To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Access to Work Programme
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

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 trends in the level of demand for the Access to Work scheme since October 2023.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on Access to Work applications is available but to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

However, the Access to Work statistics from previous years includes how many applications result in provision being approved from 2007/08 to 2022/23. Please see Table 3 of the Access to Work statistics.

The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here.


Written Question
Access to Work Programme: Telephone Services
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are employed to work on the access to work telephone helpline.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

There are currently 131.76 (full time equivalent) colleagues within the Access to Work Service Centre. These are not Case Managers dealing with applications for Access to Work but a separate team that covers telephony, processing claims for reimbursement of costs and other administrative tasks. The team is multi-functional and will be deployed on different areas dependant on demand and business priorities.


Written Question
Employment: British National (Overseas)
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to support those on a British National (Overseas) Visa to enter work.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Individuals who have a British National (Overseas) visa have the right to work and study in the UK, but in most circumstances would have a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition attached to their visa. DWP has no powers to award Universal Credit to those with NRPF.

They can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of condition’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances. If this application is successful then they can apply for Universal Credit and access the full range of DWP employment services.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service
Monday 12th June 2023

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department is providing to the Child Maintenance Service to reduce payment recalculation processing times.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Significant improvements have been to the online service ‘My Child Maintenance Case’ to allow Child Maintenance Service customers report a range of changes that, with the associated automation and optimisation, have enabled reduction in payment re-calculation times. Examples of the types of changes that can now be reported through ‘My Child Maintenance Case’ include Paying Parent change of income and changes in shared care. In addition, through modernisation, the service is continuing to enable more and more automation in its regular casework and processing including the automation of changes when qualifying children leave full time education or when customers move on and off benefit. As well as speeding up certain changes this digitisation additionally creates time for caseworker to focus on delivering more complex changes that still require manual action improving speed and quality.

Email and SMS campaigns are now also being used to signpost and inform customers of online services and the volume of customers who are using the online services continues to increase.

As part of the wider DWP Service Modernisation Programme, further enhancements are being made that will support the reduction in time to re-calculate payments. This includes greater use of data available to automate the processing of changes and improved tailoring of the online services to make it easier for customers to navigate and use the online service so get their change made quicker.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service
Thursday 8th June 2023

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for payment recalculations under the Child Maintenance Service .

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics, with the latest statistics available to the end of December 2022 found here.


Written Question
Disability History Month
Tuesday 23rd May 2023

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to promote UK Disability History Month.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Disability History Month will run from November 16th - December 16th in 2023. The Disability Unit is currently developing plans to mark the month.

To mark the month in 2022, we used a range of social media posts to celebrate individuals and their contribution to the advancement of rights for disabled people. We anticipate that we will take a similar approach this year.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Autism
Wednesday 26th April 2023

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help people receive updated autism assessments for use in Personal Independence Payment applications; whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a system for people to formally register an autism diagnosis for use in future Personal Independence Payment applications; and whether his Department is taking steps to provide financial support to people with autism who do not qualify for Personal Independence Payments.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability. Entitlement is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from the health condition or disability, rather than a diagnosis of the health condition or disability itself. Any information that a claimant wishes to submit in support of their claim can be considered where that would help establish the needs arising, including an autism assessment. We have no plans to change these arrangements.

Someone with autism who does not qualify for PIP may be entitled to other forms of financial support such as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit.


Written Question
Working Conditions: Temperature
Wednesday 29th March 2023

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

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 merits of introducing a maximum temperature in which working practices can take place.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ119185, answered on 13th January 2023.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance
Wednesday 25th January 2023

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the policy of the Child Maintenance Service to ensure that parents with historic unpaid child maintenance make repayments apportioned equally amongst cases rather than the current order of priority in use for the recovery of arrears.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Services (CMS) main focus is to collect money owed to children who will benefit today, thereby preventing the build-up of arrears under CMS.

Therefore, the CMS continues to prioritise the collection of maintenance on cases that are still supporting a qualifying child.

When the ongoing maintenance on these cases has been satisfied, any remaining funds will be allocated, as per CMS payment allocation hierarchy, to cases with historic arrears on them.


Written Question
Second State Pension Age Independent Review
Thursday 15th December 2022

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to publish the independent report on the Second State Pension age review.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The independent report is currently being considered as part of a wide range of evidence that will inform the second Government Review of State Pension age. The Government Review will be published in early 2023, as announced at the Autumn Statement 2022. The independent report will be published alongside it.