Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason a non-metropolitan county council in England is defined as exempt accommodation under housing benefit regulation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Housing Benefit regulations contain a landlord definition used to determine whether supported housing and supported living qualifies as specified accommodation. Non-metropolitan county councils in England were included in the definition because these authorities were the only ones who did not administer Housing Benefit.
We continue to keep this under review and are considering ways in which this definition could be improved as we progress work with MHCLG to implement the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act. Any future decision on whether the definition should be changed will be considered in the context of the Government’s missions, including Local Government Reorganisation, as well as goals on housing and the financial environment.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pension, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the levels of gender disparities in the unemployment rate.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mel Stride (Conservative - Central Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to reduce the maximum UC deduction rate on a) public sector net borrowing, b) public sector net debt, c) public sector net cash requirement, d) annually managed expenditure and e) total managed expenditure in each financial year for which data are available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce regional disparities in the women’s employment rate.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many UK exports of highly hazardous substances listed in Parts II and III of GB Prior Informed Consent Regulation are exported using the waiver from explicit consent from the importing country; and what estimate his Department has made of the number of exports permissible under changes to Article 14 Chemicals (Health and Safety)(Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information about waivers used in the past five years under the Great Britain (GB) Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulations is in the table provided below:
Year | Exports notified | Waivers used for export |
2025 | 962 | 12 (1.2% of exports notified) |
2024 | 853 | 24 (2.8% of exports notified) |
2023 | 914 | 21 (2.3% of exports notified) |
2022 | 919 | 22 (2.4% of exports notified) |
2021 | 1017 | 25 (2.5% of exports notified) |
Prior to 2021, and so during the time when the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union, waivers were issued by the European Commission.
The current waiver provision in the GB PIC Regulations applies hazard criteria to the use of the waiver for those chemicals that are listed under the Rotterdam Convention (i.e., those chemicals listed in Part 3 of the GB PIC list). This goes beyond what the Convention requires and potentially creates a barrier to the export of a chemical that falls within these criteria when the importing country fails to respond to repeated requests for consent to import.
In order to facilitate regulatory decision-making, harmonise conditions, and create greater clarity for businesses, the draft Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 includes an amendment to Article 14(7) in the GB PIC Regulations. This will ensure the same waiver conditions apply to all chemicals that require explicit/prior informed consent to import.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary for Work and Pensions, with reference to the ONS document Female unemployment rate (aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted): %, published on 21 April 2026, what steps he is taking to tackle the increase in female unemployment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of the number of mobility points scored by Personal Independence Payment claimants by primary health condition of the claimant.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to introduce alternative methods of calculating the minimum income floor for self-employed people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has committed to reviewing Universal Credit. I have spoken to many stakeholders on many different parts of UC, including how the system supports self-employed customers. We have engaged extensively with stakeholders, frontline staff and customers, including a large-scale survey of nearly 10,000 Universal Credit customers.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will review the Access to Work Scheme renewal process for existing claimants who have already evidenced their needs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
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 effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in ensuring its processes remain gender‑neutral, particularly in relation to evidential requirements where people liable to pay maintenance are more frequently required to provide documentary evidence than the receiving parent.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.