Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his department has made on the review of the Child Maintenance Service calculation announced on 24 June 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will announce further details about the publication of the Government’s consultation regarding the child maintenance calculation in due course.
Given the significant amount of time since the child maintenance calculation was updated, we need to assess carefully the impact of any proposed changes on all parents that use the CMS to ensure they effectively support families and children and that they are introduced in a way which works well for CMS customers.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 79779 on the Timms Review, when he will provide more details on the membership of the steering group overseeing the review and planned next steps in the process.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 18 December, the Timms Review’s co-chairs provided an update on the work of the Review, including recruitment of the steering group and next steps. You can find this update on GOV.UK via the following link: The Timms Review: Co-Chair Update, December 2025 - GOV.UK.
We will continue to publish updates on GOV.UK as the Review progresses.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged i) 18, ii) 19, iii) 20 and iv) 21 have been claiming Universal Credit for 18 months or longer.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department regularly publishes the number of people on Universal Credit by age and claim duration on Stat-Xplore. The provisional statistics for the number of people aged 18 to 21 who have been claiming UC for up to 18 months and for 18 months or more in October 2025 is shown in table 1.
Table 1: Number of People aged 18 to 21 on Universal Credit for up to 18 months and for 18 months or more, October 2025
Age | Duration: 0 months up to 18 months | Duration: 18 months or more | Total |
18 | 59,404 | 3,149 | 62,554 |
19 | 87,151 | 15,804 | 102,951 |
20 | 67,448 | 43,783 | 111,237 |
21 | 56,062 | 60,457 | 116,521 |
Total | 270,065 | 123,196 | 393,262 |
Source: DWP Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) Extract
Notes:
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 77776, whether his Department monitors the number of instances where work coaches (a) tailor (1) work and (2) work search requirements and (b) temporarily remove the requirement to (i) work and (ii) search for work for single parents under (A) compulsory switching-off and (B) discretionary switching-off requirements.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Work coach guidance supports work coaches to ensure that requirements are tailored to the circumstances of individuals.
This is not monitored centrally and so to provide the information requested would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Taskforce will adequately factor in living with fluctuating conditions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are bringing together a Vanguard Taskforce to steer the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase and are committed to listening to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.
This Taskforce will advise on the development of a Healthy Working Lifecycle Standard over the Vanguard Phase. The Standard will focus developing the best practices and approaches to drive better outcomes for all those managing health conditions or living with impairments, including fluctuating conditions.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how he will ensure that the Timms Review adequately takes account of the needs of people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, I published the revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK which set out further details about its scope. I also announced that I will co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review's strategic direction, priorities and workplan.
The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people's organisations and is being recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process, which ran from 30 October to 30 November. We are now considering applications. We have worked closely with experts to ensure the EOI is accessible, inclusive and has a broad reach. The steering group will not work alone, it will oversee a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for decisions on Access to Work claims.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why last year we increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% and we have continued to streamline delivery practices. To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise Access to Work applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks, or cases that are up for renewal.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support for people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions to (a) return to and (b) enter into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including arthritis and MSK conditions, with their employment journey. We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well Connect to Work.
Following publication of the Keep Britain Working review report on 5 November, we are immediately launching the Vanguard Phase to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work. Over 70 businesses and seven regions, giving access to their employer networks, have already expressed an interest to be involved and support the Vanguard Phase, aiming to reshape how health issues and disabilities are managed in the workplace.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to help increase awareness amongst employers of the incentives available to hire apprentices, including National Insurance relief when hiring apprentices under 25.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government offers a range of financial support to help employers to take on apprentices. In addition to the National Insurance exemptions for apprentices under 25, the government pays £1,000 to employers that take on apprentices under 19 or eligible 19 to 24-year-olds.
An incentive payment of up to £2,000 has also been introduced to employers who take on foundation apprenticeships, on the seven apprenticeships that launched in August 2025.
Apprenticeships and the financial support available for employers are promoted through multiple channels, including social media and email and telephone marketing campaigns.
In addition, the government facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on the design of the PIP review.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, I announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November.