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, how their department can work with others across Government to ensure there are the right skills and workforce in place to support local authorities in developing careers in amenity horticulture and parks.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is working alongside sector-owning departments to ensure people have access to training to acquire the skills needed by employers, including Local Authorities.
Local agencies and local government are well placed to understand their local labour market, build connections with employers, and help knit together local services to address the barriers their citizens face to securing and succeeding in good work.
To achieve this, we are already delivering Local Get Britain Working plans in all areas of England. Led by local government and co-developed with local NHS, Jobcentre Plus and wider stakeholders, these plans will identify local labour market challenges/priorities and support the integration of locally-delivered services.
We know that a key part of unlocking local growth is ensuring that skills provision is matched to employer need at all skills levels. Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), overseen by Skills England, bring together employers, local leaders, colleges, universities and independent training providers to identify and address skills gaps from entry level to postgraduate qualifications. They are three-year Plans, with the second cycle now in development.
Your constituency is covered by the East Midlands LSIP. The designated Employer Representative Body is the Federation of Small Businesses, who are working closely with Skills England and the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA). This will ensure employer views continue to shape the LSIP whilst drawing on the deep local economic insight of EMCCA and its ability to influence and implement key interventions across priority local sectors.
Skills England have developed several occupational standards, apprenticeships and technical qualifications that support career development in horticulture, landscaping, parks management, and associated technical services. These span entry-level through to advanced management roles and include,
There are qualifications and Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQ) available that are developed and approved by Skills England based on the above occupational standards. These include the T Level in Agriculture, Land Management and Production, which has a specific occupational specialism in Ornamental and Environmental Horticulture and Landscaping, and a Higher Technical Qualification in Horticulture and Applied Science.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 support increased participation in apprenticeships among young people in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer that will give greater flexibility to employers and support young people, including those in Surrey, at the beginning of their careers.
In August, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.
More recently, we have announced an ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships and backed this with an additional £725 million of investment. This will enable us to expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people. It also provides £140 million to pilot new approaches, with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to better connect young people aged 16–24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.
In addition, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises) for all eligible people aged under 25. 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. 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.
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 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England, including in Surrey, through nine regional networks which provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Maintenance Service is meeting its internal target times for progressing cases and taking enforcement action.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to providing a modern and efficient service for all customers.
The CMS continues to strengthen its enforcement activity to ensure that parents meet their financial responsibilities. Where parents can afford to pay but do not, the CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers that it can and does use swiftly to influence a return to compliance.
Published statistics show a significant increase in compliance, with the proportion of paying parents who paid some maintenance rising from 64% in the quarter ending September 2022 to 74% in the quarter ending September 2025.
The published quarterly CMS statistics provide information on application clearances, change of circumstances clearances and Collect and Pay compliance, with the latest data available for quarter ending September 2025.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to help improve work incentives within the benefits system and reduce long-term economic inactivity.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the heart of our reforms is the principle that those who can work should work, but if you need help into work the government should support you, and those who can’t work should be supported to live with dignity.
We’ve recently published draft regulations on our Right to Try guarantee, which will give disabled people the confidence to try work and, in July, the Universal Credit Act provided for the first ever, sustained rise in the standard allowance of Universal Credit, benefitting millions of those on the lowest incomes. We have also introduced reforms through the Universal Credit Act 2025, to rebalance support within UC, to address perverse incentives and better encourage those who can work to enter or return to employment. We have also put in place the equivalent of over 1000 full-time Pathways to Work advisers, offering tailored support to support people into work across Britain and we have begun testing our new support conversation.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on introducing a new contributory benefit in Great Britain, provisionally called ‘Unemployment Insurance’ (UI). The introduction of UI would simplify the contributory system by removing the distinction between jobseekers and those considered unable to work
Introducing UI would also improve the income protection available to people who lose their job to give people the time and space to find the right job, while time-limiting that entitlement to create a strong incentive to return to the labour market.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how well prepared the UK transport sector is to combat espionage activity.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government takes its commitment to national security extremely seriously, including for the transport sector. The National Security Act 2023 overhauled previous espionage laws and created a suite of measures designed to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats.
The Department will continue to work with partners across government and industry to ensure the transport sector is an even harder target for those states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, making full use of the levers available to combat espionage and other state threat activity.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contingency measures the Government has in place for instances of major power outages impacting people’s ability to travel by (a) personal private car transport and (b) public transport.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.
The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made about the potential impact of power outages on the ability of people the travel, in the context of the transition to electric cars.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.
The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment they have made about the potential impact of power outages on public transport networks using electric vehicles.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review.
The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
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 adequacy of staffing levels and caseload pressures within the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As more customers apply to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) the demand for its service is increasing. To allow it to meet this demand and provide an efficient service, the CMS continuously reviews its resources and where to focus its efforts to get the greatest value for money and deliver the best service to customers.
The CMS reviews its overall resource supply and takes appropriate steps to ensure that staffing levels meet current demands. The service is currently resourced at a level appropriate to its operational demand, ensuring that support is directed to the teams and functions where it is most needed.
There is an ongoing recruitment campaign for 2026; this will ensure CMS continues to be resourced to meet current and future forecast demand.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the increase in haulage costs for transporting goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Hauliers play a very important role in supporting trade within the UK. The Government meets regularly with stakeholders involved in trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, such as representatives of the road haulage and wider logistics industry, including to understand cost pressures.
Hauliers transporting goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are supported by measures such as the extension of the 5 pence cut in fuel duty until the end of August 2026 and for Great Britain, discounts of up to £120,000 on new electric trucks are available thanks to an additional £18m to increase the Plug-in Truck Grant until the end of March 2026. Existing rates apply to Northern Ireland.