Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of introducing routine audio recording of Work Capability Assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in Pathways to Work, we will be introducing audio recording as standard for all health assessments. If, for whatever reason, a customer does not want their assessment recorded, they are able to opt out at any time.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of claimants who have migrated from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit under managed migration who have had the calculations on their claim overturned upon challenge or appeal.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on further education provision for people aged between 16 and 24 in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Autumn Budget 2025 made available more than £1.5 billion over the Spending Review period for investment in employment and skills support through the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.
This includes fully funding SME apprenticeships for eligible people under 25, alongside changes to make the apprenticeship system simpler and more efficient. £725 million of this total package will deliver the next phase of the Growth and Skills offer, invested through expanding foundation apprenticeships, launching a pilot to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.
This investment will support people of all ages across the country, including in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on further education provision for people over the age of 24 in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Autumn Budget 2025 made available more than £1.5 billion over the Spending Review period for investment in employment and skills support through the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.
This includes fully funding SME apprenticeships for eligible people under 25, alongside changes to make the apprenticeship system simpler and more efficient. £725 million of this total package will deliver the next phase of the Growth and Skills offer, invested through expanding foundation apprenticeships, launching a pilot to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.
This investment will support people of all ages across the country, including in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with Parkinson's in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of May 2025, there were 2,000 claimants in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group with the main disabling condition 'Parkinson’s disease or syndrome’. In the same month, there were 300 claimants in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group with the main disabling condition ‘Parkinsonism’.
Data is based on primary medical condition as recorded on the ESA computer systems. Claimants may have multiple disabling conditions on which their entitlement is based but only the primary condition is available for statistical purposes and shown in these statistics.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 merits of having Jobcentre staff in supported housing sites to support young people into employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.
We are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, led by Mayoral Strategic Authorities across England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities.
One of the Trailblazers in Central London is delivering targeted support to care leavers included those in supported accommodation to help them access suitable employment opportunities.
As part of our Youth Offer, we also have Youth Hubs which deliver a core offer of skills, training and employment-focused support. Alongside this, partner organisations deliver a range of services, based upon the needs of the local area that they service. This can include connecting young people to a wider range of services such as health, housing and wellbeing support, depending on local needs and partnerships.
To drive up quality in supported accommodation (including for young people), DWP is working alongside MHCLG to implement measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act in England, which include a proposed locally led licensing regime and new National Supported Housing Standards for providers. The proposed standards make it clear that residents should receive person-centred support including where appropriate being supported, encouraged, and enabled to take up learning, volunteering, training, and employment opportunities.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training on employment law do Access to Work case managers receive in order to determine whether a requested adjustment is reasonable.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work case managers do not receive training in employment law. Instead, they are trained to apply the Principles of Access to Work, which are designed to ensure that support provided:
Access to Work support is therefore not intended to determine legal obligations, but to provide additional assistance where appropriate, once an employer’s responsibilities have been met.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there has been a change in guidance for decision makers looking at Attendance Allowance applications in the last 12 months.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Attendance Allowance guidance is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it reflects current policy and operational processes.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the minimum British Sign Language level required is for communication support workers in his Department.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The minimum BSL sign levels required for DWP communication support workers are:
RSLI (Registered Sign Language Interpreter) has Level 6 BSL and an Interpreting qualification (NVQ or Degree).
TSLI (Trainee Registered Sign Language) has level 6 BSL and is enrolled and working through Interpreting qualification (NVQ or degree).
All interpreters are registered with NRCPD (National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deaf/blind People).
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Department's publication entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reforms on the service capacity of (a) voluntary and (b) community sector organisations.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has been made.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 April 2025 to question number 47657. The answer can be found here: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament