Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the full funding for SME apprenticeships for people under 25 announced in the Budget will cover Level 7 apprenticeships, including architecture.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As announced at the Budget, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for eligible people aged under 25 from the next academic year.
This does not change the policy on level 7 apprenticeships which the government announced in June. From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships except for apprentices under the age of 22, and those under the age of 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This applies to all employers, including SMEs.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the eligibility criteria for fully funded SME apprenticeships for people under 25.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As announced at the Budget, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for eligible people aged under 25 from the next academic year.
This does not change the policy on level 7 apprenticeships which the government announced in June. From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships except for apprentices under the age of 22, and those under the age of 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This applies to all employers, including SMEs.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what performance metrics his Department uses to monitor whether Universal Credit agent responses to online journal messages are (a) accessible and (b) compliant with Departmental guidance for claimants with learning disabilities or mental health conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is no performance metric to monitor accessibility within the Department. However, all staff complete mandatory training on the Public Sector Equality Duty, and a wide range of support is available—including instructions, guides, and awareness sessions—to help staff make reasonable adjustments and provide accessible services. Universal Credit Agents receive dedicated training to interact effectively and sensitively with customers, particularly those with learning disabilities or mental health conditions, to ensure that everyone receives the support they need.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the total amount of child maintenance arrears owed to date in Wiltshire; and how this compares to the national average.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested on the total amount of child maintenance arrears owed in Wiltshire is not readily available and would incur disproportionate cost to obtain.
The Department publishes Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics regularly and the relevant information for Great Britain can be accessed from Table 5 of the supplementary tables in the latest release.
Table 5 counts how much child maintenance due has accumulated since the CMS began, in 2012. At the end of June 2025 this was £734.3m. This figure does not include arrears incurred with the Child Support Agency pre-2012.
The CMS collected 93% of all maintenance owed since it was established in 2012. The CMS has a low percentage of unpaid maintenance with 7% (£734.3 million) of the total maintenance due to be paid since the CMS began in 2012, still to be collected through Collect & Pay. This has steadily fallen since the 17% due to be paid in March 2015.