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 he is taking to support young people into employment, education or training in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department of Work and Pensions Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are claiming Universal Credit. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.
The Chancellor has announced that the Youth Guarantee, currently being developed, will include a jobs guarantee, where every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work. Participants of the scheme will receive support to take advantage of available opportunities, with the aim of helping them transition into regular employment. Further details, including eligibility criteria and the structure of placements, will be confirmed at the Budget following further engagement including with employers and the Devolved Governments.
Newcastle-Under-Lyme work with alongside local stakeholders to support young people such as local authorities, colleges and universities as well as organisations such as The Kings Trust, Shaping Futures, YMCA, and New Avenues.
Staffordshire has much of the offer of Newcastle-Under-Lyme plus working with Shropshire Youth Support Trust, Acorn Training and Landau who is part of the YES (Youth Employment Skills) programme supporting all 16 to 24-year-olds across Stoke on Trent that are Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET), about to become NEET or long term Unemployed or Economically inactive. There is also support from The Mencap Training Academy for 16 to 24-year-olds, who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to help to secure a place on the supported internships or pre-internship programme in Staffordshire.
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 plans he has to visit the job centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Ministers regularly visit job centres across the country and look forward to continuing to do so.
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 the membership is of the collaboration committees that were established in July 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Collaboration Committees established in July 2025 are made up of a diverse group of members, including people with lived experience of DWP services, disabled people's organisations, charities, healthcare professionals, academics, support providers, and employer representatives. At least 50% of each committee is comprised of individuals with lived experience.
To maintain trust and ensure inclusive participation, it was agreed with participants that we are not publishing personal or organisational information about committee members.
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, how much Staffordshire County Council has received in adult skills funding since July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Staffordshire County Council was allocated £1,404,490 of Adult Skills Fund funding from the Department for Education in the Academic Year 2024/25. This figure does not account for any reconciliation paid relating to delivery before August 2024.
There are other providers that also receive Adult Skills Funding from central government which deliver to learners in Staffordshire. Further information is published here: Funding allocations to training providers: 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK
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 help support young people into (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring young people have access to the support they need to move into sustainable employment. DWP currently 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 such as the Kings Trust, Local Authorities, National Careers Service/Career Wales, local colleges and Youth Trusts.
In Newcastle-under-Lyme we are working closely with stakeholders through the Newcastle Employment and Skills Group – including Aspire Housing and Keele University – to connect young people with job opportunities and tailored support. Programmes such as Positive Directions and We Mean Business are providing fully funded five-week courses for 16–24-year-olds not in education, employment or training covering areas such as fitness instruction, customer service, and entrepreneurship.
Also, Newcastle College is expanding its offer to include ESOL, functional skills, and employability courses, while Keele University is piloting new pathways to widen participation in higher education. Local initiatives are also delivering training in digital marketing, cyber security, and mental health first aid.
In addition, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) and collaboration with care leaver schemes are helping young people with complex barriers into sustained employment.
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 ensure adequate (a) training and (b) guidance for PIP assessors on (i) arthritis and (ii) other chronic, fluctuating health conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment evaluates how an individual’s condition affects their ability to live independently, rather than focusing solely on the nature or severity of their condition. The assessment considers whether a person can carry out specific activities safely, reliably, repeatedly, and within a reasonable time frame. The process does not assess individuals based on their ‘best days’; instead, it considers the overall impact of a condition over time, specifically considering functional limitations that occur on more than 50% of days within a given period.
All health professionals (HPs) are fully qualified in their health discipline and have passed strict recruitment and experience criteria. They are also required to be registered with the appropriate regulatory body. The department authorises HPs to conduct assessments only after suppliers demonstrate that the HP has successfully completed a department approved training and appraisal programme. This process confirms that HPs possess a sound understanding of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a broad range of health conditions.
As of September 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) took over responsibility for the Core Training and Guidance Material (CTGM) used within the Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS). This material is provided by DWP to HAAS assessment suppliers, who are required to incorporate all relevant CTGM content related to specific conditions and assessment policies into their final training products.
DWP has provided suppliers with specific CTGM on rheumatoid arthritis, alongside a broader suite of training materials covering a range of long-term, fluctuating health conditions. These contain clinical and functional information relevant to the condition and is quality assured to ensure its accuracy from both a clinical and policy perspective.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of parental employment on levels of child poverty.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. We are exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty, and we will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty. Children living in households where no adults work are around 4 times more likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs, than those where all adults work. Our Get Britain Working White Paper, backed by an initial £240 million investment in 25/26, will deliver the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation to help more people into work and to progress.
We are already taking steps to support parents into work. From this month, eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and above can access 30 hours a week (over 38 weeks a year) from the term following their child turning 9 months to when they start school. Parents claiming Universal Credit also have access to individual tailored help from their work coaches and funding through the Flexible Support Fund to address immediate barriers to employment.
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 recent steps she has taken to reduce the number of children living in poverty in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. It is unacceptable that in 2023/24 there were 5,866 children in the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and 39,655 children in Staffordshire in relative poverty (before housing costs). The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
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.
As a significant downpayment ahead of Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through 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. We are also establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion 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 £13.2 billion including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.
We’ve also committed to rolling out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority by April 2026 and creating up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028. Backed by £500m funding, this vital support will relieve pressure on parents and give half a million more children the very best start in life. And last month, we confirmed funding of £600m for the Holiday Activities and Food programme for the next three years, ensuring that children and young people can continue to benefit from enriching experiences and nutritious meals during the school holidays.
These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.