Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the geographic distribution of contributory Employment and Support Allowance recipients affected by the proposed changes; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the merger on regional equality.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we would be establishing a new, simple and clear Unemployment Insurance benefit through the reform of contributory working age benefits. Following recent consultation, officials are considering the responses and developing the policy for this new benefit, including the duration of entitlement.