Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2026 to Question 112415 on Social Security Benefits: Higher Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of people who leave higher education without completing their course on (a) the number of people receiving welfare benefits and (b) youth unemployment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No specific assessment has been made, or evaluation conducted, of the link between leaving higher education without completing and welfare benefits but we know qualifications matter. Data from the 2021 census showed, 1 in 5 young people aged 16-24 in full-time education or employment had no qualifications or qualifications below Level 2. Among those who were unemployed or economically inactive, the proportion with no qualifications or qualifications below level 2 was twice as high.
This government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. When this Government came into power there were 921,000 young people not in education, employment and training (NEET), an increase of 250,000 since 2021. For many years our young people have not had the opportunity and support they deserve.
That is why this Government is investing in young people’s futures. On 16 March we announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking the total investment to £2.5 billion over the next three years though the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
The Government will also prioritise prevention, building on measures announced in the Skills White Paper. The Government will improve support in schools, monitor attendance, increase access to work experience and work with local authorities to pilot auto-enrolling young people in further education, if needed.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Question 112415, what evaluation he has conducted of the link between students leaving higher education without completing their studies and subsequent reliance on out-of-work benefits among 16‑24‑year-olds.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No specific assessment has been made, or evaluation conducted, of the link between leaving higher education without completing and welfare benefits but we know qualifications matter. Data from the 2021 census showed, 1 in 5 young people aged 16-24 in full-time education or employment had no qualifications or qualifications below Level 2. Among those who were unemployed or economically inactive, the proportion with no qualifications or qualifications below level 2 was twice as high.
This government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. When this Government came into power there were 921,000 young people not in education, employment and training (NEET), an increase of 250,000 since 2021. For many years our young people have not had the opportunity and support they deserve.
That is why this Government is investing in young people’s futures. On 16 March we announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking the total investment to £2.5 billion over the next three years though the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
The Government will also prioritise prevention, building on measures announced in the Skills White Paper. The Government will improve support in schools, monitor attendance, increase access to work experience and work with local authorities to pilot auto-enrolling young people in further education, if needed.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who leave higher education having completed their course and subsequently claim out-of-work benefits within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) one year of leaving university.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not held.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who leave higher education without completing their course and subsequently claim out-of-work benefits within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) one year of leaving university.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not held.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of asylum seekers who have received a positive asylum decision have been granted access to Universal Credit during the current Parliament.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. ‘Table 1’ in the latest Universal Credit immigration status and nationality data tables provides information on the number of people with refugee status on Universal Credit for each month from April 2022 to October 2025.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to disability benefits on vulnerable individuals in Leicester; and what steps she will be taking to ensure those most in need are adequately supported during this period of fiscal adjustment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain to enable people better to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today.
We will bring forward a Green Paper in the spring. We will listen to and engage with disabled people as we develop proposals for reform in this area and across the employment support system. No decisions have yet been made.
To support those most in need, the Government has provided funding of £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy and water.
Local Authorities also have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination for the fund. We encourage Authorities to consider how they may support a wide range of low-income households in need, including households with disabled people.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support low-income families by (a) improving access to opportunities for children to play and learn, and (b) enhancing financial independence and living standards.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Through our Opportunity Mission, this Government will break the link between a child’s background and their future success. We will deliver across four areas including helping every child to achieve and thrive through excellent teaching and high standards, with a focus on disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Worth over £2.9 billion in 2024/25, the pupil premium grant continues to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. Furthermore, all local authorities in England continue to deliver the Holiday and Activities Food programme, providing heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families throughout the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.
Poverty limits children’s opportunities and holds them back. The number of children living in poverty has gone up by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. This is why tackling child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish our child poverty strategy in Spring 2025.
As set out in the Taskforce’s publication of 23 October ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’ s our ambition is to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty this parliament, as part of a 10-year strategy for lasting change. To deliver this, we will look at all available levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, create 3,000 additional nurseries, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 to boost the pay of 3 million workers.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of compensating women impacted by changes to women's State Pension age in Leicester; and what steps she is taking to support the women impacted.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In their investigation into communication of changes to State Pension age, the Ombudsman did not examine changes to the State Pension age itself, they examined how the policy was communicated. So, we have done no such assessment.
We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their yearly State Pension rise by up to £1,900 over this parliament, through our commitment to the Triple Lock.
Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work or are on a low income but are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age.
The Government is also delivering a comprehensive package of support to help those aged 50 and over to remain in and return to work.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of child poverty in Leicester.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, and the Child Poverty Taskforce is working to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025. We published our framework ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy’ on 23 October and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.
The Strategy will look at policies across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
The Taskforce will hear directly from experts on each of the Strategy’s themes including children and families living in poverty and work with leading organisations, charities, and campaigners.
The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment to over £30 million to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, reducing the cap on UC deductions to 15%, further extending the Household Support Fund until 31 March 2026, and increasing the National Living Wage by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour boosting the pay of over 3m workers. Alongside this, we are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty. Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the two child benefit cap.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring how we can harness all available levers to reduce child poverty before publishing a strategy in Spring 2025.