Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants were supported by Jobcentres into work in the last 12 months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP do not publish statistics on the total number of customers who are supported by Jobcentres into different types of work or training.
However, we have recently published analysis on into-work rates, including at the local authority and Jobcentre Plus district level, which can be found here: Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights October 2025 - GOV.UK. The into-work rate is the proportion of Universal Credit ‘searching for work’ conditionality regime customers who have earnings in one assessment period who did not have earnings in the preceding assessment period.
The average into-work rate for the 12 months to June 2025 in Great Britain was 7.4%. Over the same period the into-work rate for the local authorities Basildon and Thurrock were 7.4% and 8.2% respectively. For the Essex Jobcentre Plus district it was 8.5%.
The DWP have published management information on SWAPs starts and employment outcomes since April 2021, which can be found here: Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) Management Information, April 2021 to September 2025 - GOV.UK. In financial year 2024/25, there were 86,730 starts on Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs).
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of regional disparities in the unemployment-to-vacancy ratio; and what steps he is taking to help reduce those disparities.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The ONS do not publish statistics on the level of vacancies or unemployment-to-vacancy ratio at regional level.
Every area in England is developing a local Get Britain Working plan. The local Get Britain Working Plans will bring local partners and service providers together to enable a collective understanding of the local challenges and enable a joined-up integrated approach on work, health and skills support to tackle labour market challenges.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have moved into sustained employment as a result of the Health Accelerator initiatives.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Evidence on how many people have moved into sustained employment as a result of the NHS Health and Growth Accelerators programme will be set out in the full evaluation, which concludes in 2027/28.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to expand Health Accelerators beyond the three funded areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
NHS Health and Growth Accelerators are testing a novel approach where local NHS systems - Northeast North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), South Yorkshire ICB and West Yorkshire ICB - are held accountable for the impact they have on people’s work status. The NHS 10-year plan for England states that if the Accelerators are successful, we will expect all ICBs to establish specific and measurable outcome targets on their contribution to reducing economic inactivity and unemployment based on this model. In order to embed the Accelerator model, we will work closely with ICBs to set their outcome target and will expect ICBs to seek the closest possible collaboration with local government partners - including mayors and strategic health authorities in particular - so that citizens benefit from a seamless work, health and skills offer in their area.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87663, what assessment he has made of whether the proportion of recent higher education leavers entering priority occupations is sufficient to meet forecast labour market needs in 2030.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Skills England analysis in the Assessment of priority skills to 2030 sets out that two thirds of the projected additional employment demand in priority occupations require workers with a qualification at level 4 or above.
In England, over a quarter of a million (285,000) people enter priority occupations from the skills system each year. Around two thirds (65%) of these are learners with qualifications at level 4 and above, broadly matching the expected education requirements for the priority occupations.
Skills England will continue to develop and refine this analysis further, establishing a process and methodology for assessing skills needs. We are aiming to widen the scope of the analysis, covering skills needs at a national, sectoral, and regional level.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 employers are supported to provide entry-level roles suitable for young people under the Youth Guarantee.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is taking clear steps to ensure employers are supported to provide entry-level roles for young people.
At Budget the government announced that £820 million has been committed to the Youth Guarantee over the next three years to support all young people aged 16 to 24 to earn or learn. This includes the previously announced Jobs Guarantee, which is guaranteeing six-months of paid work for every eligible 18-21 year old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. Under the Jobs Guarantee we are committing to ensuring that businesses can take on these young people by funding 100% of the wages for the six months (up to 25hrs/week at the relevant minimum wage), as well as the additional employment costs and a budget for wrap around support. We recognise that the Jobs Guarantee can only succeed if businesses are part of it. That is why we will work closely with employers to develop a programme which works for businesses and young people.
More broadly this government is supporting employers to offer apprenticeships to young people. In August we introduced new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors which are underpinned by an employer incentive payment of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. In addition, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced at the Budget, this government will now fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people, starting from the next academic year.
Employers also continue to benefit from existing employer National Insurance (NICs) reliefs for under-21s and under-25 apprentices. This means employers pay no employer NICs for apprentices under 25 or employees under 21 on earnings up to £50,270. These reliefs were worth over £1.3bn to employers in 2024/25.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to address the lack of growth in the 16-64 employment rate in the past year.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Get Britain Working White Paper set out ambitious plans to transform employment support, tackle rising levels of health-related economic inactivity and move towards an 80% employment rate .
Since publication we have made rapid progress delivering on our three key interconnected pillars which are driving change including;
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 86589 on Construction: Apprentices and Training, how the Construction Support Package is being allocated by (a) region and (b) type of training.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 23 March 2025, the Government announced a construction support package worth £625 million to tackle the acute shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector.
(a) By Region
Construction Skills Package funding for initiatives including Industry Placement Support, FE Teacher Industry Exchange, and capital support to Construction Technical Excellence Colleges will be devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities where they exist. Skills Bootcamps are delivered nationally through provider contracts.
(b) By Type of Training
The package includes a range of interventions, including:
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to align the Construction Skills Mission Board to (a) training provision and (b) (i) local and (ii) regional labour needs.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To ensure employers can work collaboratively to secure the workforce needed to meet future demand, the Government is sponsoring a new Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB). Chaired by Mark Reynolds, Executive Chair of Mace, the Board will provide strategic leadership to the construction sector and develop an Industry led Construction Skills Action Plan.
The CSMB will work closely with Government to ensure that industry is well aligned to key initiatives within the Construction Skills Package, including Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, and industry placement development, ensuring these programmes reflect industry needs. It will work closely with training providers to align curricula with modern construction practices and sustainability standards.
The Board will work collaboratively with Mayoral Combined Authorities and local partners to support the effective use of devolved funding and ensure interventions reflect regional priorities. Skills England will take a national view of skills gaps and work with local partners including Mayoral Strategic Authorities to ensure provision meets the needs of learners and employers. This approach ensures national programmes remain responsive to local priorities while maintaining consistency in quality and outcomes.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87663, what first degree subjects have the lowest share of learners entering priority occupations; and what steps he is taking to improve alignment in those areas.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The proportion of first degree (level 6) higher education learners entering priority occupations by subject is published in the Accompanying tables for the Assessment of priority skills to 2030. This table is copied below.
Subject | Share of employed learners entering priority occupations (%) |
Nursing and midwifery | 97 |
Medicine and dentistry | 96 |
Medical sciences | 81 |
Architecture, building and planning | 79 |
Pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacy | 78 |
Allied health | 73 |
Computing | 70 |
Engineering | 68 |
Economics | 65 |
Physics and astronomy | 60 |
Mathematical sciences | 57 |
Chemistry | 56 |
Business and management | 53 |
Health and social care | 51 |
Languages and area studies | 49 |
Biosciences | 48 |
Geography, earth and environmental studies | 48 |
Politics | 48 |
Law | 47 |
Media, journalism and communications | 46 |
General, applied and forensic sciences | 44 |
Materials and technology | 44 |
History and archaeology | 44 |
Combined and general studies | 43 |
Psychology | 42 |
Philosophy and religious studies | 42 |
English studies | 39 |
Creative arts and design | 35 |
Sociology, social policy and anthropology | 33 |
Agriculture, food and related studies | 32 |
Performing arts | 31 |
Sport and exercise sciences | 25 |
Education and teaching | 10 |
Veterinary sciences | 8 |
The DfE and Skills England are working closely together to publish labour market information and support informed student choice, helping provision respond to economic demand and maintaining the breadth of provision needed for a strong and flexible workforce. Many jobs outside the priority occupations are highly productive and needed for the wider economy.