Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.
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. These statistics can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-9-october-2025.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of unemployment in the West Midlands.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The ONS publish headline indicators for the West Midlands here: HI05 Regional labour market: headline indicators for the West Midlands - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 83834, with reference to his Department’s decision to withdraw funding for Level 7 apprenticeships from January 2026, what evidence from Skills England informed the conclusion that there would be no significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills; whether that evidence will be published.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government's decision on defunding Level 7 apprenticeships, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan, including a summary of the evidence that informed that decision, is published here: Written Statements - Hansard - UK Parliament.
This includes Skills England’s engagement with over 700 stakeholders including representatives from various sectors, employer representative bodies, and young people.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 83834, what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care on the potential impact on NHS workforce (a) recruitment and (b) retention; and how many (i) current and (ii) planned Level 7 nursing apprenticeships are expected to be affected by the withdrawal of funding.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department continues to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), to support apprenticeships and skills provision. The DHSC has confirmed that it will fund the ongoing provision of level 7 apprenticeships in five professions including Specialist community public health nurse, District nurse and Advanced clinical practitioner.
The department continues to fund level 7 apprenticeships for young people under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan.
The government completed an equality impact assessment ahead of making its decision on the changes to level 7 apprenticeship funding.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 83834, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) short and (b) medium term impact of this policy on the number of nurses in training between 2026 and 2030; whether an equality impact assessment has been undertaken.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department continues to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), to support apprenticeships and skills provision. The DHSC has confirmed that it will fund the ongoing provision of level 7 apprenticeships in five professions including Specialist community public health nurse, District nurse and Advanced clinical practitioner.
The department continues to fund level 7 apprenticeships for young people under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan.
The government completed an equality impact assessment ahead of making its decision on the changes to level 7 apprenticeship funding.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the West Midlands Combined Authority on increasing the availability of apprenticeships in the West Midlands.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Officials meet regularly with combined authorities to discuss post-16 skills including apprenticeships. Recent discussions with West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) skills leads have included the newly introduced foundation apprenticeships and led to a subsequent session with training providers in the WMCA to explain foundation apprenticeships and their potential benefits for local young learners.
Similarly, Skills England meets Mayoral Combined Authorities, including the WMCA, on a regular basis to discuss how to address a wide range of skills challenges, the promotion of growth, and simplifying access to skills opportunities.
The government also facilitates the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network of employers and apprentices which works closely in all regions, including the WMCA area, to promote apprenticeships across the region.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 potential impact of reducing levels of funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on the number of nurses in training.
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.
The government therefore wants to ensure that public funding is prioritised towards those at the start of their working lives, rather than those already in work with higher levels of prior learning and qualifications.
That is why 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, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan.
This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including analysis by Skills England of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including other government departments such as the Department of Health and Social Care. Skills England evidence also suggested that there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding.
The department also continues to work across government to tackle the skills needs of different sectors, including addressing the skills gaps in the health and social care industry which were identified in Skills England’s first report on driving growth and widening opportunities.
There is a complete apprentice pathway for nursing, from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice. A person can join the NHS as an entry level Healthcare Assistant apprentice with a view to eventually qualifying as a Registered Nurse.
In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care will be funding ongoing provision of Level 7 apprenticeships in five professions, including Specialist community public health nurse (SCPHN) and District nurse (Community Specialist Practice Qualification).
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the number of people who are providing unpaid care for a relative or loved one in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP does not hold data on the number of people who are providing unpaid care for a relative or loved ones in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 removal of Winter Fuel Payments on older residents in (a) urban, (b) rural, (c) northern and (d) southern areas.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Winter Fuel Payment statistics are published annually, for the previous winter, and cover parliamentary constituencies, Local Authority areas, regional breakdowns, and international payments, amongst other things. The next release of annual Winter Fuel Payment statistics covering winter 2024 to 2025 will be published on 16 September 2025.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43065 on Pension Credit, if she will make an assessment of the accuracy of her Department’s impact assessment on the decision to remove the winter fuel payment.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, an Equality Analysis was produced and considered as part of the ministerial decision-making process. This was published on 13 September and is available online: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK . The Department will continue to monitor outcomes for pensioners.