Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has conducted quantitative analysis into the potential causes of increases in claims for Personal Independence Payment into shares attributable to (a) underlying ill health, (b) financial incentives and (c) other personal or behavioural factors; and whether such analysis includes a comparison with the rate of increase in economic inactivity due to long-term sickness or disability over the same period.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not conducted quantitative analysis exactly as described; however, we do regularly monitor potential drivers of new claims demand for PIP and how this compares with changes in disability prevalence in the population. It is likely that both health-related and behaviour-related factors have been important contributory factors in the rising number of claims for PIP, as well as changes in the population, with demand for PIP accelerating since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A number of health-related factors may have contributed to these increases, including: higher prevalence and recognition of health conditions, particularly mental health and neurodiverse conditions; the direct health impacts of the COVID-19 virus; indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns on physical health (through reduced activity) and mental health (through reduced social interaction and increased anxiety); impacts of subsequent labour market changes and cost of living pressures on health; and increases in NHS waiting times.
In addition, a number of behavioural factors are also likely to have contributed to higher numbers claiming incapacity and disability benefits, including: cost of living pressures; greater awareness of disability benefits (in part due to cost of living); longer waits for NHS treatment; economically inactive people being more likely to report long-term illness or disability as their main reason for inactivity; and incentives in the benefit system that can encourage people to claim health-related benefits.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the recovery of the film and TV industry since the strikes in 2023.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The current market is very challenging for the film and TV sector, including broadcasters and independent producers, but we have high ambitions for the industry and are already taking steps to incentivise production activity.
We have brought in a 5% tax relief uplift for UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV, confirmed the 40% business rates relief for film studios until 2034, and brought in the 53% independent film tax relief to support British filmmakers. This is in addition to our existing audio-visual tax reliefs; our investment in infrastructure; and investing £7 million to continue the UK Global Screen Fund for 2025/26.
Film and High End TV production spend in the UK reached £5.6 billion in 2024. Whilst this was down on the peak of £6.3bn in 2022 when post-Covid demand was surging, it shows a promising level of recovery following the US Guild strikes of 2023 when spend dipped to £4.3bn. https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/official-bfi-statistics-2024
As part of the government’s Industrial Strategy, eight ‘growth-driving’ sectors have been identified, including the Creative Industries. DCMS will produce a Creative Industries Sector Plan, which will be published in late spring alongside the Industrial Strategy and aligned to the Spending Review. Film and TV are sub-sectors of the Creative Industries with strong growth potential and therefore will be a focus in the forthcoming Sector Plan which will inform next steps for the sector and its sustainability for the coming years.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeframe is for the chronic fatigue syndrome delivery plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have listened to key myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), stakeholders to allow for more time to develop the plan, to help ensure we can be as ambitious as possible and make the most impact for those living with ME/CFS. As such, we aim to publish the plan by the end of June 2025.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
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 changes to the uptake of Carer’s Allowance as a result of proposed tightening of PIP eligibility criteria on (a) rates of poverty among carers, (b) carers’ labour market participation and (c) levels of demand for public services.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has yet been conducted.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming the daily living part of Personal Independence Payment scored fewer than four points in each of the daily living activities (a) by sex, (b) by age, (c) by ethnicity and (d) in total.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
The Department does not hold data on the ethnicity of all PIP claimants on its computer systems, since it is not required for the administration of benefit. Information on the ethnicity of PIP claimants is available from the Family Resources Survey: financial year 2023 to 2024 (Table 2.10), but this cannot be related to PIP point scores.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming Carer’s Allowance are caring for a person who scores fewer than four points for each individual descriptor in the daily living part of Personal Independence Payment (a) by sex, (b) by ethnicity and (c) in total.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
The Department does not hold data on the ethnicity of all PIP claimants on its computer systems, since it is not required for the administration of benefit. Information on the ethnicity of PIP claimants is available from the Family Resources Survey: financial year 2023 to 2024 (Table 2.10), but this cannot be related to PIP point scores.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
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 potential implications for her Department's data on the gender pensions gap in private pensions of the ONS's latest release of the Wealth and Assets Survey, published on 24 January 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is committed to both monitoring and narrowing the Gender Pension Gap and we are currently exploring the latest Wealth and Asset survey, provided by the ONS, with the aim of publishing an update on the Gender Pension Gap publication in due course.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome document entitled Provisional local government finance settlement 2025 to 2026 consultation: summary of responses, published 3 February 2025, for how long will the multi-year settlements from financial year 2026-27 last.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is pursuing a comprehensive set of reforms for public services to return the local government sector to a sustainable position. We know that the sector has long called for long-term certainty on its budgets. That is why the government is committed to providing a multi-year funding settlement starting in 2026-27. This will be the first multi-year settlement since 2016 and will provide local authorities with the certainty they need to focus on their priorities. The timings of the Local Government Finance Settlement are bound by the Spending Review cycle. We will set out further information in due course after the conclusion of the Spending Review on 11 June 2025.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of future funding allocations to NHS eating disorder services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding for eating-disorder services has increased each year, from £46.7 million in 2017/18 to a planned spend of £101 million in 2024/25.
The Government is committed to ensure that those living with eating disorders are given the support they need, including by recruiting an extra 8,500 new mental health workers across child and adult mental health services to cut waiting times and ensure people can access treatment and support earlier.
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) pay and (b) other conditions of teaching assistants in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Teaching assistants play a vital role in children’s education.
Most school support staff, including teaching assistants, are currently employed on National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services pay and conditions. The NJC is a negotiating body made up of representatives from trade unions and local government employers. Local government employees covered by the NJC for local government services pay and conditions were offered a flat cash uplift of £1,290 from 1 April 2024. In October 2024 an agreement was reached on the 2024/25 pay award for these employees, which covers the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
This government values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce, which is why the department is reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) through the Employment Rights Bill, introduced in Parliament on 10 October 2024.
The SSSNB will mean that employers and employee representatives come together to negotiate terms and conditions, and pay for school support staff, to ensure that support staff are properly recognised and rewarded for the work they do. The SSSNB will also be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook and advising on suitable training and career progression routes that recognise the varied and vital roles support staff undertake.
The SSSNB will give a voice to support staff, who make up roughly half of the school workforce, but are currently employed on terms and conditions negotiated by a wider framework for local government employees rather than a school specific body.
It will help address the recruitment and retention challenges state-funded schools are facing for support staff. This in turn will support work to drive high and rising standards in schools and ensure we give children the best possible life chances.