Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7July to Question 63294 on Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit, whether projections of the number of claims for (a) PIP and (b) health components of Universal Credit are based on an extrapolation of recent trends.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP produces forecasts of benefit payments based on DWP assumptions agreed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), alongside economic determinants, judgments and assumptions provided by the OBR.
The number of PIP claimants is forecast by considering new claims for the benefit, the rate of successful awards, and the likelihood that claimants leave the benefit, split by age (working age or pension age) and claim type (new claim or reassessment from Disability Living Allowance).
The new claims assumption is informed by recent trends with adjustments made for seasonality and changes in external drivers such as trends in numbers of people with health conditions, the cost of living, and responses to public awareness. Similarly, award rates and exit rates are also based on recent trends.
The Universal Credit caseload forecast combines evidence from the recent past with assumptions and OBR judgements on future trends. The driving factors within the UC Health forecast include observed benefit onflows and changes in circumstances that affect UC eligibility for benefits units, covering not only health but also family make-up, housing status, and earnings, derived from DWP admin data. The key assumptions affecting the UC Health Forecast include the plan to move all legacy claimants to UC by the end of March 2026 and an OBR judgement that onflows will fall from their recent high as real household disposable incomes recover, as described in the November 2023 EFO (see 4.57 CP 944 – Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2023). The drivers and assumptions of the UC Health forecasts were discussed in the OBR’s Welfare Trends Report of October 2024. Additionally, the UC forecast reflects further OBR forecasts and judgements on economic and demographic change (see answer to PQ 63294).
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63294 on Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit, what (a) driving factors and (b) assumptions she uses to model projections for the number of claims for (i) PIP and (ii) health components of Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP produces forecasts of benefit payments based on DWP assumptions agreed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), alongside economic determinants, judgments and assumptions provided by the OBR.
The number of PIP claimants is forecast by considering new claims for the benefit, the rate of successful awards, and the likelihood that claimants leave the benefit, split by age (working age or pension age) and claim type (new claim or reassessment from Disability Living Allowance).
The new claims assumption is informed by recent trends with adjustments made for seasonality and changes in external drivers such as trends in numbers of people with health conditions, the cost of living, and responses to public awareness. Similarly, award rates and exit rates are also based on recent trends.
The Universal Credit caseload forecast combines evidence from the recent past with assumptions and OBR judgements on future trends. The driving factors within the UC Health forecast include observed benefit onflows and changes in circumstances that affect UC eligibility for benefits units, covering not only health but also family make-up, housing status, and earnings, derived from DWP admin data. The key assumptions affecting the UC Health Forecast include the plan to move all legacy claimants to UC by the end of March 2026 and an OBR judgement that onflows will fall from their recent high as real household disposable incomes recover, as described in the November 2023 EFO (see 4.57 CP 944 – Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2023). The drivers and assumptions of the UC Health forecasts were discussed in the OBR’s Welfare Trends Report of October 2024. Additionally, the UC forecast reflects further OBR forecasts and judgements on economic and demographic change (see answer to PQ 63294).
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the key subjects into which her Department is recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
There are 2,346 more full-time equivalent teachers in secondary and special schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 and there are 12% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary teachers, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), acceptances are up 25% compared to last year.
The department is driving teacher recruitment and retention across all subjects to deliver our pledge. We recognise that workforce shortages are more acute in some subjects which is why we have invested £233 million in recruitment incentives, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
In addition, for 2025/26 the department is offering targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools or teach technical subjects in further education colleges.
.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers in key subjects.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
There are 2,346 more full-time equivalent teachers in secondary and special schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 and there are 12% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary teachers, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), acceptances are up 25% compared to last year.
The department is driving teacher recruitment and retention across all subjects to deliver our pledge. We recognise that workforce shortages are more acute in some subjects which is why we have invested £233 million in recruitment incentives, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
In addition, for 2025/26 the department is offering targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools or teach technical subjects in further education colleges.
.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prisoners eligible for release from prison on home detention curfew were released on home detention curfew (a) in the first month of eligibility and (b) at any time in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The number of those released on home detention curfew (HDC) within 30 days of their HDC Eligibility Date in the latest published data period (between 01 October and 31 December 2024) in England and Wales was 2,827.
The number of those released on HDC each year is published in the Department’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication. This information can be found in Table 3_A_14:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685492a1f812712f84581555/prison-releases-2024.ods
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of lead times for Parole Board hearings in each year from the earliest year for which data are available to the latest year for which data are available.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Parole Board has worked hard to reduce its growing caseload and manage the time it takes from referral to completion of prisoner reviews at both paper and oral hearings.
Timeliness of Parole Board hearings is not routinely published, however, in its annual report for 2023/24, the Board states that it had seen a reduction of 78% in cases waiting over 90 days to be listed for an oral hearing compared to the previous year: Parole Board for England and Wales Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.
We continue to work closely with the Parole Board to further improve the efficiency and timeliness of prisoners’ parole reviews.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the addition of modular precast concrete blocks in Category C prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
In December, we published the 10-year capacity strategy outlining our commitment to build 14,000 prison places. We have already delivered c.2,500 places in the prison estate since coming into office, including a new c.1,500 place Category C prison HMP Millsike.
To deliver the 14,000 places, we are using a range of supply types which are compliant with standards and requirements for prison accommodation to be safe, decent and lawful. This includes houseblocks and modular units such as Rapid Deployment Cells. We use Modern Methods of Construction and Design for Manufacture and Assembly to provide efficiency in terms of both timelines and costs; for example, through the use of pre-manufactured components, such as pre-cast concrete, which streamlines on site-assembly.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 21573 on Mental Health: Children and Young People, whether he plans to publish further updates to those statistics.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Although no decisions have yet been made to commission further waves, the Department recognises the importance of the Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Report. We will publish plans in due course.