Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to support young people into employment in Slough.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 for the Growth and Skills Levy.
Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:
Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.
Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.
c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.
Guaranteeing jobs: Too many young people are spending the first years of their adult life out of work or education. Long periods of unemployment in these early years have lifelong negative impacts.
As part of the Youth Guarantee, we are breaking the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing paid work for every eligible 18-21 year-old who has been on Universal Credit, looking for work, for 18 months.
The Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment, for 25 hours a week, at the relevant minimum wage, with the government covering 100% of employment costs. This, will help young people take that crucial first step into sustained employment, supporting the government’s long-term ambition for an 80% employment rate.
The Jobs Guarantee will also provide wraparound support to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment.
Appropriate safeguards will be built into the scheme to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people.
The Jobs Guarantee will reach around 55,000 young people over the next three years.
Prevention: We are also making it easier to identify young people who need support, by investing in better data sharing for those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), further education attendance monitoring, and new risk of NEET data tools giving local areas more accurate insights to target support where it's needed most. We are also investing in work experience opportunities for young people at particular risk of becoming NEET, focused on pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings, (education provided outside mainstream or special schools for children who cannot attend a regular school, often due to exclusion, health needs, or other circumstances). This builds on measures announced in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper earlier this autumn.
Growth and Skills Levy A £725 million package of reforms includes a change to fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25. We will make available £140 million to pilot new approaches to better connect young people aged 16-24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities. These are important steps in the government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, which will also be supported by expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people.
In Slough specifically, we already have innovative programmes for young people:
The Football Association Programme, funded by the FA, is a 12 week course to promote different roles within football;
Engage Lime is a project delivered in association with London School of Economics focusing on skills; and
Start-Up UK will encourage young people to think about starting their own businesses.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken alongside local stakeholders to increase the number of (a) employment and (b) training opportunities in Slough.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local agencies and local government are well placed to understand their local labour market, build connections with employers and coordinate services to increase employment and training opportunities. That is why we have asked all areas across England, including Berkshire, to develop local Get Britain Working plans in partnership with local stakeholders.
Local areas are also delivering Connect to Work, a Supported Employment programme aimed at disabled people and people with health conditions. Berkshire have had their plan approved and are due to go live in January.
Additionally, our Jobcentre teams in Slough work with local employers to help generate opportunities for customers. They also work with local and national providers to understand the needs of local areas and the skills gaps of UC customers related to the local area’s job market, and then request and develop suitable training.
To deliver local training opportunities, we are also spending £1.4 billion this academic year through the Adult Skills Fund, and we are also transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, including introducing new foundation apprenticeships.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have used from the Motability scheme in each of the last five years; and what has been the cost to the public purse of that scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department only holds readily available data on Motability Scheme users who are in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Information on these will be published in due course.
Information on Motability Scheme users not receiving PIP is not readily available, and producing such data would require a detailed review of individual claimant records and case files, which could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
Some relevant information can be found from the published Annual Reports and Accounts from the Motability Foundation: Annual Reports and Accounts | About Us | Motability Foundation.
The Motability Scheme receives no direct funding from DWP. However, it does receive the direct transfer of benefit from DWP. This is claimant benefit the claimant would otherwise be receiving, and the cost of transfer is paid for by the Motability Foundation.
Information on the cost of the Motability Scheme is already available in the answer I gave on 3 December 2025 to PQ UIN 94592.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on the level of (a) employment and (b) training support provided to job seekers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper, published in November 2024, outlined plans to deliver fundamental reform of our health, employment and skills system to help support people across all areas of England to get into work. Government’s English Devolution White Paper sets the direction of travel to continue to empower local areas to deliver our Plan for Change. It will give new and deeper levers to local areas, including some skills and employment support.
Ministers and officials meet regularly with local areas to engage with them on issues each local area is facing. These meetings provide opportunities to share intelligence on employment, employment support and skills.
On 2nd December 2025, the Minister for Employment met with councillors who sit on the Local Government Association's Inclusive Growth Committee as part of a standing series of meetings with Local Authorities. The Minister met with the Mayors Council on the 4th of December in Liverpool and also meets quarterly with Mayors to discuss local employment and skills challenges. DWP officials also engage regularly with both Mayoral Strategic Authorities and other local government.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials were investigated under their Department's disciplinary processes in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
From HR data, there are currently 911 individual staff showing on the disciplinary report as at 30/09/2025. The disciplinary report is a point in time report of all staff who are or have been undergoing disciplinary action including those cases where an investigation has been or is taking place. We are unable to provide further information as the report does not show historic data beyond live cases and those closed in the past 12 months.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ask the Health and Safety Executive to respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Graham Faulkner.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) records indicate that a detailed response to the coroner's Prevention of Future Death report following the death of Graham Faulkner was sent by e-mail on 3 July 2024.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that people moving from Employment Support Allowance Support Group to Universal Credit do not require a further fit note.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want the migration process to be as simple as possible for claimants when they move their claim to Universal Credit (UC) from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). If they have been receiving ESA, they will not need to provide medical evidence such as fit notes, or have a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) again if all of the following apply:
If they were providing medical evidence on ESA before they moved, they will still need to provide medical evidence on Universal Credit until a WCA decision is received.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) food banks there are, (b) donations made to food banks and (c) people who used foodbanks in (i) Slough and (b) the South East in 2024.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not hold information on the number food banks there are, nor the number of donations made to food banks in (i) Slough and (ii) the South East in 2024.
Regional breakdowns of the number of individuals living in households that accessed a food bank in the 12 months prior to interview are available on Stat-Xplore - Home. Disaggregation by geographical regions should be presented as three-year averages. This is because single-year regional estimates are considered too volatile.
We are committed to tackling food poverty and ending mass dependence of emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food poverty landscape. We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need and are extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Our plan to Make Work Pay, will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards, including by increasing the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers. It is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support young people in Slough into (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper, we are launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Youth Guarantee will build upon and enhance existing entitlements and provisions with the aim of tackling the rising number of young people who are not participating in education, employment or training.
DWP provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.
At Slough Jobcentre, young people receive tailored support from dedicated youth work coaches. Those facing multiple barriers to employment are assisted by a Youth Employability Coach. Individuals unemployed for over six months attend bi-weekly job clubs to enhance their job search and application skills.
Opportunities for work experience are available through the Movement to Work programme. Slough Jobcentre also hosted youth-focused job fairs, job-matching events, and mentoring programmes designed to motivate and engage young people.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause in the workplace.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 18th October 2024 the Secretary of State for DWP appointed Mariella Frostrup as the new Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause and wider women’s health issues. The Menopause Employment Ambassador launched her Menopause Advisory Group on 24th April who will provide her with expert knowledge from a wide range of sectors on how businesses can better support women experiencing menopause in the workplace by creating a more supportive environment that helps women to stay in work and progress.
The government has also proposed a wide-ranging set of generational reforms to boost protections for workers, including women experiencing menopause symptoms at work. The policy proposals in the Employment Rights Bill would require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans on how they will support employees through the menopause. Alongside this the government has also committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence.