Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his department makes of the number of retrofits underway.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In 2025-2026 alone, we will be upgrading up to 300,000 homes, using around £1 billion of Warm Homes Plan money, and further support through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). This is more than double the number of home upgrades delivered in 2023/24.
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 for Work and Pensions)
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 for Work and Pensions)
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 for Work and Pensions)
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (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 (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.