Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the minimum (a) English and (b) maths requirements are to complete (i) apprenticeships and (ii) vocational courses; and whether he plans to review those requirements.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since February 2025, adults aged 19 and over no longer need to achieve a standalone English and maths qualification on top of their apprenticeship, where their employer agrees that this is not an essential part of their training. Young apprentices who are aged 16-18 at the start of their apprenticeship will continue to be required to achieve English and maths qualifications to put them in the best position to progress in their life and careers.
Upskilling in English and maths will continue to remain a key feature of all apprenticeships. All apprentices will continue to be required to secure and be assessed on the job-specific English and maths skills they need as part of the apprenticeship standard.
Regarding wider vocational courses, any student on a 16 to 19 study programme or T Level, who has not yet achieved an English and/or maths GCSE grade 4 or higher, must continue to be taught these subjects. However, the award of a qualification for these vocational courses is not contingent on their achievement of a grade 4.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the minimum (a) English and (b) maths requirements to complete an apprenticeship; and whether he plans to review these requirements.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In February, the government introduced flexibilities around the English and maths requirements for apprentices in response to significant feedback from employers and providers.
Adults over 19 no longer need to achieve a standalone English and maths qualification on top of the apprenticeship, where their employer agrees this is not an essential part of their training. This will allow many thousands more apprentices to qualify each year, including in key sectors such as adult care, construction and early years.
Upskilling in English and maths remains a key feature of all apprenticeships. All apprentices will continue to be required to secure and be assessed on the job-specific English and maths skills they need as part of the apprenticeship standard.
Young apprentices who are aged 16-18 at the start of their apprenticeship continue to be required to achieve English and maths qualifications to put them in the best position to progress in their life and careers.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the Minimum Income Floor for Universal Credit claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Minimum Income Floor is designed to encourage self-employed customers to progress in work and grow their earnings to a sustainable level.
An individual’s Minimum Income Floor is set and reviewed by their work coach based on the number of hours they are expected to work multiplied by the National Living Wage.
The Department routinely keeps its policies under review. We are not currently reviewing the Minimum Income Floor for Universal Credit customers, but are always interested in views from customers and stakeholders.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will expand the remit of the Pensions Regulator to include employees whose employers have not made statutory contributions to pensions.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must automatically enrol eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and pay the correct contributions. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is responsible for maximising employer compliance with the automatic enrolment obligations. Where an employer fails to meet their duties, for example if the employer has not made statutory pension contributions, TPR can investigate, issue compliance and penalty notices, and, in serious cases, pursue criminal prosecution.
If an employee has concerns regarding their workplace pension, such as unpaid contributions, they should raise this with their employer in the first instance. An individual can report their employer to TPR if it is not complying with the law and/or make a complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) who can investigate the complaint and provide a remedy if the employer is found to be at fault. TPO, in collaboration with MoneyHelper and TPR, has published a factsheet for customers about this: Workplace pensions – unpaid pension contributions | The Pensions Ombudsman
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 merits of paying the shortfall when employers are found to have unlawfully failed to contribute to their employee's pensions.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must automatically enrol their eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and pay the correct pension contributions into that scheme.
The independent Pensions Regulator (TPR) has a statutory objective to maximise and enforce employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment obligations. In addition, pension scheme trustees and scheme managers also have a duty to monitor and report material payment failures to TPR. If an employer has failed to provide the correct pension contributions, they are required under Section 38 of the Pensions Act 2008 to address this and make good any shortfall
TPR data shows employer compliance is high, with 97% making timely and accurate contributions.
If an employee has concerns regarding their workplace pension, such as unpaid contributions, they should raise this with their employer in the first instance. An individual can report their employer to TPR if it is not complying with the law and/or make a complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) who can investigate the complaint and provide a remedy if the employer is found to be at fault. TPO, in collaboration with MoneyHelper and TPR, has published a factsheet for customers about this: Workplace pensions – unpaid pension contributions | The Pensions Ombudsman
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of recognising Artificial Intelligence tools as eligible assistive software under the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work has not been substantially changed since its introduction in 1994. There is a strong case for updating the role it plays in making work accessible for disabled people.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme. We also considered the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption.
We will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the consultation has closed. We are continuing to work closely with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives, on all aspects of our proposals.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Disability Living Allowance Tribunal hearings her Department sent a presenting officer to in the last year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested on the proportion of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Tribunal hearings the Department sent a presenting officer to is not readily available within the Department. However, we estimate that 47% of DLA Tribunal hearings had a presenting officer in FY2024/25. This estimate uses DWP internal statistics on total number of DLA Hearings Attended by presenting officers and published statistics on number of DLA disposals cleared at hearing from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal for (a) Personal Independence Payment, (b) Disability Living Allowance and (c) Employment and Support Allowance were upheld in favour of the claimant in the last year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on overturned appeals for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) can be found in Table SSCS_3 of the Tribunal Statistics Quarterly publication here: Tribunals statistics - GOV.UK.