifying the Growth and Skills Levy, improving its transparency, and making it more efficient.
From August 2026, we are removing the 10% top-up for levy-paying employers, changing expiry of levy funds to 12 months, and changing the government’s co-investment rate from 95% to 75% for levy-paying employers once they have exhausted all their funds.
Levy-paying employers will still be able to benefit from a very generous government contribution once their funds are exhausted, but it is right that employers who utilise all their levy funds contribute more to apprenticeship training and assessment.
These changes will ensure funding is available to roll out further flexibility for business and increase opportunities for young people.
We continue to support SMEs to take on apprentices and for the first time we will be fully funding the cost of training eligible apprentices aged 16-24 at non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs). From August 2026, training and assessment will be completely free for SMEs who hire young people, boosting starts and reducing bureaucracy for both SMEs and training providers.
We will carefully monitor the impact of these changes once they take effect.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what distributional analysis his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) reducing government co-investment once levy-paying employers have exhausted their levy funds, and (b) removing the uplift to levy accounts on businesses.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As we introduce new products, such as apprenticeship units and foundation apprenticeships, we are also simplifying the Growth and Skills Levy, improving its transparency, and making it more efficient.
From August 2026, we are removing the 10% top-up for levy-paying employers, changing expiry of levy funds to 12 months, and changing the government’s co-investment rate from 95% to 75% for levy-paying employers once they have exhausted all their funds.
Levy-paying employers will still be able to benefit from a very generous government contribution once their funds are exhausted, but it is right that employers who utilise all their levy funds contribute more to apprenticeship training and assessment.
These changes will ensure funding is available to roll out further flexibility for business and increase opportunities for young people.
We continue to support SMEs to take on apprentices and for the first time we will be fully funding the cost of training eligible apprentices aged 16-24 at non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs). From August 2026, training and assessment will be completely free for SMEs who hire young people, boosting starts and reducing bureaucracy for both SMEs and training providers.
We will carefully monitor the impact of these changes once they take effect.