Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Independent - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of foodbank use by (a) working age and (b) pension age people in Poole constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on food bank use by working-age and pension-age people are published annually in the Households below average income statistics report. The most recent publication is available here: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK
National and England regional breakdowns should be calculated using three-year rolling aver-ages via Stat-Xplore. Due to small sample sizes, it is not possible to produce estimates of food bank use at the constituency level, including for Poole.
We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food support landscape.
To further support struggling households, we are providing £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England until 31 March 2026, enabling local authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food.
Starting from 1 April 2026, we have announced a further £842 million a year (£1 billion including Barnett consequential) to reform crisis support with the new Crisis and Resilience Fund, supporting our wider mission to reduce child poverty by reducing dependence on food parcels, preventing homelessness and making sure people can access urgent support when they need it.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussion his Department is having with relevant stakeholders to support small and medium businesses in providing apprenticeship schemes in rural areas.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.
The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) is a group of nearly 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provides buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices. The North-East Region of the AAN is actively engaging with SMEs across the region and is working closely with regional stakeholders to provide support to small businesses.
In addition, through Skills England the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provide the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working closely with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure provision reflects real labour market demand.
To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England holds regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It has a dedicated SME sponsor on its Board, and the Skills England executive team is committed to meeting SMEs across the country to ensure smaller firms have a permanent voice in the design of the skills system.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate how the target of 80 percent employment will be supported via the co-ordination of (i) employment support and (ii) skills services.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Get Britain Working strategy set out plans to increase participation and progression in the workforce by transforming Jobcentre Plus into the Jobs & Careers Service, introducing a new Youth Guarantee, and increasing activity to tackle health and disability related inactivity, including through the new Pathways to Work guarantee set out in the March Green Paper.
Coordination of employment support and skills services is key to delivering these plans and meeting the Government’s long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. The Get Britain Working White Paper set the blueprint for joined up work, health and skills services to tackle inactivity at a local level and built on national models such as the Sector Based Work Academy Programmes, which help employers with their workforce needs by upskilling benefit claimants to fill local job vacancies, and Skills Bootcamps for sector-specific training.
We have published our Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper which includes plans to address priority skills gaps and reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training through joined up employment and skills support. We have also brought adult skills into the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to maximise the opportunities of aligning employment and skills support, with the Minister for Skills retaining oversight of skills across DWP and DfE.
We will report on our progress towards reaching our 80% employment rate ambition through a range of metrics annually. Our first report was released in April 2025 with the first update planned for next year. We will measure our success through the following metrics:
DWP published its Evidence and Evaluation Strategy in July 2025 Evidence and Evaluation Strategy 2025 - GOV.UK', with Goal 1 covering how DWP will evaluate its labour market agenda. The strategy details both current and planned research and evaluation activities.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department is having with relevant stakeholders to support small and medium businesses in rural areas provide apprenticeship schemes in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships; they provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.
The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) is a group of nearly 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of the apprenticeship programme. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provides buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices. The North-East Region of the AAN is actively engaging with SMEs across the region and is working closely with regional stakeholders to provide support to small businesses.
In addition, through Skills England the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provide the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working closely with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure provision reflects real labour market demand.
To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England holds regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer bodies, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It has a dedicated SME sponsor on its Board, and the Skills England executive team is committed to meeting SMEs across the country to ensure smaller firms have a permanent voice in the design of the skills system.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of foundation apprenticeships on levels of sectoral skills in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
New foundation apprenticeships will give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills.
Foundation apprenticeships will also support employers in key sectors to meet their current and future skills needs by developing new opportunities to engage with younger employees and build pipelines of talent.
The first seven foundation apprenticeships, which launched in August, focused on industrial strategy and priority areas - construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing, health and social care, and digital.
The department is working with Skills England to explore which other sectors and occupations would be most suitable for foundation apprenticeships. Further detail will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of benefits claimants who require translation support during appointments; and at what cost to the public purse.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not hold data on the number of individual claimants who require interpreter support.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help support women affected by increases in State Pension age in South Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government believes the best way to support women who will be affected by the rise in State Pension Age is to help them to retrain, return to or progress in work.
DWP currently offers employment support for eligible women of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. A dedicated offer for older customers seeks to provide tailored support for those affected by low confidence, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications.
Through initiatives like Midlife MOT reviews, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK, and online, we support older women to assess their health, finances and skills to support effective later life planning. As part of the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Government is also committed to supporting women experiencing menopause to stay in work.
In South Shropshire, Employer and Partnership Teams in Jobcentres work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers including women.
The Government is reforming employment support to ensure it helps everyone who needs it, including women affected by the increase in State Pension age. By bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service in England, there is an opportunity to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support young people into employment, education or training in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department of Work and Pensions Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are claiming Universal Credit. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.
The Chancellor has announced that the Youth Guarantee, currently being developed, will include a jobs guarantee, where every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work. Participants of the scheme will receive support to take advantage of available opportunities, with the aim of helping them transition into regular employment. Further details, including eligibility criteria and the structure of placements, will be confirmed at the Budget following further engagement including with employers and the Devolved Governments.
Newcastle-Under-Lyme work with alongside local stakeholders to support young people such as local authorities, colleges and universities as well as organisations such as The Kings Trust, Shaping Futures, YMCA, and New Avenues.
Staffordshire has much of the offer of Newcastle-Under-Lyme plus working with Shropshire Youth Support Trust, Acorn Training and Landau who is part of the YES (Youth Employment Skills) programme supporting all 16 to 24-year-olds across Stoke on Trent that are Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET), about to become NEET or long term Unemployed or Economically inactive. There is also support from The Mencap Training Academy for 16 to 24-year-olds, who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to help to secure a place on the supported internships or pre-internship programme in Staffordshire.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to visit the job centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Ministers regularly visit job centres across the country and look forward to continuing to do so.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available to help small hospitality businesses engage with (a) apprenticeship and (b) training schemes.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are a number of apprenticeships available to support employers of all sizes in the hospitality sector to benefit from and develop the skilled workforces they need.
The government has reduced the apprenticeship minimum duration to 8 months so that shorter apprenticeships are possible from August 2025. Employers in the hospitality sector will be able to make use of this flexibility where this is appropriate for the role or the apprentice.
To support apprenticeships in small and medium-sized enterprises the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been, or are, in local authority care.
In addition, the government is delivering a hospitality Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) pilot, launched in partnership with UKHospitality. This pilot is being rolled out to 26 new areas in need of jobs and opportunity. These SWAPs support participants to gain accreditation for a digital Hospitality Skills Passport which is designed to provide proof that a person is qualified to perform their job effectively and safely, giving them a universal entry standard into the sector.
Apprenticeship starts within the Hospitality and Catering sector can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/649e785b-9332-4f3c-f886-08de0724494a