Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 ensure the adequate availability of apprenticeships for people leaving (a) secondary school and (b) college.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors of the economy, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills.
To support employers to offer apprenticeships, the government provides £1,000 payments to employers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19 to 24-year-old apprentices who have an education, health and care plan or have been, or are, in care.
Government also pays employers up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.
In addition, employers benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will reinstate the winter fuel payment in full.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has increased the level at which Winter Fuel Payments are means-tested in England and Wales from winter 2025/26 so that the vast majority of pensioners – around 9 million individuals – will benefit from them.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of the number of Personal Independence Payments claims by type of mental health condition for the last 3 years for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The complete breakdown of PIP claims by type of mental health condition from April 2013 to July 2025 (the most recent available data) is available on Stats-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml). Guidance on how to use PIP data on Stat-Xplore is also available here: Personal Independence Payment data on Stat-Xplore: user guide - GOV.UK. An account is not required to use Stat-Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.
The relevant information can be found in the ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset. To customise the reporting period, use the ‘Month’ filter to select the months you wish to include.
Next, under the ‘Disability’ category, click the arrow beside ‘Psychiatric disorders’ and select ‘Disability’. This will ensure all disabilities under psychiatric disorders are included in the output.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with (a) parents and (b) carers who have had to stop full time work following a child’s cancer diagnosis.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I met with the founders of “It’s Never You” in December 2024 and with “Young Lives vs Cancer” in May 2025. A wide range of Government Departments are involved in providing support for parents when looking after children in hospital for extended periods.
The DWP provides support for parents of children with health conditions through Disability Living Allowance and Universal Credit.
Disability Living Allowance is a benefit available to those under the age of 16 who, due to a disability or health condition have mobility issues and/or have needs which are substantially in excess of a child the same age without the disability or health condition. Receipt of Disability Living Allowance also passports families to a range of additional support including extra money in income related benefits.
Universal Credit provides financial support for eligible parents through additional amounts such as child element, carers element and, for those with children on Disability Living Allowance, a disabled child addition. This financial support is available to households with low or no income.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of (a) foreign and (b) UK nationals who were able to find jobs within (i) one, (ii) three and (iii) six months of starting Universal Credit in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is not held and to produce it would incur disproportionate costs.
Information on the number of people on UC by nationality including their employment status is published in DWP statistics here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statis-tics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-10-july-2025
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support people with disabilities to meet the cost of (a) energy bills and (b) transport (i) to medical appointments and (ii) in general.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I have regular meetings with colleagues across Government on ways to support disabled people meet the additional costs that can arise from a long-term health condition or disability.
My department provides support with the additional generality of costs that can arise through provision of the extra costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment. This is supported by provision from other departments: the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero who provide support with energy bills through the Warm Home Discount Scheme; the Department for Transport who provide guidance on concessionary fares and free parking spaces; and the Department for Health and Social Care who provide for the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme for travel costs associated with medical appointments.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance on the long-term financial sustainability of that benefit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Assessments of the financial sustainability of public expenditure as a whole are made on an annual basis by the Office for Budget Responsibility in their Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report. Forecasts of Disability Living Allowance caseloads and expenditure for children are published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables, under ‘Disability Benefits’, and will be updated following the Budget on 26 November.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with humanitarian leave to remain have (a) applied for and (b) received universal credit in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested for part (i) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. These statistics can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-10-july-2025. For part (ii) the number of people on Universal Credit with a humanitarian scheme immigration status, for each month from April 2022 to June 2025, is in Table 1 of the following data tables: Universal Credit immigration status and nationality statistics to July 2025.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of spending on Disability Living Allowance on children with (a) neurodevelopmental and (b) mental health disorders in each of the last 3 years for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information is in the table:
Financial Year | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Neurodevelopmental Expenditure (£ millions) | 1,770 | 2,210 | 2,660 |
Mental Health Expenditure (£millions) | 560 | 850 | 1,230 |
Points to note:
o Personality disorder
o PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
o Stress reaction disorders
o GAD (generalised anxiety disorder)
o Phobia specific
o Phobia social
o Agoraphobia
o Panic disorder
o Anxiety disorders
o OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)
o Anxiety and depression
o Conversion disorder
o BDD (Body Dysmorphia Disorder)
o Dissociative disorders
o Depressive disorder
o Bipolar
o Mood disorders
o Schizophrenia
o Schizoaffective disorder
o Psychotic disorders
o Anorexia nervosa
o Bulimia nervosa
o Eating disorder not specified
o Munchausen syndrome
o Factitious disorder
o Psychiatric disorders of childhood
o Learning Disability
o Speech and Language Disorders
o Autism
o Asperger’s Syndrome
o Dyspraxia
o Hyperkinetic disorder
o ADHD/ADD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)