Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age.
Estimates can be made using ONS 2021 Census Data on how many women born in the 1950s resided in each constituency in that year.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Statement UIN HCWS1044 on 11 November 2025, what procedures and circumstances led to the 2007 research report not being provided to his predecessor.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age.
This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to the attention of the previous Secretary of State as its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time.
The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of families that are affected by the two child benefit cap in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:
Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the two child benefit cap on people by ethnicity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:
Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 improve the (a) availability and (b) portability of (i) digital infrastructure and (ii) IT services at Jobcentre Plus locations, in the context of support for (A) staff and (B) public users in accessing jobs and careers services through (1) self-service technologies, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) employer suites, (4) self-service screens and (5) other portable access points.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.
Our vision is for a Jobs and Careers service where people can access support through the channels that best meet their needs – digital where possible, human when needed.
We are testing a range of flexible and accessible delivery mechanisms. These include early assessment of user needs, determining the appropriate course of action; Self-service check-in stations; Strategically placed digital screens, displaying local job opportunities; A dedicated customer TechBar, providing digital support; Multifunctional Hubs, supported by conferencing functionality.
We are also testing bringing our core services directly to communities to meet underserved groups using mobile vehicles and pop-ups.
In addition to these wider digital changes are underway that will include the update and rollout of revised customer computer systems.
Furthermore, dedicated funding has been earmarked to support wider proof of concept testing including In-person transcription and summarisation; Real time translation capabilities; Video-based access to providers/suppliers.
The insight gained throughout these tests will help to shape our future service model.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 working night shifts on (a) health, (b) safety and (c) productivity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as outlined in their strategic objectives. One of the ways this is achieved is supporting employers to protect their workers’ mental health and keep them in the workforce. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256], published in 2006) which includes many factors that are relevant to mental health.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk to mental health, they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
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 working night shifts on the mental health of workers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as outlined in their strategic objectives. One of the ways this is achieved is supporting employers to protect their workers’ mental health and keep them in the workforce. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256], published in 2006) which includes many factors that are relevant to mental health.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk to mental health, they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking with (a) charities and (b) other organisations with expertise in domestic abuse to embed trauma-informed principles into the operation of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 6 March to PQ 33879.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of working days that were lost due to the effects of sickle cell disorder in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Office for National Statistics publish annual statistics on sickness absence in the UK labour market, which includes the reasons for sickness absence. However, the reasons are not provided in this data at the level of detail of specific conditions, such as sickle cell disorder.
The latest statistics for sickness absence in the UK labour market can be found here: Sickness absence in the UK labour market - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)