Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
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 Aviation Industry Skills Industry Board on the value of ongoing funding during the transition from Apprenticeship Level to the Growth and Skills Levy for Level 3+ Leadership and Management Apprenticeship Standard Apprenticeships.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Skills is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The Department for Transport regularly attends Aviation Industry Skills Board meetings, where they provide government updates alongside colleagues from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education and Skills England. Skills England recently discussed the Growth and Skills levy with this group and government will continue to engage as we deliver this reform.
From September 2026, we will withdraw funding from 16 existing apprenticeship standards. Three of these are generic leadership and management apprenticeships, which have grown significantly but are predominantly used as continuing professional development for established staff aged 25 and over.
The changes to streamline the apprenticeship offer will help to create headroom to invest in opportunities for young people. Over the past 10 years, apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen sharply. Starts for 16–24-year-olds have declined by 40%, and over half of all apprenticeship starts are now by learners aged over 25, many of which are at higher levels. To support our ambition of 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, we are expanding foundation apprenticeships into hospitality and retail, introducing an incentive of up to £2,000 for SMEs that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees, and launching a new level 2 administrative assistant apprenticeship for young people.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
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 changes to eligibility to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships from 1 January 2026 on workforce development in public services, including the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member for North Durham to the answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 88252.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
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 changes to eligibility to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships from 1 January 2026 on regional inequality (a) in County Durham and (b) England.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member for North Durham to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57823.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence his Department used to inform its decision to amend eligibility to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships from 1 January 2026; and if she will publish that evidence.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member for North Durham to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57823.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the past year what has the average time been for the Child Maintenance Service to obtain a verified address for a paying parent once a caseworker identifies that one is missing; and what processes are in place to minimise delays where child maintenance arrears are accruing.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to ensuring parents meet their financial obligations to their children. Where a paying parent fails to take responsibility for paying their child maintenance and cannot be traced, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will take immediate action and do everything within its powers to trace the paying parent. In addition to information provided by parents, CMS undertakes a series of trace checks to verify the paying parent’s address. These checks draw on several approved information sources, including; cross government databases, real time information from HM Revenue & Customs, credit reference agencies, employers and Local Authorities.
The CMS have a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those parents who consistently refuse to meet or evade their obligations to provide financial support to their children. We are committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families to ensure compliance.
The statistical information requested in not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Child Maintenance Service takes to (a) verify and (b) obtain up‑to‑date addresses for paying parents in cases where enforcement action cannot proceed due to the absence of a confirmed address.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to ensuring parents meet their financial obligations to their children. Where a paying parent fails to take responsibility for paying their child maintenance and cannot be traced, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will take immediate action and do everything within its powers to trace the paying parent. In addition to information provided by parents, CMS undertakes a series of trace checks to verify the paying parent’s address. These checks draw on several approved information sources, including; cross government databases, real time information from HM Revenue & Customs, credit reference agencies, employers and Local Authorities.
The CMS have a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those parents who consistently refuse to meet or evade their obligations to provide financial support to their children. We are committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families to ensure compliance.
The statistical information requested in not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to provide bereavement support to families grieving loved ones that passed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bereavement Support Payment provides support during the acute period following a bereavement by way of an initial lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly instalments. It supports families though the immediate period of grief, including those who sadly lost loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic. Where longer-term financial support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been specifically designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs. The Government keeps eligibility of all benefits under review.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what percentage of the new style Employment and Support Allowance applications were for the primary condition of poor mental health in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Initial ESA Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) by date of decision:
| January 2023 - December 2023 | January 2024 - December 2024 | January 2025 - September 2025 | |||
| Volume | Percentage | Volume | Percentage | Volume | Percentage |
ESA WCAs with main disabling condition 'mental and behavioural disorders' | 19,260 | 23% | 18,210 | 24% | 11,040 | 23% |
ESA WCAs with main disabling condition other than 'mental and behavioural disorders' | 63,350 | 77% | 57,850 | 76% | 37,320 | 77% |
Total | 82,610 | 100% | 76,060 | 100% | 48,360 | 100% |
* Data is taken from Stat-Xplore. Volumes have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding and the disclosure control applied.
* The latest available data is for September 2025. Therefore, the 2025 volumes do not cover the entire year and are not comparable to the 2023 or 2024 volumes.
* New Style ESA applications and Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) are distinct processes, and condition is centrally collated only once a WCA has been completed. Not all applications proceed to a WCA, and the primary health condition as per the International Classification of Diseases (2010) classification (ICD10) used in official statistics is captured at the WCA stage rather than on the application form. As a result, the only robust data source for health condition is WCA data. The figures include WCAs for means-tested ESA as well as new style, contributory ESA, but the great majority will be for new style ESA
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many presenting officers they employ in the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions employs a total of 177.6 (FTE) Presenting Officers.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases in the last three years involved child maintenance payments being incorrectly refunded to the paying parent due to clerical error; and what steps the Department is taking to reduce such errors.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not readily available and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) works to ensure cases are kept up to date and payments are processed accurately, with controls in place to minimise incorrect refunds. The introduction of the View Parent Finances screen further improves clarity and compliance by giving caseworkers a clearer, simplified view of complex financial information.