Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government which organisations or charities constitute the collaboration committee relating to the Access to Work programme; and what are the role and remit of that committee, and what changes it has agreed in relation to entitlement to Access to Work.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Collaboration Committees bring together groups of disabled people, organisations that advocate for disability rights and other experts for specific work areas, including Access to Work, to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.
Each committee is between 10-15 people to ensure there is space for everyone to talk. In addition, at least 50% of each committee are individuals with lived experience. Recommendations are still being drafted in conjunction with the Collaboration Committee who are providing insight to inform the design of the support we offer.
No changes have been made to Access to Work policy. Following the close of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation at the end of June, we are considering all responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Prime Minister on 16 September (HCWS930), whether they plan to introduce legislation to repeal the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Act 2025 to reflect the move of Skills England from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A workforce with world-class skills is central to this Government’s Plan for Change. Skills England is delivering on its vision to create better skills for better jobs, enabling growth and opportunity across the country. This includes supporting the development of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, working with businesses in priority sectors to develop sector packages and publishing its first three reports, which provide robust evidence to help government and partners make informed decisions on skills.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc.) Act 2025 was vital in establishing Skills England and there are no plans to repeal it.
The transfer of responsibilities, including Skills England, from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions will strengthen the Government’s approach to adult employment and training. These departments will continue to work closely together and I will serve as a joint Minister for Skills.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Leader of the House when she expects a Written Answer to be given to the question asked by Lord Blunkett on 17 September (HL10619) regarding the transfer of Skills England from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The question was answered by the Department for Work and Pensions on the 27th October 2025. I apologise for the delay and have reminded the department of the need to meet the response target of 10 working days.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish an updated Index of Multiple Deprivation for England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
MHCLG announced recently that the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 will be published on Thursday 30th October 2025. This has been confirmed on GOV.UK
Welsh Government lead on publishing the Indices in Wales. They recently confirmed a release date of Thursday 27th November 2025 - Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation: 2025 | GOV.WALES
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following changes in the machinery of government and responsibility for skills being placed with the Department of Work and Pensions, which department will now be responsible for the administration of, and policy development for, Skills England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 30 June (HC61433), whether the proposed restriction on installing gas boilers for newly constructed dwellings applies to the development of blended green hydrogen and natural gas for heating purposes.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Future Homes Standard (FHS), to be introduced through the Building Regulations in autumn this year, will effectively preclude the use of gas boilers in new homes. A consultation setting out detailed technical proposals for the FHS was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. Hybrid and hydrogen-ready boilers would not meet the standards proposed in the consultation. We are carefully considering the feedback we received to the consultation and intend to publish the government response confirming our final position in due course.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 8 July (HL8809), whether (1) a certificate of sponsorship fee, and (2) an immigration skills charge, constitute a taxable benefit for employers in circumstances where those costs cannot be passed on to employees.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
If an employer pays for a certificate of sponsorship fee and the immigration skills charge, as a result of sponsoring a worker from overseas, these costs could be liable to Income Tax. Whether tax is payable will depend on individual circumstances as tax exemptions may apply. For this reason, each circumstance will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The Government has no plans to change the tax treatment of immigration fees. However, all taxes are kept under review as part of the tax policymaking process.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to restricting the contracts and investment for small nuclear modular reactors to UK-based companies, with the majority of component parts to be produced in the UK.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Following a robust, two-year procurement process, Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with to build the UK’s first small modular reactors, subject to final government approvals and contract signature.
Further details will follow in due course, but the government's long-term ambition is to bring forward one of Europe's first SMR fleets, with GBE-N's ambition being to deliver over 70% UK content across the fleet, which could benefit communities right across the country.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will outline the consultation steps taken in advance of the allocation of funding under the neighbourhood trailblazer programme which was announced on 11 June; and specifically the consultation process with (1) the relevant local authority in whose area funding has been allocated and (2) with the member of Parliament, whose constituency incorporates the neighbourhoods concerned.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In advance of the funding allocation under the Neighbourhood Trailblazer Programme announced on 11 June, 25 trailblazer areas were selected through a metric-based methodology which assessed the most in-need communities across the UK. Further details will be published in due course.
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Building Safety, Fire and Local Growth has met with MPs who have a trailblazer neighbourhood in their constituency, and my officials continue to engage relevant local authorities. The Communities Delivery Unit will work in partnership with local people and with local authorities to empower communities through long-term, place-based investment, with a strong emphasis on local leadership, community engagement, and social cohesion.
Full details on programme governance, including consultation processes, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 26 June (HL8471), and with regard to paragraph 4.36 of the Spending Review 2025 (CP 1336), what proportion of the additional £1.2 billion allocated per year by 2028–29 for skills by the Treasury will be (1) part of the growth and skills levy, and (2) drawn down from the skills surcharge levied on employers for bringing in overseas staff.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Further details on allocation of the department’s Spending Review settlement will be set out following the conclusion of departmental business planning.