Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to introduce a central job-matching platform for displaced workers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stands ready to support anyone affected with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.
This service is co-ordinated nationally by the Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, local training providers, Money Helper and the skills bodies in England.
These services are offered by equivalents in the devolved administrations. In Scotland this is delivered by PACE on behalf of the Scottish Government and in Wales by ReACT. Redundancy support in Northern Ireland is devolved with separate funding and delivery arrangements.
The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support veterans transitioning to civilian employment in the North East.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
All Service Leavers receive support in their transition to civilian employment, retirement or into education, including those located in the North East. This support is specifically designed to provide expert advice and access to the right resources and opportunities.
Support specifically aimed at helping veterans into civilian employment is provided by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). This includes tailored advice and guidance from career experts, support with CV writing, employment fairs, access to a job vacancy portal, recruitment open days, dedicated Employer Relationship Managers and training courses to upskill and qualify Service Leavers for their future careers across the United Kingdom.
For those more than two years post-service and looking to take the next step in their career, Op ASCEND connects veterans and their families with employers, supporting them into roles in strategic sectors. Op ASCEND has successfully engaged over 420 employers and has supported 4,600 veterans and family members since its commencement in 2024. CTP and Op ASCEND make up the spine of continuous employment support provided by the Ministry of Defence for Service leavers and veterans. Armed Forces Champions are also based across the UK’s JobCentre Plus network to help support members of the Armed Forces community into work.
The most recent statistics from the CTP (Jan-July 2025) reveal that over 88% of Service Leavers were in employment six months post discharge.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support rural childcare providers to recruit qualified staff.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change.
The latest early years census data reports a 7.2% increase in the number of workers between 2024/25, to 272,500 staff. This represents an increase of 18,200 workers, which is the biggest increase we’ve seen since the data became available in 2018.
We are supporting recruitment through our national ‘Do something BIG’ campaign, with a dedicated website setting out information on qualifications and linking to job vacancies, alongside financial incentives to attract and retain educators in areas of most need, including some rural areas. In addition, we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to promote and raise awareness of early years careers through the Jobcentre Plus network. We are working with local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities to create new routes into the workforce through skills bootcamps and funding early years initial teacher training, while our delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, is supporting local authorities and providers with one-to-one targeted support, including in rural areas.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with early years providers to help tackle early years staffing shortages in areas identified as childcare deserts.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change.
We are supporting recruitment through our national ‘Do something BIG’ campaign, with a dedicated website setting out information on qualifications and linking to job vacancies, alongside financial incentives to attract and retain educators in areas of most need.
In addition, we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to promote and raise awareness of early years careers through the Jobcentre Plus network. We are creating new routes into the workforce through Skills Bootcamps and funding early years initial teacher training, while our delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, is supporting local authorities and providers with one-to-one targeted support.
These efforts are starting have an impact, with staff numbers increasing by over 18,000 between 2024 and 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that Jobcentre Plus services meet the needs of disabled refugees.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
DWP works with partners and services to meet the needs of disabled refugees. This includes working with Migrant Help, the Refugee Employment Network; Home Office refugee liaison officers; referring to alternative provisions including English language provision; and sign posting to the Home Office Refugee Employability Programme.
The Department is committed to promoting a just, equal, and inclusive society, ensuring independence and control for all customers, including disabled individuals and those with complex needs.
DWP provides a range of support to help refugees and those on Afghan and Ukraine Schemes to settle in the community and find work, including access to mainstream Jobcentre services which provide individually tailored benefit and work support.
Jobcentres also work locally with partners and employers to support this group into work. Connect to Work, part of the Government’s Get Britain Working strategy, will provide support to disabled people, people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment, including refugees and those on resettlement schemes, to get into work.
The Government is dedicated to championing the rights of disabled people and involving them in designing our reforms. All new Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisors receive training to support all claimants, with specialist support available from Disability Employment Advisers to tailor assistance for disabled customers. These advisers also offer direct support to those with long-term health conditions needing bespoke assistance
In addition, the Department will launch a new coaching academy to enhance the skills of Work Coaches and provide further support to customers, including those with disabilities. This initiative will be evaluated and reviewed regularly to ensure training remains relevant and effective.
Additional Work Coach Support provides disabled people and people with health conditions, with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into work. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales. This personalised support from Work Coaches aims to enable disabled people to access employment, wider support including our employment programmes earlier.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 merits of expanding Jobcentre access to people not in receipt of benefits.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain 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. The new Jobs and Careers Service will offer employment and careers support for all - not just those on benefits - who want support to find or progress in work.
Supporting our 'Get Britian Working' agenda, we have funded several measures to help unemployed people not in receipt of benefits to find employment:
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support unemployed people not in receipt of benefits to find employment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain 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. The new Jobs and Careers Service will offer employment and careers support for all – not just those on benefits - who want support to find or progress in work.
Supporting our ‘Get Britian Working’ agenda, we have funded several measures to help unemployed people not in receipt of benefits to find employment:
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support people on universal credit into work in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As announced in the 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 are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. The new service will be available for anyone who wants to look for work, to increase their earnings or to change their career or retrain. It will be responsive to local employers, inclusive for all customers and will work closely in partnership with local services to tackle the challenges associated with local labour markets.
In Fylde, our Jobcentre teams work closely with the Local Authority as well as local employers and partners to offer a range of employment opportunities for our customers. Tailored support is available for different customer groups to offer the right support needed. An example is referring our younger customers to Fylde Focus which gives 16-24 year olds a bespoke one to one service to improve their employability skills. Across Lancashire, including Fylde, our Work Coaches utilise their appointments to identify the right provision for our customers. Employer Advisers and Disability Employment Advisers engage with employers and partners to bring our Jobcentres Sector-based Work Academy Programmes, 50+ MOT’s, Job Fairs, employability building courses and more. An example is a recent employability event which took place in St Annes, which helped individuals look at taking the first or next step in their career and employment journey. The event offered tailored careers advice, CV/interview support and access to local training and job opportunities.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing veteran aware training for jobcentre plus staff.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Armed Forces Champions (AFCs) are available within each Jobcentre district, providing specialist support to veterans. They will have completed the full work coach learning and had the opportunity to embed their learning prior to becoming an Armed Forces Champion, and they are provided with point of need learning which covers the knowledge and skills to provide tailored support for armed forces leavers, including signposting to specialist organisations and charities.
As part of the Armed Forces Covenant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiatives which help current and former Armed Forces personnel and their families. This includes the role of the Armed Forces Champion in every Jobcentre. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.
All Jobcentre Plus staff new to DWP receive mandatory learning to support customers which includes learning for armed forces leavers. The learning provides an overview of armed forces leavers and assists colleagues in understanding what help is available to them, their spouse/partner when resettling into civilian life.
DWP Work Coaches receive comprehensive learning to support vulnerable customers. Their learning journey includes a module on armed forces leavers.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase employment opportunities for university graduates.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of the Get Britain Working package, the government is investing £240 million to trial new ways of getting people into work. The government will test new approaches and collect robust evidence on how to tackle the root causes of ill-health related inactivity, support young people who are not in education, employment or training, and help people to develop their careers.
Jobcentre Plus is fully equipped to offer advice to anyone who is looking for work, regardless of their background, profession or occupation. It offers comprehensive services including, job search advice, skills advice, CV and job applications support, help with retraining, and access to the thousands of new vacancies posted daily.
In addition to general support, Jobcentre Plus provides a range of tailored opportunities to improve individuals’ likelihood of entering or re-entering the labour market. This includes demand-led training for higher skilled jobs in specific sectors.
Jobcentre Plus provides guidance and good practice ideas to help individuals to direct their job search in the most effective manner. Jobcentres work closely with several organisations to support graduates to secure employment. Our strong network of partnerships with external training providers, universities and colleges enhances the support available. We have also improved online signposting for graduates, managers and professionals looking to use our services.