Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to (a) introduce increased support and incentives for businesses that recruit and train apprentices, (b) help employers to meet the costs of apprenticeship provision and (c) expand opportunities for young people.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking total additional investment into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
We are transforming the Apprenticeships Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships and give employers greater flexibility to develop the workforce they need to grow and succeed.
To support non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) to meet the additional costs associated with employing young people as apprentices, we are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 when they take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees.
Additionally, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible young people aged under 25 from the start of the next academic year, to boost small business starts. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care.
The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises over 3,000 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England, including in Sussex, through nine regional networks. These networks provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent to which the additional funding for apprentices aged under 25 offsets changes in the level of (a) employer National Insurance contributions, (b) the National Minimum Wage and (c) employment regulation.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking total additional investment into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
We are transforming the Apprenticeships Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, give employers greater flexibility to develop the workforce they need, and support the industrial strategy.
We are providing considerable financial support to employers, particularly smaller employers who play such a vital role in creating apprenticeship opportunities for young people. Employers of all sizes are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
We are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 for non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months will also be eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant from June 2026.
Additionally, the government provides £1,000 to both employers, of all sizes, and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) or have been, or are, in care.
These payments can be stacked together where the employer and/or apprentice are eligible.
In addition, from August 2026, we will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has modelled the potential impact of recent changes in employment costs on trends in the level of apprenticeship recruitment by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking total additional investment into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
We are transforming the Apprenticeships Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, give employers greater flexibility to develop the workforce they need, and support the industrial strategy.
We are providing considerable financial support to employers, particularly smaller employers who play such a vital role in creating apprenticeship opportunities for young people. Employers of all sizes are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
We are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 for non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months will also be eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant from June 2026.
Additionally, the government provides £1,000 to both employers, of all sizes, and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) or have been, or are, in care.
These payments can be stacked together where the employer and/or apprentice are eligible.
In addition, from August 2026, we will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of funding apprenticeship training for under-22s in SMEs on apprenticeship starts prior to announcing an expansion to under-25s.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employers who do not pay the levy, typically SMEs, are vital to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.
That is why from the next academic year, we will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding for young people. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21, and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
To further support non-levy paying employers with the additional costs associated with employing young people, we are also introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 when they take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees.
These changes are part of our plan to deliver 50,000 more apprenticeship opportunities for young people and are supported by £1bn of additional investment over the next three years.
In addition, we provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.
The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises around 3,000 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks which provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his department has made an assessment of the potential merits of delivering the Synergy payroll service in-house.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bringing Business Process Services in-house was considered as part of the 2020/21 delivery options assessment for Synergy, which concluded that maintaining an outsourced model offered the best value for money.
Cabinet Office and Treasury controls on civil service headcount were a key consideration, as full insourcing would have required over 1,600 additional FTEs.
The assessment also reflected the existing outsourced shared services model, the availability of a mature supplier market, and the Strategy’s requirement to separate technology delivery from transaction service delivery.
Synergy is, however, establishing an in-house Shared Services Hub to manage end-to-end service delivery, partner contracts, and continuous improvement.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to tackle illegal gasworks on private properties.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for gas businesses and engineers (including self- employed gas engineers) who work in private properties. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) requires engineers undertaking gas work to be competent, registered with Gas Safe Register (GSR), to work in accordance with the appropriate standards and in a way that does not put people in danger.
HSE regulate this in private properties through enforcement powers set under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Enforcement powers available to regulators include prosecution, prohibition notices and improvement notices.
GSR also has a dedicated team to investigate allegations of gas work by unregistered engineers and businesses (illegal gas fitters) and provides HSE with evidence of these activities. In addition to this, GSR publishes a range of gas safety information and guidance on its website and regularly runs media campaigns to promote key gas safety messages to the public.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment (PIP) claimants are included in the Transform Decision Making pilot, expressed as both a percentage and number.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is running a small-scale trial of a transformed decision making approach within the Health Transformation Programme's new Health Assessment Service, and we will evaluate the impacts. The initial phase of testing involved around 1% of PIP assessments from 16 March 2026. From 1 June 2026, we began a second phase of testing with around 4% of PIP assessments nationally. We expect the second phase of the test to involve approximately 2,800 to 3,300 PIP customers per month.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason applications for Access to Work from self-employed customers are not being allocated for processing until over 18 months from the date of receipt; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of delays on disabled applicants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Delays in allocating Access to Work applications for self‑employed customers are due to high demand and the additional complexity of these cases, which often require further evidence such as tax and income details.
The Department recognises the impact of these delays, particularly for disabled applicants without employer support. To address this, steps have been taken to recruit additional staff to clear the backlog and improve processing times: Huge recruitment boost to tackle backlog in vital disability work scheme - GOV.UK.
Priority is given to customers starting work within four weeks and to those renewing awards, to minimise disruption to employment.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 reduce the number of benefit claimants experiencing deductions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Deductions from Universal Credit help support customers to manage debts by paying the creditor directly from their benefit, for instance paying rent arrears to ensure the customer does not face eviction. The most effective way to reduce reliance on deductions is to prevent arrears and debt in the first place, including by supporting people to increase their household income through work.
To support those with deductions, on 30 April 2025, the Fair Repayment Rate was implemented. This policy reduced the overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer’s Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance, enabling approximately 1.2 million UC households to retain more of their award, on average, £420 a year or £35 per month.
DWP is committed to supporting those who may be struggling with their repayment terms. Customers who feel they cannot afford the proposed repayment terms are encouraged to contact the DWP, so we can understand their circumstances and agree an affordable and sustainable repayment plan.
Asked by: Lorraine Beavers (Labour - Blackpool North and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to develop the Access to Work Scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in the Written Statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 19 May (HCWS34), to increase the efficiency and reduce waiting times for the scheme we will recruit an additional 480 case staff to process the higher volume of applications. When recruitment is complete, we will have more than twice as many staff working on Access to Work as in March 2024. The recruitment process has already begun, and new case managers will receive extensive training to handle complex applications with confidence. This will ensure disabled people, and people with health conditions can receive timely support to secure and sustain employment.
We also welcome the National Audit Office’s report on AtW and are carefully considering its recommendations. In addition to this, we have consulted and collaborated widely with disabled people along with employers and representative bodies to gather evidence. These insights will help inform our work and shape any changes to Access to Work.
We will also draw on the outcomes of the Green Paper consultation and the Collaboration Committees to inform and help shape the future direction of Access to Work.
The announcement delivered on 19 May set out our commitment to deliver an AtW that is timely, efficient, and can meet new levels of demand. It will help to restore confidence in the capability of the Scheme to award the right support at the right time and sets a pathway towards further improvements.