Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025, whether people with a terminal illness who do not have a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be eligible for the additional premium in Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These rules enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, to receive the highest rate of benefit.
The SREL have been extended to apply to people who have 12 months or less to live, rather than 6 months or less to live, so that people receive vital support through the Special Rules six months earlier, increasing the number of people able to access benefits through the Special Rules.
The Pathways to Work Green paper announced that the Government is considering the appropriate rules for those in specific circumstances, such as being at end of life. It also announced that, after April 2026, the Government plans to protect the incomes of those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what the value will be of the additional premium in Universal Credit for people with the most severe, life-long health conditions with no prospect of improvement.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in the Green Paper, we will ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work will see their incomes protected. We will also ensure this group face no future reassessment. We will set this out in the forthcoming Bill.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people with a terminal illness who do not have a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be exempt from work-related activity requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are currently consulting on how we should determine which individuals or groups of individuals should be exempt from the requirement to participate in conversations or any work-related requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people with a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be exempt from work-related activity requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are currently consulting on how we should determine which individuals or groups of individuals should be exempt from the requirement to participate in conversations or any work-related requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025, whether people with a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be eligible for the additional premium in Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
The Pathways to Work Green paper is clear that in taking forward reforms, the Government is considering the appropriate rules for those in specific circumstances, such as being at end of life. It is also clear that after April 2026, the Government is proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of Universal Credit have a terminal condition but do not have a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information is not available. The Universal Credit system is usually only informed of a terminal illness diagnosis through an application for the Special Rules for End of Life.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if his Department will take steps to strengthen consumers' online privacy protections.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) apply to all online services that use personal data and require organisations to process personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely, unless certain limited exemptions apply. The legislation already gives consumers important rights in relation to their personal data, such as the right to seek access to it, object to its processing or seek its erasure. Consumers can also bring complaints about the handling of their personal data to the independent regulator for data protection, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Measures in the Data (Use and Access) Bill include revamping the ICO with a new governance structure and powers of enforcement – ensuring people’s personal data will continue to be protected to high standards. Under the new digital markets regime, the Competition and Markets Authority could also introduce targeted remedies that strengthen consumer choice and control.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of freezing the personal tax allowance on low income households.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to keeping taxes for working people as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility. At our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds which was implemented by the previous Government.
The Government also remains committed to supporting low-income households in other ways, including through the Plan to Make Work Pay, the increase in the National Living Wage to £12.21 per hour from this April, and the new Fair Repayment Rate which caps debt repayments made through Universal Credit.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to widen the scope of the consultation for the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans and proposals for reform to health and disability benefits and employment support. This includes some urgently needed reforms to PIP eligibility and UC rates that are not subject to consultation but on which Parliament will fully debate and vote. We included these changes in the Green Paper to allow readers to see the proposals in wider context and so they can provide more informed views.
The Green Paper does consult on many key elements of the reform package, including employment support and access to work, which are at the centre of our plans to improve the system for disabled people. We hope that a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation, and we are holding a programme of public consultation events across the country to help facilitate input.
We are also developing other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific work areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' publication Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, published on 12 March 2025, whether he will make it his policy to adopt the Committee's recommendations on expediting the adoption of a comprehensive national strategy for the (a) protection and (b) promotion of the right to adequate food.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has committed to develop an ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system. The strategy will work to improve the food system to provide more easily accessible healthy food to tackle diet-related ill health, helping to give children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives. It will also maintain our food security – which is national security – by building resilience in the face of climate shocks and geopolitical changes, strengthening the supply chain which operates so effectively to keep us fed.