Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what role Industry Training Boards will play in supporting skills development in sectors with technical workforce shortages like aviation engineering.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Industry Training Boards (ITBs) play an important role in supporting skills development for the sectors that fall within the scope of their respective industries, as defined by legislation made under the Industrial Training Act 1982. Aviation engineering is not, however, included within the scope of either the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) or the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB).
The ITBs raise a levy on in-scope employers, which they use to make better provision for training within their industry. This includes identifying skills needs in their industries, maintaining occupational standards and competence, funding support for apprenticeships and skills training, promoting careers in their industries, helping employers recruit and retain new entrants, and investing in sector-specific skills programmes. These activities help ensure employers in their industries have access to the skilled workforces needed to meet current and future industry demand.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria Skills England will use to identify priority occupations and future skills needs in sectors such as aviation engineering.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Skills England published its Annual Skills Report and Sector Skills Needs Assessment on 1 June 2026. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-england-annual-skills-report-and-sectoral-skills-needs-assessments-2026. The reports feature skills assessments of the Advanced Manufacturing sector and Defence sector, both of which include aerospace engineers as a priority occupation.
Methods used to select priority occupations and project future demand were selected by sponsoring government departments, considering current demand data, economy-wide projections, strategic priorities and expert judgement from the sector. For Defence the sponsoring department is the Ministry of Defence and for Advanced manufacturing it is the Department of Business and Trade.
Skills England also assess skills needs through the UK Standard Skills Classification, identifying the occupational and core skills areas relevant to priority occupations at a sectoral and economy-wide level.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 the freeze in Housing Benefit subsidy rates for temporary accommodation since January 2011 on local authority finances in London; and if he will take steps to uprate subsidy levels to reflect current housing costs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
DWP pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation cases, but this is subject to limits to incentivise local authorities to find settled accommodation for residents and to ensure good value for money for the taxpayer.
The rules governing Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation apply across Great Britain, including London. We recognise that local authorities are subject to a range of funding pressures and keep the subsidy arrangements under review.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is considering piloting the youth guarantee scheme in London.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET are already underway in eight areas across England. Two of our Trailblazers are being delivered by the Greater London Authority, a ‘Pan London’ Trailblazer focused on better join-up of the systems supporting NEET young people including those with mental health conditions across London, and another delivering tailored support to young care leavers in 12 Central London Boroughs. We will use learning from the Trailblazers to inform future design and delivery of the Youth Guarantee.
For long-term unemployed 18–21-year-olds on Universal Credit, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment. This is part of the expanded Youth Guarantee, through which young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning.
Delivery of the Jobs Guarantee will begin in six areas from spring 2026. No areas in London are included in this initial phase; however, this will be followed by national roll-out across Great Britain, including in London.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to (a) maintain and (b) bolster the effectiveness of the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why last year we increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% and we have continued to streamline delivery practises. We remain committed to reducing waiting times for claims, prioritising customers starting a job within the next four weeks.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 adequacy and accessibility of advice and support available for employers of people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made.
All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 not to unlawfully discriminate against disabled people and people with long term health conditions, including people with multiple sclerosis. This includes making reasonable adjustments where employees would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act and provides guidance to businesses and individuals, including the statutory Code of Practice on Employment.
The Government also offers guidance to employers on supporting disabled people and people with health conditions in the workplace, through its Support with Employee Health and Disability service. The service was developed with input from smaller businesses and disability organisations and provides a step by step guide to supporting employees in workplace scenarios involving health and disability. This includes guidance on having conversations about health and disability, supporting employers to understand and respond to an employee’s individual needs, circumstances and capacities. This service is fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 flexibility in the workplace for people living with fluctuating conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS).
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, including workplace flexibilities, where a disabled person or person with a long-term health condition would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage. This includes chronic and fluctuating health conditions and disabilities, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides statutory guidance to employers covering this. DWP also provides tailored guidance through its Support with Employee Health and Disability online service and the Disability Confident Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces including guidance on flexible working.
All employees have the existing right to request flexible working arrangements. The Employment Rights Bill is designed to make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted and would require employers to explain the basis for their decision where rejecting a request. The Keep Britain Working Review is currently establishing vanguards to explore innovative ways to support more disabled employees to stay in work.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department is working with local authorities to ensure they are equipped to deliver the Crisis and Resilience Fund from 1 April 2026.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Department has actively engaged with stakeholders on the design for the new Crisis and Resilience Fund through a structured co-design process. This has involved a representative group of local authorities, third-party organisations and academics. The concluding event on 22 October 2025 was attended by over 750 stakeholders.
We plan to publish guidance in January 2026. Provisional allocations will be published as part of the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, ahead of the scheme going live in April 2026.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of linking Unique Property Reference Numbers to Universal Credit claims to help tackle fraud.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is considering external data sources, including Unique Property Reference Numbers, that could be used to help address fraud and error that occurs in Universal Credit.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are waiting for a decision on their Access to Work scheme claim.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
As of October 2025, there are 62,000 applications outstanding. We recognise the importance of reducing waiting times, which is why we have increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% in the last financial year.