Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 72603 on Universal Credit: Veterans, how many veterans in each district council in Hertfordshire (a) claim Universal Credit (UC), (b) are in receipt of the housing element of UC and (c) pay the housing element of UC to private landlords.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021.
By May 2025 data was held on the armed forces status of approximately 81% of the GB UC caseload. Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”.
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The housing element of Universal Credit is paid to the claimant household rather than individuals.
The following table shows (a) the number of claimants who have identified themselves as veterans in each district council in Hertfordshire, and the number of households containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in each district council in Hertfordshire that are (b) are in receipt of the housing element of UC and (c) have a tenure type of the Private Rented Sector.
District council | The number of claimants who have identified themselves as veterans as of May 2025 | The number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran as of May 2025 | The number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, with a tenure type of the Private Rented Sector, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran as of May 2025 |
Broxbourne | 40 | 30 | 10 |
Dacorum | 90 | 60 | 20 |
East Hertfordshire | 60 | 40 | 10 |
Hertsmere | 40 | 20 | 10 |
North Hertfordshire | 80 | 50 | 10 |
St Albans | 40 | 30 | 10 |
Stevenage | 60 | 40 | 10 |
Three Rivers | 50 | 40 | 10 |
Watford | 50 | 30 | 10 |
Welwyn Hatfield | 60 | 40 | 10 |
Total Hertfordshire | 530 | 380 | 100 |
*NB columns may not sum to totals due to rounding
1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. Figures in the table have been rounded to the nearest ten in line with Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy: Background information note: DWP benefits statistical summary - GOV.UK.
3. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
For the purposes of answering these questions:
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of strengthening criminal penalties for illegally killing hen harriers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bird of prey persecution is a national wildlife crime priority. Where any wild bird of prey is killed illegally the full force of the law should apply to proven perpetrators of the crime. The Government recognises that some stakeholders are often disappointed with the sentences that are passed down for such criminal acts but significant sanctions are already available for judges to hand down to those convicted of illegally killing birds of prey. Anyone who commits an offence under existing legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 could face up to a six-month custodial sentence and/or an unlimited fine. Sentencing of those convicted of wildlife crimes remains a matter for judges, and these decisions are rightly taken independently of Government.
Defra therefore has no current plans to strengthen the maximum penalties for illegally killing hen harriers.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans in Hertfordshire (a) claim universal credit, (b) are in receipt of the housing element of universal credit and (c) pay the housing element of universal credit to private landlords.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by May 2025 data was held on the armed forces status of approximately 81% of the GB UC caseload. It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past.
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
For the purposes of answering these questions:
The number of claimants who have identified themselves as veterans in the Hertfordshire area as of May 2025 is: 530.
The housing element of Universal Credit is paid to the claimant household rather than individuals. The number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Hertfordshire area as of May 2025 is: 380.
Similarly, the number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, with a tenure type of the Private Rented Sector, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Hertfordshire area as of May 2025 is: 100.
1. Figures have been rounded to either the nearest ten, hundred, thousand or hundred thousand in line with Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy: Background information note: DWP benefits statistical summary - GOV.UK.
2. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of schools that have the recommended allergy safeguards in place.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure that pupils with medical conditions have full access to education, including school trips and physical education. In doing so, schools must have regard to the ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ statutory guidance, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
The department intends to issue a consultation on an updated version of the current statutory guidance on ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ this autumn.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase funding for prostate cancer screening.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises ministers on all screening matters, does not recommend population screening for prostate cancer. As such, England does not currently have a national screening programme that requires funding from the Department.
As part of its commitment to review its recommendations, the UK NSC has commissioned an evidence review for prostate cancer screening. This will cover modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. It will include different potential ways of screening the whole population and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.
Once the modelling and evidence review are complete it will be considered by the UK NSC. Subject to no further revisions being required, the UK NSC plans to hold a public consultation towards the end of 2025. After this the UK NSC will make a recommendation. Ministers will then be asked to consider whether to accept the recommendation.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the merits of introducing mandatory education on the voting system for students in secondary school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Stevenage to the answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 68042.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to enable earlier diagnosis for pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose early. Its symptoms are often vague and non-specific, meaning many patients are diagnosed at a late stage when treatment options are limited and outcomes are poor. This underlines the critical importance of improving routes to earlier diagnosis.
To address this challenge, the National Health Service has implemented non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways across England. These services support faster and more accurate diagnosis for patients who present with symptoms that do not clearly indicate a specific type of cancer, including those often seen in pancreatic cancer. There are currently 115 NSS services operating, ensuring more patients benefit from quicker access to the right investigations.
The NHS has launched a £2 million initiative funding 300 general practices (GPs) to identify pancreatic cancer early by screening high-risk patients over 60 years old with new diabetes diagnoses and unexplained weight loss for urgent testing. More than 300 GPs across England will begin using the initiative, with dozens rolling it out now, and the rest to be up and running in the autumn.
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans in receipt of the housing element of universal credit were in private rented accommodation in the Stevenage constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by November 2024 data was held on the armed forces status of approximately 78% of the GB UC caseload. It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past.
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
For the purposes of answering these questions, “veterans” has been interpreted as referring to those who have declared having served in the past.
The number of claimants who have identified themselves as veterans in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 50.
The housing element of Universal Credit is paid to the claimant household rather than individuals. The number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 40.
Similarly, the number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, with a tenure type of the Private Rented Sector, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 10
1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. Figures in the table have been rounded to either the nearest ten, hundred, thousand or hundred thousand in line with Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy: Background information note: DWP benefits statistical summary - GOV.UK.
3. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans received the housing element of universal credit in the Stevenage constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by November 2024 data was held on the armed forces status of approximately 78% of the GB UC caseload. It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past.
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
For the purposes of answering these questions, “veterans” has been interpreted as referring to those who have declared having served in the past.
The number of claimants who have identified themselves as veterans in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 50.
The housing element of Universal Credit is paid to the claimant household rather than individuals. The number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 40.
Similarly, the number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, with a tenure type of the Private Rented Sector, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 10
1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. Figures in the table have been rounded to either the nearest ten, hundred, thousand or hundred thousand in line with Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy: Background information note: DWP benefits statistical summary - GOV.UK.
3. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: Kevin Bonavia (Labour - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans were claiming universal credit in the Stevenage constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by November 2024 data was held on the armed forces status of approximately 78% of the GB UC caseload. It should be noted that Armed forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past.
Data is not held on the total number of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past, but data is held on those who have identified themselves so far.
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
For the purposes of answering these questions, “veterans” has been interpreted as referring to those who have declared having served in the past.
The number of claimants who have identified themselves as veterans in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 50.
The housing element of Universal Credit is paid to the claimant household rather than individuals. The number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 40.
Similarly, the number of households receiving the housing element of Universal Credit, with a tenure type of the Private Rented Sector, containing at least one claimant who has identified themselves as a veteran in the Stevenage constituency as of November 2024 is: 10
1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. Figures in the table have been rounded to either the nearest ten, hundred, thousand or hundred thousand in line with Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy: Background information note: DWP benefits statistical summary - GOV.UK.
3. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/