Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 impact of proposed changes to disability payments on people in working poverty.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms - Impacts.
However, this assessment does not include the impact of the £1 billion a year, by 2029/30, funding for measures to support those with disabilities and long-term health conditions into employment, which we expect to mitigate the poverty impact among people it supports into work. As such, an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed changes on people in working poverty cannot be made.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our plans are designed to protect the most vulnerable and give disabled people equal chances and choices to work.
We will continue to carefully consider the impacts of reforms as we develop our detailed proposals for change.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support young people after being released from prison to prevent reoffending.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Children returning to the community after serving time in custody receive personal and structural support from youth custody establishments and Youth Offending Teams to help them reintegrate, including assistance with housing and education, training, or employment.
Where appropriate, Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) is used to support this transition. A new ROTL policy is being piloted at five sites, allowing eligible children to be considered and risk assessed for ROTL after five months or halfway through their sentence—whichever comes first—enabling earlier access to ROTL opportunities such as visits to potential community accommodation, education, or job placements.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the number of people on long term sick leave due to stress over the last 12 months.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Data is not available for sickness absence specifically due to stress.
The estimated number of people aged 16 to 64 in the UK who had a long-term (4 weeks or more) sickness absence from work due to stress, depression, anxiety and common mental health problems, between January and December 2024 (the latest data available) was 325,000. This represents around 22% of people who had a long-term sickness absence.
Source: Annual Population Survey (APS) - unpublished
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the (a) national minimum wage and (b) national living wage for care workers.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Adult social care is a historically low paid sector, and most care workers are paid at or just above the National Living Wage. In 2023/24, approximately 70% of care workers in the independent sector earned within £1 of the National Living Wage.
The Government is introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to the adult social care sector so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. Fair Pay Agreements will empower worker representatives, employers, and others to negotiate pay, and terms and conditions in a responsible manner. This will help to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector, in turn supporting the delivery of high-quality care.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many people have been prosecuted for hate crime in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes hate crimes in England and Wales.
In the year to December 2024, in England and Wales the CPS prosecuted 14,657 defendants for offences flagged as hate crimes with a charge rate of 87.4%, and a conviction rate of 86.1%.
Data for Q4 2024-2025 will be published on the CPS website (CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service) in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Northern Ireland on waiting times for ADHD (a) medication and (b) treatment for children.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This Government is committed to working with the Executive to transform its public services and improve outcomes for people living in Northern Ireland, including children. That is why I and other UK Government Ministers regularly engage with Executive Ministers in Northern Ireland, including the Health Minister, to discuss plans to improve public services.
However, I also recognise that health is devolved in Northern Ireland and directly tackling waiting lists is a matter for the NI Health Minister and his department. I welcome the recent steps he has taken to improve waiting times. Improving outcomes in Northern Ireland will take time and we will continue to be an active partner and work supportively with the Executive as best we can.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to provide support for older people to complete online job applications.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP currently offers employment support for eligible customers of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. A dedicated offer for older jobseekers provides more tailored support for those affected by additional challenges such as out of date skills or qualifications or those who need help with CVs.
Work Coaches and employers are supported by 50 plus Champions who provide a critical layer of support through Jobcentres, to ensure the needs of older jobseekers are met. Recent examples of personalised activity include 50 plus Job Fairs, Mentoring Circles, peer to peer support, digital awareness sessions and confidence building, including assisting customers with their perceived digital capabilities, from basic IT skills to more complex tasks.
Employer and Partnership Teams in Jobcentres also work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers.
The Government is reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in their careers. This includes an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to improve the UK's cyber security.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The cyber security of the UK is a priority for the government. This year we will introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to improve UK cyber defences and better secure our essential services and the IT infrastructure they rely upon. The government offers free guidance, tools and training to help businesses and organisations improve their cyber resilience. This includes a new Cyber Governance Code of Practice to help boards and directors manage digital risks, and the Cyber Essentials scheme which is highly effective in protecting businesses against cyber attacks. The PSTI Act, along with codes of practice on AI, software and apps, are helping protect organisations at scale by making technology secure by design. Later this year, the government will publish a new National Cyber Strategy setting out how we will approach the challenges and opportunities of cyber security.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have attended state boarding schools in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The number of children who have attended state boarding schools in each of the last five academic years in England, broken down by school phase type, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/719c18b6-84ce-419b-a84a-08dda25bd6a4.
The department publishes information of schools, pupils and their characteristics annually. The latest data can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made recent progress on making one-off payments to healthcare staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The most recent one-off payments for National Health Service staff in England were agreed as part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal. No future one-off payments are actively being considered.
The Department provided funding to cover the cost of these payments to eligible staff. It is the responsibility of local employing organisations to ensure correct payments are made to eligible staff.