Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 setting the age limit for funding of level 7 apprenticeships at 22 years old.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Apprenticeship starts by young people under 25 fell by almost 40% over the last decade.
From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, or those aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan or have been in local authority care. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people and create more opportunities for those entering the labour market, who need skills and training to get on in their careers.
This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England did not find a strong enough economic rationale to exempt any level 7 apprenticeship standards from defunding. While level 7 apprenticeships can be a valuable route for some disadvantaged learners, a significant proportion are from non-deprived backgrounds and are significantly less likely to be deprived than apprentices at lower levels.
Level 7 generally has a higher proportion of older learners than other apprenticeships, particularly the senior leader apprenticeship (where 99% are over 25) and standards with an embedded postgraduate qualification. Skills England also suggested that de-funding would be unlikely to lead to a significant fall in the supply of these skills in the long term.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people currently claiming Carer’s Allowance who would be expected to lose their allowance due to the proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of claimants losing their Carer’s Allowance as a result of her Department's proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments on local authorities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, this Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House regarding the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.
In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that we are going to remove clause 5 from the Bill in Committee. (Hansard, 1 July, col 219)
Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, led by me and co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the Personal Independent Payment on (a) carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and (b) people receiving care from carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of working people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) who will be forced to leave work if they cease to receive PIP.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has been made. The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost, as it would require a bespoke survey of claimants.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the White Paper entitled Get Britain Working, published on 26 November 2024, what steps she plans to take to engage with disabled people in the development of the new jobs and careers service.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced in the recent Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. We will embed the principles of accessibility and inclusivity into the design of the new service and through the entire user journey, recognising that people have different support needs.
As part of the Get Britain Working White Paper reforms, we have committed to establishing a panel to consult disabled people, ensuring that their voices are at the heart of the design and delivery.
The National Careers Service website contains a range of information for people with disabilities, including advice on job support for people with disabilities. All disabled people can access careers information and advice through the National Careers Service webchat, telephone helpline and website. People with disabilities are part of a priority group for the Service and can also access in-depth face-to-face support from locally based careers advisers. National Careers Service community-based contractors work with a range of organisations, including specialist providers, to reach customers who are furthest from the labour market, including disabled people.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Get Britain Working White Paper, what steps she plans to take to ensure that disabled people can access specialist careers advice.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced in the recent Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. We will embed the principles of accessibility and inclusivity into the design of the new service and through the entire user journey, recognising that people have different support needs.
As part of the Get Britain Working White Paper reforms, we have committed to establishing a panel to consult disabled people, ensuring that their voices are at the heart of the design and delivery.
The National Careers Service website contains a range of information for people with disabilities, including advice on job support for people with disabilities. All disabled people can access careers information and advice through the National Careers Service webchat, telephone helpline and website. People with disabilities are part of a priority group for the Service and can also access in-depth face-to-face support from locally based careers advisers. National Careers Service community-based contractors work with a range of organisations, including specialist providers, to reach customers who are furthest from the labour market, including disabled people.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Get Britain Working White Paper, what steps she plans to take to ensure that (a) work coaches and (b) disability employment advisors understand the barriers to employment faced by disabled people.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to working with disabled people to design our reforms.
The Get Britain Working White Paper announced that DWP will establish a panel to consult disabled people as part of our wider efforts to ensure that the views and voices of disabled people are at the heart of the design and delivery of the reforms set out in the White Paper.
We will incorporate any changes identified by implementing the Get Britian Working White Paper into the new entrant learning journey and provide relevant learning products to support existing Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers if required.
The Department will also launch a new coaching academy. This initiative will seek to build on our existing work coach offer and will provide further upskilling for colleagues to support customers to overcome barriers, making full use of the Jobcentre offer and wider support in our communities.
All new Work Coaches and Disability Employments Advisors currently receive the necessary training and development to enable them to support all our claimants.
The Department continually impacts, reviews and evaluates the training and development of Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisors to ensure they have the most relevant training and skills to support disabled people.
In addition to this Work coaches receive specialist support from Disability Employment Advisers on how to tailor their support to help disabled customers move closer or into the labour market. Disability Employment Advisers can also offer “direct support” to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions where additional bespoke support would benefit the customer.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what qualifications are required for the role of work coach within job centres.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Work Coaches are not required to hold any specific qualifications to undertake their role. They undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality, efficient service to all claimants. Work Coaches receive on-going learning in their roles and access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the financial criteria for eligibility for the Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme; and what was the average proportion of funeral costs that this scheme covered in the last 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) scheme provides an important contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by someone who is in receipt of certain income related benefits or tax credits.
The scheme meets the necessary costs of a burial or cremation in full and offers up to £1000 to meet other funeral expenses such as, the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees. In April 2020, we increased the maximum amount families can claim for these additional costs by 43%, from £700 to £1000, providing vital financial support to families grieving the loss of a loved one.
The average FEP award in 2020/21 was £1,838, while the average cost of a cremation was £3,765 and average cost for a burial funeral was £4,927. (Costs vary significantly by region).