Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help disabled people into work.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions have the opportunity to work and save for as long as they wish and are able to.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.
Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, Support with Employee Health and Disability service a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Oral Statement of 26 November 2026 on “Get Britain Working” White Paper, Official Report, column 656, what additional funding for the Government's Youth Guarantee will be allocated to (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Peterborough.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the Get Britain Working White Paper, the government announced £45 million of funding for eight trailblazers in England to test delivery of the Youth Guarantee. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayoral Combined Authority are one of the eight areas set to receive approximately £5 million to support 18-21 year olds access education, training and employment opportunities.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to reform the pensions system.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government has already begun work to reform the pensions system:
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of pensioners in Huntingdon constituency will lose winter fuel payment.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Pension Credit data is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024 in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics.
The estimated number of pensioners in Huntingdon constituency who will lose Winter Fuel Payments is 21,148, this equates to a proportion of 93%. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics, (sources below).
The estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Huntingdon Constituency (2010 boundary) from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Huntingdon constituency. Please note that Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.
Furthermore, the above does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy change (means testing Winter fuel payments to those on Pension Credit and other means tested benefits). We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.
Also, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households rather than individuals, so the number of individuals claiming Pension Credit, will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).
Sources used:
winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)
Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk) (Feb-24 data)