Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her oral contribution of 12 May 2025, Official Report, column 2, what assessment she has made of the potential value of the review being completed before changes to eligibility for Personal Independence Payments come into force.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As I stated in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, Official Report, column 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after the comprehensive review of the PIP assessment which I am leading to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.
We are committed to co-producing this review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. The review is expected to conclude in Autumn 2026.
Over the summer we will engage widely with stakeholders to design the process for the work of the review and consider how it can best be co-produced to ensure that expertise from a range of different perspectives is drawn upon.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has a target for narrowing the disability employment gap.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap as part of an ambition to raise the overall employment rate to 80%. The Government has published a set of key indicators, including the disability employment rate gap, which is monitored regularly to assess progress and identify influencing factors.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 disability employment gap in (a) Bournemouth and (b) the South West.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The disability employment gap is monitored and published in the official statistics release The employment of disabled people 2024 - GOV.UK in data tables LMS008, LMS009 and LMS010. This includes statistics on the South West region, parliamentary constituencies Bournemouth East, Bournemouth West and local authority area Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
The disability employment gap for 2020 to 2022 was 23.6 percentage points for the South West, 23.8 percentage points for Bournemouth East, and 35.2 percentage points in Bournemouth West. This compares to the UK wide disability employment gap of 27.4 percentage points for 2020 to 2022. This is the latest period for which reliable data is available.
Estimates below national level are based on smaller sample sizes and should therefore be used with caution.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her oral contribution of 12 May 2025, Official Report, column 2, whether the Personal Independent Payment assessments review will include (a) equality and (b) employment law experts.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have launched a review of the PIP assessment, which I am leading. Through the review, we want to make sure the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future in a changing world and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence.
The review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders, to ensure that a range of views and voices are heard.
I have now spoken to a range of stakeholders to gather views on how best to approach the review. Proposed Terms of Reference have been published. I will engage widely over the summer to design the process for the work of the review, including to ensure that expertise from a range of different perspectives is drawn upon.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 long-term mental health conditions starting in childhood on employment rates amongst those young people.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
DfE published statistics estimated that in 2024 over 1 in 6 young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) had a mental health condition compared with 1 in 13 in 20122.
As part of our mission driven Government, regular cross-Government collaboration takes place at both Ministerial and official level. The Government has an ambitious goal of an 80% employment rate: we do not want to just support people who are closest to the labour market nearer towards it, but focus on the people who, and the places that are, furthest away from the labour market. A crucial part of this is improving the support that we offer to those with mental health conditions. Current measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell.
Building on our WorkWell, Employment Advisers in Talking Therapies and Connect to Work programmes, we will ensure people with a health condition have access to the holistic support they need. In the Government’s Pathways to Work green paper, we further committed to developing a support guarantee, so that disabled people and those with a health condition, including those with mental health conditions get the work, health and skills support they need to access and thrive in employment. We will further pilot the integration of employment advisers and work coaches into the neighbourhood health service, so that working age people with long term health conditions have an integrated public service offer. A patient’s employment goals will be part of care plans, to support more joined up service provision.
1 Is work good for your health and well-being? An independent review - GOV.UK
2 NEET age 16 to 24, Calendar year 2024 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential impact of early years support on long-term mental health barriers to employment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
DfE published statistics estimated that in 2024 over 1 in 6 young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) had a mental health condition compared with 1 in 13 in 20122.
As part of our mission driven Government, regular cross-Government collaboration takes place at both Ministerial and official level. The Government has an ambitious goal of an 80% employment rate: we do not want to just support people who are closest to the labour market nearer towards it, but focus on the people who, and the places that are, furthest away from the labour market. A crucial part of this is improving the support that we offer to those with mental health conditions. Current measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell.
Building on our WorkWell, Employment Advisers in Talking Therapies and Connect to Work programmes, we will ensure people with a health condition have access to the holistic support they need. In the Government’s Pathways to Work green paper, we further committed to developing a support guarantee, so that disabled people and those with a health condition, including those with mental health conditions get the work, health and skills support they need to access and thrive in employment. We will further pilot the integration of employment advisers and work coaches into the neighbourhood health service, so that working age people with long term health conditions have an integrated public service offer. A patient’s employment goals will be part of care plans, to support more joined up service provision.
1 Is work good for your health and well-being? An independent review - GOV.UK
2 NEET age 16 to 24, Calendar year 2024 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 adequacy of the eligibility for the Funeral Expenses Payment of unmarried partners.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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 and has taken responsibility for the funeral.
A partner (married, unmarried or in a civil partnership) or immediately family member (adult child or parent) can make a claim for FEP. Where there is no partner or immediate family member, a close relative or friend may also be eligible for FEP.
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.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to help people with mental health conditions to (a) enter employment and (b) increase their hours.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions have the opportunity to work and save for as long as they wish and are able to.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals, including people with mental health conditions, to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants and the Work and Health Programme, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.
Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.
As part of the get Britain working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.
People on low, or no income or earnings who have a health condition or disability which restricts the amount of work they can do, can claim UC and are referred for a work capability assessment (WCA). The WCA is a functional assessment which assesses what a customer can do as well as what they cannot do.
A healthcare professional provides the outcome of the assessment to a DWP Decision Maker, who, using the evidence available, determines if the customer:
Where it has been decided that customers have LCW or LCWRA, they will be entitled to a work allowance, and in couple claims where one is working, access to help with childcare costs. Those customers that have been determined to have LCWRA may be entitled to the award of an additional amount of benefit – the LCWRA addition – which is £416.19 per month (2024-25 rates).
Universal Credit provides incentives for workless households to take up jobs, including at a low number of hours per week. Part-time jobs could be important in helping individuals who have spent long periods in unemployment take steps into the labour market. To strengthen incentives to move into work and progress in work, UC withdraws support at a steady rate allowing customers to see their income increase and their Universal Credit award is reduced by less than they are earning. Although their Universal Credit award reduces, they will still benefit from their income.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 36 of the report entitled Universal Credit Conditionality Changes & the Impact on Single Parent Families, published by Single Parents Rights, in March 2024, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that work coach meetings meet the needs of single parents.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Work Coaches work with all customers, including lead carers to provide tailored advice on a range of opportunities to improve their likelihood of entering or re-entering the labour market, including training for skilled jobs in specific sectors.
As previously announced, we are planning fundamental reforms to the employment system to support more people to get into and to get on in work.
Proposed reforms include:
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 the 30-hour work requirements introduced in October 2023 on the standard of living of single parents.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the 30-hour work requirements, introduced in October 2023, on the standard of living of single parents.
However, we promised concrete actions in our manifesto to support children and families which is why we announced our ministerial taskforce on the 17th July, jointly chaired by the Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, to begin work on an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy. The Taskforce will publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025 and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.