Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help remove barriers to work faced by young disabled people with complex needs in Birmingham Perry Barr constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group. Access to the right support, in the right place, at the right time, is crucial.
Jobcentre Plus provides tailored, person-centred support to young disabled people, focusing on their individual needs. Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) provide personalise support for people with health conditions and disabilities to enable them to achieve appropriate and sustainable employment. DEAs work closely with Youth Employability Coaches (YECs), who deliver longer-term support, specifically for young people facing with complex to work. Both DEAs and YECs work with partner organisations to ensure access to expert advice.
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education continue to work closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) on the design and delivery of their Youth Guarantee Trailblazer. WMCA has actively engaged its seven Local Authorities, which includes Birmingham, to co-develop and test place-based solutions aimed at tackling high youth unemployment, economic inactivity, and declining apprenticeship opportunities. Examples of programmes being delivered through the Trailblazer include work experience placements, pre-apprenticeship training, and NEET prevention. This locally tailored support is also accessible to young people with health conditions and disabilities. Insights from the Trailblazer will inform future national policy and delivery.
In addition, young people with health conditions and disabilities can benefit from other locally delivered programmes such as Connect to Work and Workwell. Connect to Work, is a voluntary, high-fidelity programme, connecting work, health and skills support for people with challenges to employment, including health and disability. Workwell, provides a light touch intervention which focuses on prevention and support for people in work to sustain employment. It also supports people who have fallen out of work due to health and disability to return to the workplace.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62414 on Funeral Payments, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) amending the family-related questions for the application process and (b) reviewing the eligibility criteria for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment, in the context of situations in which the next of kin has refused to pay for the funeral.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The long standing state position is that individuals should look to make financial provision for their own funeral, and that where this has not happened family or friends who can take part or all of the responsibility for the cost of funeral arrangements should do so.
Where responsibility for organising a funeral falls to those on qualifying benefits a Funeral Expenses Payment may be available, but eligibility criteria are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience and administrative costs.
We have not made a specific assessment of the impact of Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria on the finances of local authorities.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62414 on Funeral Payments, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of assessing the (a) ability and (b) willingness of other family members to take responsibility for a funeral within the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The long standing state position is that individuals should look to make financial provision for their own funeral, and that where this has not happened family or friends who can take part or all of the responsibility for the cost of funeral arrangements should do so.
Where responsibility for organising a funeral falls to those on qualifying benefits a Funeral Expenses Payment may be available, but eligibility criteria are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience and administrative costs.
We have not made a specific assessment of the impact of Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria on the finances of local authorities.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Funeral Expenses Payment's eligibility criteria on the finances of local authorities.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The long standing state position is that individuals should look to make financial provision for their own funeral, and that where this has not happened family or friends who can take part or all of the responsibility for the cost of funeral arrangements should do so.
Where responsibility for organising a funeral falls to those on qualifying benefits a Funeral Expenses Payment may be available, but eligibility criteria are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience and administrative costs.
We have not made a specific assessment of the impact of Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria on the finances of local authorities.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the eligibility criteria for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment in line with the Scottish Government’s Funeral Support Payment.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers, while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience, processing times and administrative costs.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to assess the adequacy of the clarity of the application process for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment for bereaved applicants.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers, while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience, processing times and administrative costs.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of simplifying the eligibility criteria for the Funeral Expenses Payment on (a) application processing times and (b) the administrative costs of processing applications.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers, while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience, processing times and administrative costs.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reinstating the Winter Fuel Allowance before the winter 2025-26.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants to expand eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments, recognising the goals of supporting these pensioners, meeting need and of sustainable public finances. Any change will be announced to Parliament in the normal way.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government 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.