theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_66

Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on proposals for a Dorset Clean Energy Supercluster. \p Sarah Jones: Regional growth is one of the three sub-objectives of our Industrial Strategy. The growth potential of clean energy innovation, supply chain scale-up, and deployment mean that there are opportunities across the whole UK.

The Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan, published as part of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy on 23rd June, introduces policies that will support industries such as offshore wind and nuclear to capitalise on growth opportunities across the country, including in the Southwest. Additionally, ministers have also engaged in discussions regarding strategic regional investment sites, including in the Southwest of England.

The Sector Plan outlines several national initiatives, including a £1 billion Clean Energy Supply Chains Fund, of which £300 million is dedicated to strengthening offshore wind supply chains; a £544 million Clean Industry Bonus for offshore wind, and the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator, offering grants to manufacturers. Furthermore, over £2.5 billion has been allocated to support Small Modular Reactors, with a further £2.5 billion committed to fusion energy over the next five years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Henry Tufnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of consumer choice in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government is always considering how to improve access to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to boost deployment and support more property owners to transition to low carbon heating.

On 30 April, the Government launched a consultation on potential changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, including proposals to support air-to-air heat pumps and alternative electric heating technologies such as heat batteries. The consultation closed on the 11 June, and a government response will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Sir Mark Hendrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) encourage the installation of heat pumps and (b) ensure that homes are properly insulated to support the effective operation of those heat pumps. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government is making is easier for households to install heat pumps. This includes increasing the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and amending Permitted Development Rights in England to give households greater flexibility to install a heat pump.

Our schemes such as the Warm Homes: Local Grant, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Energy Company Obligation provide support for energy efficiency measures and low carbon technologies like heat pumps.

The Warm Homes Plan (WHP) will focus on ensuring homes are more comfortable to live in and cheaper to heat. In many cases, that will mean improvements to the fabric of the building in order to maximise the bill savings and thermal comfort, alongside switching to low carbon heat. Further detail on the WHP will be announced by October.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the numbers of cadets in the combined Cadet Force since the 5 July 2024. \p Al Carns: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes annual accredited official statistics on the strength of MOD-sponsored Cadet Forces. The latest statistics can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-sponsored-cadet-forces-statistics-2025 and as at 1 April 2025, there were 50,350 cadets in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). A specific monthly figure for July 2024 is not published.

It should be noted that during this period, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) numbers have increased. CFAVs are the life blood of the Cadet Forces, without whom the cadet experience could not be enjoyed by thousands of young people across the country.

We want more young people to be able to gain the fantastic benefits of being cadets, and we are pleased that the Strategic Defence Review has recommended a significant growth in numbers. We will be growing both in the community and in schools by 30% by 2030. The increase of CFAVs will only support this expansion and further detail will come out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the proportion of first-time applications to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy that were successful in (a) 2024 and (b) the first six months of 2025. \p Luke Pollard: In 2024, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) received 27,491 applications to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme. Additionally the Department reviewed and confirmed the ineligible outcome of 1,070 principal applications where the applicant had requested a review. Of those applications reviewed, seven were overturned. These figures include first time, duplicate and additional principal applications. The MOD also made decisions on 7,046 principal first time applications, with 375 (5.3%) being found eligible.

From 1 January to 30 June 2025, the MOD received 17,625 principal applications. The Department reviewed the ineligible outcome of 91 principal applications where the applicant had requested a review. Of those applications reviewed, six were overturned. These figures include first time, duplicate and additional principal application. The MOD also made decisions on 3,579 principal first time applications, with 73 being found eligible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled UK to purchase F-35As and join NATO mission as Government steps up national security and delivers defence dividend, published on 24 June 2025, when his Department expects the RAF to have access to air-launched nuclear weapons to use in conjunction with F-35A aircraft. \p Maria Eagle: It is longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location. Accordingly, I will not comment on timeframes in which UK F35A aircraft will have access to US air-launched nuclear weapons.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 6 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, whether the £15bn investment in the sovereign warhead programme will solely cover the cost of developing the sovereign warhead. \p Maria Eagle: The £15 billion investment in the sovereign warhead programme this Parliament includes sustaining our existing stockpile, developing Astraea; our sovereign replacement warhead programme, and modernising our infrastructure. We will uphold our commitments as a responsible nuclear weapons state.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Strategic Defence Review 2025, whether he plans to locate a munitions factory in Northern Ireland. \p Maria Eagle: The Strategic Defence Review committed £1.5 billion investment for an "always on" pipeline for munitions and to build at least six new energetics and munitions factories in the UK. Feasibility studies are already underway to explore potential manufacturing sites across all four nations. Accordingly, the Ministry of Defence will work closely with cross-Government partners to identify locations for manufacturing sites.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to replace the Hawk T1 fleet used by the Red Arrows. \p Maria Eagle: The Strategic Defence Review recommended that the Hawk T1 and T2 be replaced with a cost-effective advanced jet trainer. The future platform of the Royal Air Force aerobatic team is being considered at the same time, and a programme team is being established to deliver that capability.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release entitled UK to purchase F-35As and join NATO mission as Government steps up national security and delivers defence dividend, published on 24 June 2025, whether he consulted the lead reviewers of the Strategic Defence Review on the decision to purchase F-35As. \p Maria Eagle: The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) recommended that, to ensure the RAF remains at the leading edge of combat air's evolution, additional F-35 aircraft will be required over the next decade. The SDR further stated that this could include a mix of F-35A and F-35B models, based on military requirements, to deliver greater operational flexibility and value for money.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release entitled UK to purchase F-35As and join NATO mission as Government steps up national security and delivers defence dividend, published on 24 June 2025, what the in service date is for the F-35A aircraft purchased. \p Maria Eagle: Negotiations with the Joint Programme Office to agree the contract and the schedule for order and delivery of the aircraft are ongoing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the additional cost is to the purchase of the 12 F-35A aircraft of specifying their air-to-air refuelling capability as probe-and-drogue. \p Maria Eagle: The procurement of 12 F-35A rather than 12 F-35B as part of the next procurement package is expected to deliver a saving of up to 25% per aircraft for the taxpayer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many claims have been made to the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme; and what steps he is taking to ensure all potential recipients are aware of the scheme before it closes in December 2026. \p Al Carns: As of 30 June 2025, the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) had received 1,099 formal applications, of which none had been rejected.

We have been prioritising payment to the elderly and those with serious health conditions to ensure they receive support as quickly as possible, with the first payments issued as planned within 15 weeks of the scheme going live to these prioritised groups. Some cases are more complex and require additional time due to the unique and individual circumstances involved.

To date, 81 payments have been made, comprising:

This means that 7.37% of claims have been successfully concluded.

The Scheme, introduced on 13 December 2024, with a budget of up to £75 million, aims to recognise the harm caused by the historic ban on LGBT personnel in the Armed Forces (1967–2000). Efforts are underway to accelerate processing times, including increasing resourcing, automating the payments system and increasing the frequency of Independent Panel sittings to two per week to ensure applications are reviewed and processed more swiftly.

Defence’s LGBT Restorative Action Team is working closely with external and internal Defence communications teams to deliver campaigns to drive awareness of, and encourage, eligible LGBT Veterans to claim under the FRS. Defence is also working with local councils, the NHS, LGBT and military charities, to better inform affected Veterans of the FRS and how to apply.

The LGBT Restorative Action Team also continues to engage with relevant Veterans networks, and customer facing teams, to ensure that eligible applicants of FRS receive the appropriate information, support, and guidance. To further support this effort, Defence has allocated £90,000 worth of grants to charities, including Fighting With Pride, to support Veterans with their FRS applications.

The Government encourages those affected by the Ban to visit Gov.UK for further information, guidance, and support on how to make an application: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterans-of-the-lgbt-ban-financial-recognition-scheme
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government press release entitled UK to purchase F-35As and join NATO mission as Government steps up national security and delivers defence dividend, published on 24 June 2025, what the total cost is of his Department's order to purchase 12 new F-35A fighter jets. \p Maria Eagle: The procurement of 12 F-35A rather than 12 F-35B is expected to deliver a saving of up to 25% per aircraft. Final prices will be identified during contract negotiation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many drones have been purchased by the British army for use in sport since 5 July 2024, by unit. \p Maria Eagle: Military or Army drones are designed for tactical and operational applications such as surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition and strike. Operation of these systems require assured Military Aviation Authority (MAA) training to ensure both their effectiveness on the battlefield and the safety of other air users.

Sports drones, or racing drones as they are commonly known, are used for competitive drone racing or freestyle flying. Designed and built for speed and agility they are commonly flown on closed circuits in controlled environments. Their utility in Defence is principally for development of skills and competency in the use of uncrewed systems.

The British Army Drone Sport Association (BADSA) is the Governing Body for drone sports in the British Army. Drones used for sport-related activity are separate to official Army drone capabilities and are purchased via a different procurement route, off the shelf.

The following table shows the type and number of sporting drones, by unit, purchased by the Joint Drone Academy (JDA).

Unit

Drone Type

Numbers

2nd Parachute Regiment

5” Racing Drones

14

Tiny Whoop Drones

7

3rd Parachute Regiment

5” Racing Drones

14

Tiny Whoop Drones

7

2nd Royal Gurkha Rifles

5” Racing Drones

10

Tiny Whoop Drones

5

1st Royal Irish Regiment

5” Racing Drones

10

Tiny Whoop Drones

5

2nd Ranger Regiment

5” Racing Drones

4

Tiny Whoop Drones

3

4th Ranger Regiment

5” Racing Drones

4

Tiny Whoop Drones

3

2nd Yorks Experimentation & Trials Group

5” Racing Drones

8

Tiny Whoop Drones

4

Combat Manoeuvre Centre & Uncrewed Air Systems Centre

5” Racing Drones

20

Tiny Whoop Drones

10

Additionally, some units have purchased drones for sport using unit funds which fall outside of the scope of the JDA.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of reservists received a tax free bounty in the last financial year. \p Al Carns: Of the Volunteer Reserve and High Readiness Reserve population for the Financial Year 2024-25, 46% were paid an Annual Bounty Payment.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of renewing the Air Tanker refuelling contract, in the context of the agreement to buy 12 F-35A jets. \p Maria Eagle: Future national air-to-air refuelling options will be considered as part of the Defence Investment Plan, and in subsequent force development work.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the electronic warfare equipment used by the armed forces. \p Maria Eagle: The UK Armed Forces have made, and continue to make, significant investments in advanced Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) capabilities to ensure operational effectiveness in modern combat scenarios. Training exercises routinely integrate EW systems to replicate real-world conditions, enabling personnel to develop critical skills in detecting, countering, and exploiting electromagnetic signals. The quality of such equipment reflects the UK's commitment to maintaining a technologically advanced and highly capable military force. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) have also conducted specific assessments and evaluations on behalf of the Ministry of Defence regarding the quality and performance of EW equipment utilised by the Services' during training exercises.

I am withholding information on the list of electronic warfare equipment used on the grounds of national security as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to increase mobile phone signal in barracks. \p Maria Eagle: The Strategic Defence Review sets out this Government’s commitment to enhancing the standard of Service Family Accommodation and Single Living Accommodation, which is essential for the morale and retention of Service personnel.

The Ministry of Defence (Defence Digital) has recently signed a new Mobile Device and Airtime Contract with BT. The main service provider under this contract is EE, with the option to use Vodafone as an alternative provider should mobile coverage prove poor with EE.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July to Question 64518 on Armed Forces: Housing, whether the Defence Housing Strategy will be published before the rise of the House on 22 July 2025. \p Al Carns: The Defence Housing Strategy will not be published before the rise of the House on 22 July 2025. However, it will be published later this year.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the uplift to the basic standard allowance of Universal Credit on the incomes of low income households in Bournemouth East constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The department does not have constituency level estimates of the forecasts available.

The latest published data on UC, in November 2024, shows that, in Bournemouth East, there were approximately 10,225 households on UC that were not subject to the benefit cap.

The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill was introduced to Parliament on 18 June 2025 and, subject to parliamentary approval, it will increase the Universal Credit Standard Allowance above inflation every year from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Based on current forecasts, the increase to the Standard Allowance in Universal Credit is estimated to be worth £725 a year by 2029/30 in cash terms for a single person aged 25 or over, which is around £250 more a year than if it were only uprated by inflation.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to promote timebanking in job centres. \p Alison McGovern: Our Get Britain Working plan aims to reduce economic inactivity levels and take the first steps to delivering our long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate. We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive, to succeed and flourish. Support includes identifying skills gaps and referral to skills training, careers advice, job search support, and volunteering opportunities. Work Coaches will work with customer to identify transferable skills relevant to the opportunities available. Our Employer and Partnership Teams work with employers and partners to bring vacancies and provisions closer to our customers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Child Maintenance Service’s approach to domestic abuse on the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls. \p Andrew Western: DWP is engaged in cross-government work to support the Home Office led Safer Streets Mission, which includes the ambition to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) within the next decade. DWP has a key role to play in halving VAWG.

We are committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely and have outlined in the consultation work the department is undertaking to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse to use the service safely.

The CMS have updated and refreshed DA learning, taking views and feedback from a roundtable held with external stakeholders in November 2023.

All caseworkers have received upskilling to help identify abuse and can provide signposting to support. A Domestic Abuse Plan is in place to support caseworkers having these conversations.

All colleagues (apart from those who joined and received Domestic Abuse Learning since April 2024) are undertaking refresher training. This is due to complete in summer 2025.

It is acknowledged that the current system can create opportunities for maintenance payments to be used as a tool of coercive behaviour and domestic abuse.

The changes to replace Direct Pay will represent a significant improvement to victims and survivors of domestic abuse using the CMS, by reducing contact with the other parent and reducing the paying parent’s ability to financially control the receiving parent by paying too little or too late, as is currently the case on Direct Pay.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she plans to take to ensure compliance from paying parents in receipt of benefits who are exempt from the 20 per cent non-compliance fee. \p Andrew Western: The CMS believes that all parents have an obligation to support their children regardless of their financial situation. The CMS is able to deduct £8.40 a week towards ongoing maintenance or arrears from certain prescribed benefits.

When a paying parent is in receipt of benefits, CMS will send a request to set up a Deduction from Benefit (DfB) to collect ongoing maintenance. This means that where benefit levels allow, maintenance will be paid.

The overall cap for Universal Credit (UC) deductions was reduced from the current 25% of the standard allowance to 15% from April 2025. Alongside this, child maintenance deductions moved higher up the priority order.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she is taking to prevent non-compliant paying parents from exploiting exemptions to the 20% non-compliance fee. \p Andrew Western: By replacing Direct Pay, we will tackle non-compliance, reduce opportunities for domestic abuse and lift children out of poverty.

As part of this, we will require all those parents who are non-compliant to pay a 20% collection fee. We do not envisage there being any exceptions to the fee for parents who refuse to pay what they owe.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to introduce legislation to implement the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025. \p Andrew Western: Primary legislation is required to make the change to remove Direct Pay and reform the collection fee structure, meaning these changes will be subject to detailed parliamentary scrutiny. Our intention is to implement these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based. \p Andrew Western: DWP has no employees who are temporarily working outside the UK.

The DWP policy does not permit overseas homeworking as per our Contractual Homeworking Policy.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62940 on Occupational Money Purchase Schemes, what steps she is taking to encourage awareness of collective defined contribution schemes by (a) employers and (b) employees. \p Torsten Bell: My officials and I have been engaging extensively with a range of stakeholders to produce the legislative framework needed to accommodate whole-life CDC schemes with multiple unconnected employers, including with numerous employers. Regulations to implement this will be brought forward in the autumn.

We have ensured that the Money and Pensions Service’s MoneyHelper guidance, which is available to any member of the public, provides information on CDC schemes.

The Government has also published ‘Workplace pensions: a roadmap’ which sets out plans to support the growth of CDC provision.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the annual saving to the public purse from not fully disregarding (a) War Pensions and (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments in the assessment of Pension Credit in the previous financial year. \p Torsten Bell: No formal assessment has been made on the annual saving to the public purse on not fully disregarding these payments.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58269 on Winter Fuel Payment: Rutland and Stamford, how many people will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment following the proposed changes in Rutland and Stamford constituency. \p Torsten Bell: It is not possible to provide an estimate of such figures at a constituency level.

I refer the member back to the answer of 16 June to Question 58269 for further detail on the national impact of the changes to the eligibility criteria.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what the eligibility criteria will be for the most complex domestic abuse cases under the specialist domestic abuse named caseworker service; and how she will assess the impact of those eligibility criteria on victim-survivors requiring access to that service. \p Andrew Western: The Government is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the help and support they need to use the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) safely.

The CMS has a Specialist Case team delivering targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging or complex domestic abuse. All caseworkers are trained to identify and refer appropriate cases within the Collect and Pay service to the team.

Customers who are potential victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be identified, and referred to the Specialist Case team in the following ways:

These steps ensure the safety and well-being of customers, addressing any indications of domestic abuse effectively. Eligibility criteria will be reviewed as intake increases and following awareness sessions due to take place over the next few months.

Cases remain with the Specialist Case team until closure. In cases where the victim-survivor advises that there is no longer ongoing domestic abuse, the case can be referred for removal with the guiding principle is that if there is any doubt about a customer’s safety, the case must remain in the Specialist Case team.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of working with economic abuse organisations to (a) develop and (b) deliver specialist training for Child Maintenance Service staff responsible for (i) identifying and (ii) supporting parents experiencing economic abuse. \p Andrew Western: This government is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of abuse get the help and support they need to use the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) safely. In our response to the consultation, we explained how the CMS has updated and refreshed domestic abuse training over the past 18 months to include economic abuse. We developed our training with customer representation groups, drawing on their expertise and experience, and will maintain an open dialogue as we plan our transition to the new service.

Our response also outlined our plans to remove Direct Pay. This will benefit victims and survivors of domestic abuse in a number of ways, such as by preventing unwanted contact between parents and removing an opportunity for perpetrators of economic control and coercion to use those behaviours in the context of the service. It also removes the need for the receiving parent to report non-compliance as is currently the case on Direct Pay, which some parents may not feel comfortable doing because of the risk of provoking retaliation.

The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, and a Domestic Abuse plan which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. The list of resources and Domestic Abuse Plan is regularly reviewed.

The CMS has a specialist team in place who deliver targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging and complex abuse.

The CMS reviews its domestic abuse training regularly with input from external stakeholders to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_98

Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she plans to take to ensure that forms of income not disclosed by paying parents are captured outside the proposed HMRC data-sharing pathways for automatic child maintenance calculations. \p Andrew Western: Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest tax year available. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately. Any income subject to income tax including bonuses and overtime received by an employed paying parent, is included within their gross weekly income when calculating a child maintenance liability.

The Government has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review will also consider the treatment of unearned income and assets within the automatic calculation. A consultation on the calculation will be published before the end of this year.

Unearned income and assets can still be captured through the current variation process up until changes are introduced.

Cases involving complex income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit. This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions (such as banks, investment companies and mortgage companies) to check the accuracy of information that the CMS is given. If any discrepancies are found, then they can implement a correct maintenance liability that is supported by CMS legislation.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_99
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_99

Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she is taking to improve enforcement of non-payment via Collect and Pay. \p Andrew Western: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring separated parents support their children financially, taking robust enforcement action against those who do not.

The CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children including deducting directly from earnings, bank accounts and forcing the sale of a property.

The Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 proposed regulations to support the introduction of administrative liability orders (ALOs), removing the requirement to obtain a court issued liability order. Introducing this process should enable the CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and get money to children more quickly. We are working with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to establish a process for implementing ALOs and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament by the end of this year.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_100
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_100

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle child poverty. \p Alison McGovern: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap.

These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_101
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_101

Anna Dixon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 56485 on Children: Maintenance, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of aligning the child maintenance responsibilities of those who receive the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit and people who receive comparable incomes through employment. \p Andrew Western: The child maintenance calculation is designed to be fair and proportionate and broadly represent an amount that the paying parent would spend on the child as if they were still living with them. The calculation takes the paying parent’s gross income into account – regardless of whether that income comes from earnings or benefits. Where a paying parent earns under £100 per week, or receives certain benefits including Universal Credit, they pay a flat rate of £7 per week. In those few instances where someone is eligible for the flat rate but has other income, that can be captured by means of a variation.

The Department has recently conducted a programme of strategic work to review the child maintenance calculation. The focus of the review is to explore options to update the calculation to reflect modern societal and economic changes, with the aim of making it fair, affordable and responsive to parents’ circumstances, but importantly, to avoid introducing complexities to the system. A consultation on proposed changes is planned for late 2025.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_102
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_102

Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Personal Independence Payment claimants with a primary condition of arthritis. \p Sir Stephen Timms: There were 471,358 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants with a primary medical condition of arthritis in April 2025. This information can be found on Stat Xplore in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ table. You can use the ‘Disability’ filter to select ‘osteoarthiritis’ and ‘inflammatory arthritis’ categories and the ‘Geography’ filter to select ‘DWP policy ownership’.

You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_103
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_103

Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish an equalities impact assessment of the proposed Personal Independence Payment reforms with specific reference to people with progressive neurological conditions. \p Sir Stephen Timms: As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, the Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House about the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.

In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that clause 5 would be removed from the Bill in Committee.

(Hansard, 1 July, col 219)

Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit which I shall lead, co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_104
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_104

Alex Ballinger:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Carer’s Allowance overpayments on individuals in receipt of the benefit; and what steps her Department is taking to support carers in receipt of overpayments. \p Sir Stephen Timms: This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by unpaid carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends with disabilities.

When we came into government, it became clear that there were far too many cases where hard-working carers had been left with large overpayments to be repaid, sometimes worth thousands of pounds. As a result, we commissioned an independent review of earnings-related overpayments of Carer’s Allowance to understand exactly what has gone wrong and make the necessary improvements needed. We expect to receive the report from the Independent Review shortly. We will then publish the report, and our initial response, as soon as is practicable thereafter. The review is not a substitute for legal proceedings, and the existence of the review does not prejudice any business-as-usual activity by DWP.

The government has not been treading water while waiting for the review. We have already taken steps to address the problem carers have been experiencing. For example, we have introduced the largest increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976. The earnings limit is now 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels and over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive Carer’s Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30.

We carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer to recover overpayments with safeguards in place to manage repayments fairly. Carers have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award. Support remains in place with DWP’s Debt Management Service who are available to speak to anyone who has had an overpayment about the terms of their repayment.

To help prevent overpayments building up in the first place, we want to make it as easy as possible for carers to tell us when something has changed in their life which could affect their Carer's Allowance. That is why we will continue to review and improve communications, including some trials during 2025, so customers are more aware of what changes they need to report and are regularly reminded to do so and in a way that suits them.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_105
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_105

Euan Stainbank:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the impact assessment on the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, published on 30 June 2025, how many of those moved into relative or absolute poverty are due solely to changes of the Universal Credit Health Element. \p Sir Stephen Timms: No assessment has been made on this basis. The Poverty Impact assessment published ahead of the Bill Committee Stage shows a 50,000 reduction in the number of people below the poverty line.
wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_106
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-10 conversation_106

Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63482 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations and with reference to her letter of 26 June 2025 on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, whether the announced exemption from reassessment for existing Personal Independence Payment claimants will also apply to the All Review claimants whose award is subject to a scheduled review or reassessment process at the time the exemption comes into force. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Government is committed to providing security and dignity for those who will never be able to work, and removing unnecessary stress, anxiety and uncertainty from the Social Security System. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill legislates to formally protect those with the most severe, lifelong health conditions, who meet the Severe Conditions Criteria, from being called for reassessments for their Universal Credit Health Element award. The Severe Conditions Criteria applies to customers in receipt of Universal Credit rather than those in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).