theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Andy McDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the level of confidence of workforce unions in the School Teachers Pay Review Body process. \p Catherine McKinnell: Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

In making recommendations, the STRB consider a range of written and oral evidence from statutory consultees, including the department, employer representatives and unions. This year, that process has resulted in the government accepting the STRB‘s recommendation for a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools.

Combined with last year’s 5.5% award, this above-inflation pay award means school teachers will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.

The department has also brought in changes to encourage flexible working and to more fairly reward part-time teachers for taking on additional responsibilities.

Unions continue to engage positively with, and make valuable contributions towards, the pay round process. Unions involved with the process (including NEU, NASUWT, Community, NAHT, and ASCL) have published statements in response to the announcement, which are available on their websites.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of piloting a publicly funded (a) national and (b) regional supply teacher register for England. \p Catherine McKinnell: Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools across the country by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.

The department does not plan at this time to assess the potential merits of piloting a publicly funded national and regional supply teacher register. Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers and there are currently various approaches to providing supply teachers.

For example, local authority supply pools are one of the approaches to providing supply teachers and local authorities have the autonomy to decide whether to operate these supply teacher pools.

The department works closely with the Crown Commercial Service on supply teachers.
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Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's statutory guidance entitled Working Together to Safeguard Children, updated 8 May 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including adoptive parents. \p Janet Daby: The ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance is multi-agency guidance that sets out the help, support and protection available to all children and their families. Where the guidance refers to parents, this includes adoptive parents. The guidance was updated in 2023 with a focus on strengthening multi-agency working across the whole system of help, support and protection, maintaining a child focus within a whole family approach to help and support and embedding strong, effective multi-agency child protection practice.

The department is committed to reviewing the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ guidance every year. On 8 May 2025, we published an illustrated version of the guidance for children, young people and their families which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available for kinship carers in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Janet Daby: We are committed to providing the necessary support for kinship carers in all areas of England, including Fylde and Lancashire.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. In October 2024, we published the new kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities, which sets out the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families, including reaffirming the requirement to publish their local offer of support in a clear, accessible way.

In October 2024 the government also announced a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance in some local authorities in England, to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. Details of this announcement are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-protects-education-priorities-in-face-of-inherited-22-billion-blackhole.

This is the single biggest investment made by the government in kinship care to date. We will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course.

In addition, the National Kinship Care Ambassador advocates for kinship children, their carers, and their families across government. They work alongside all local authorities to help them improve their kinship practice and local policies, and ensure they are following national guidance.
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Josh Newbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the foster to adopt pathway for (a) adopted children and (b) the stability of adoptive placements. \p Janet Daby: Fostering to adopt, also known as early permanence, is a crucial way to offer children stability at a very early stage, preventing multiple moves in the care system. The department has provided funding of £250,000 in 2025/26 for Adoption England to promote this practice and it is encouraging that the number and proportion of early permanence placements has increased from 14% (400) in 2020/21 to 23% (676) in 2023/24. This is avoiding delays and minimising disruption for more children, allowing them to bond with their adoptive family at an earlier stage. Adoption England have also published national standards in this area. The purpose is to promote and shape effective early permanence practice in all adoption agencies across the country to ensure families receive a consistent and high-quality approach no matter where they live, and enable more children to benefit from early permanence placements.
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Alison Griffiths:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether she has had discussions with the Welsh Government on the potential economic impact of the proposed visitor levy on the economy in Wales. \p Dame Nia Griffith: The Welsh tourism sector is thriving; last year British residents took over 7 million overnight trips in Wales, spending more than £2billion.

Visitor levies are widely used abroad, and, if a visitor levy were introduced by all Welsh local authorities, it could raise up to £33million.

This money can be invested in local services and infrastructure to support tourism, helping to improve facilities like toilets, footpaths and beaches, which will benefit both visitors and local residents.
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Catherine Fookes:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing economic growth in Wales. \p Jo Stevens: Growth is the number one mission of this government. We are creating tens of thousands of jobs in every corner of Wales through our Freeports, Investment Zones, support for steelworkers, inward investments and our thriving green industries.

I have also established the Welsh Economic Growth Advisory Group, which brings together business, industry, university and trade union leaders to plan how we unleash Wales’s economic potential.
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Dr Lauren Sullivan:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on improving rail connectivity in Wales. \p Dame Nia Griffith: We are working with Welsh government on a range of shared priorities, which includes rail connectivity.

We are investing an historic £445 million into Welsh rail to right years’ of underfunding by previous governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.

This will mean new stations, enable more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we’re creating across Wales.
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Josh MacAlister:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the steel industry in Wales. \p Jo Stevens: Welsh steel has a bright future under this government. Our improved deal with Tata Steel UK has delivered £1.3 billion investment and protected over 5,000 jobs.

We have committed a further £2.5 billion for steel over the course of this Parliament with our Steel Strategy due to be announced soon.

Steel communities are the heart of Wales. I have allocated over £70 million Transition Board funding to help people, businesses and communities with retraining, business support and growth, and regeneration.
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Christine Jardine:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve transport links between Wales and the rest of the UK. \p Jo Stevens: We are investing an historic £445 million into Welsh rail to right years’ of underfunding by previous governments and unleash Wales’ economic potential.

This new investment will improve transport links, including for Padeswood on the Borderlands Line through Wrexham, and between Cardiff and Bristol.

This will mean new stations, enable more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales, connecting people with the new, well-paid jobs we’re creating across Wales.

This announcement also includes providing £48 million over four years to the Welsh Government to continue to upgrade the Core Valleys Lines.
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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on family farms in Wales. \p Dame Nia Griffith: The Government is steadfastly committed to family farms in Wales. That is why we protected the farm budget at its current level and allocated £337 million to the Welsh Government at the Autumn Budget.

Furthermore, at the UK-EU Summit on the 19th of May, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would deliver a new agri-food deal with the European Union. This will make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cut costs and red tape for Welsh producers and retailers, and help keep prices down and increase choice in the shops.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 51543 on Universal Credit: Fylde, how many Universal Credit claimants in Fylde constituency have contacted her Department's debt management team to discuss the repayment rate for overpayments since 30 April 2025. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The department does not hold this aggregate data at constituency level.

We strive to set affordable, and sustainable repayment plans and encourage customers to make contact if they are unable to afford the proposed repayment rate.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 51543 on Universal Credit: Fylde, what support measures there are for vulnerable Universal Credit claimants affected by the new repayment rates for overpayments in Fylde constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: DWP are committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and strive to set affordable, and sustainable repayment plans and encourage customers to make contact if they are unable to afford the proposed repayment rate.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the new jobs and careers service will work with employers to help tackle ageism in (a) recruitment and (b) the workplace. \p Alison McGovern: The Government acknowledges the key role employers play in helping older individuals to remain in or re-enter the workforce, and the importance of embracing policies conductive to this support. The 2010 Equality Act provides strong protection against direct and indirect age discrimination in employment, rendering it unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees or job applicants based on age.

We know that work helps everyone, including older people, play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. That is why we are reforming employment support to ensure it helps everyone who needs it. This includes creating a Jobs and Careers service that will enable everyone, regardless of age, to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings.

We have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent “Keep Britain Working” review as a part of the plan to Get Britain Working again. In recognition of employer's vital role, his review is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence, and recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions. This includes the perspectives of older people themselves, as well as engaging with the Centre for Ageing Better.

My Department also continues to engage with employers to ensure their recruitment practises attract and support the retention of older people. This includes making businesses aware of good practice and encouraging employers to sign the Age-Friendly employer pledge.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people in their (a) 50s and (b) 60s are included in the design of its new digital employment support offer. \p Alison McGovern: As part of our reforms announced in the Get Britain Working, we set out our plans to reform Jobcentre Plus and create a new service across Great Britain. We secured £55m at the Autumn Budget to take forward the first steps of building, testing and trialling the new service in 2025/26, including the development of a modern digital offer where people can access support through the channels that best meet their needs.

The new service must work for everyone, and we are committed to working with all users, including older individuals, on the new service, and organisations representing their needs, throughout the design process.
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Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to ensure employers provide the correct PPE for workers who work (a) directly and (b) indirectly with welding fume since the categorisation of welding fume as carcinogenic by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect data on the numbers of people directly or indirectly exposed to welding fume.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ending conditionality through sanctioning in relation to social security. \p Alison McGovern: The Department has made no assessment on ending conditionality through sanctioning.

It is right that there should be conditions and consequences to labour market support. We will continue to ensure that claimants who need support receive it and consider how to best tailor this support to their individual needs.
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Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to help ensure standardisation across all industrial sectors for protective equipment for workers who work (a) directly and (b) indirectly with welding fume since the categorisation of welding fume as carcinogenic by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published guidance on Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) which specifies RPE types, filters and standards to be used at work, Respiratory protective equipment at work: A practical guide HSG53

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require that businesses risk assess exposure to hazardous substances like welding fume and ensure that appropriate RPE is selected, where required.

Industry sectors and businesses may have different RPE requirements, depending on the type of welding and the work environment.

To assist them in their selection the COSHH Essentials Welding Sheet WL3 gives welders guidance on the appropriate types of mask and grade of filters, suitable for welding, Welding fume control (hse.gov.uk).

HSE conducts regular inspection campaigns targeting the industries where welding is prevalent. Part of the inspection is to check that welders have the appropriate RPE where required.

HSE works with industry stakeholders to promote the guidance and improve safety in welding.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what methods her Department uses to calculate the minimum amount of social security that a person can live off. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 the Secretary of State is required by law to review State Pension and benefit rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. We have uprated benefit rates for 2025/26 in line with inflation, with 5.7 million Universal Credit households forecast to gain by an average of £150 annually.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we recently announced that we will improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of people.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential impact of the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 29 May 2025, on disabled people's finances. \p Sir Stephen Timms: This Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions and our mission-driven approach relies on regular cross-government collaboration. We are working across government to take forward the proposals in the Green Paper and will continue to do so as the package is developed in detail. I will continue to engage closely with my Ministerial colleagues and other stakeholders throughout the consultation period and beyond.

We have published information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper here [Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK]. This includes an equality analysis, which examines a range of protected characteristics. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
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Graeme Downie:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the need for amputee veterans to undertake capability assessments every two years. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Government has not proposed to introduce two year assessments for any specific group.

Currently, Work Capability Assessment re-assessments are prioritised for customers on Employment and Support Allowance and the health element of Universal Credit who report a change in their health condition. Routine department-led reassessments are scheduled according to expected prognosis length for recovery and subject to available assessment capacity.

Individuals who have Limited Capability for Work- and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA), with the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function means that they will always have LCWRA and are unlikely ever to be able to move into work, are not routinely reassessed.

Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, which is why we will continue to ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to prevent business owners from closing their business following serious workplace safety incidents. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for workplace health and safety. HSE has no powers to compel businesses to continue to operate following serious workplace safety incidents.
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Darren Paffey:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will change the ownership arrangements for equipment funded through the Access to Work scheme to allow disabled employees to retain their assistive technology when they change or leave employment. \p Sir Stephen Timms: In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which is consulting on the future of Access to Work. We are also considering the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption.

We will review all aspects of the Scheme following the conclusion of the consultation on the 30th June and encourage people to have their views and voices heard on how they think the programme and the welfare system could be improved.
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Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it his policy to collect data on the number of workers who work (a) directly and (b) indirectly with welding fume who have received diagnosis of (i) nasal, (ii) septum, (iii) throat, (iv) stomach, (v) bowel, (vi) kidney, (vii) liver, (viii) lung and (ix) bladder cancer. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for collection of data of workplace injury and illness. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provides the national reporting framework for responsible persons (usually employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises) to report certain cases of injury, diseases and specified dangerous occurrences to the relevant Enforcing Authority (HSE or Local Authority). Regulation 9 of RIDDOR requires the responsible person to report a diagnosis of any cancer attributed to an occupational exposure to a known human carcinogen in their current job.

When reporting, the responsible person must provide details on the affected person's occupation or job title and a description of the work that led to the disease. This would capture whether the person is a welder and/or carries out welding as part of their job. There is also the option to report the specific type of cancer being diagnosed.

HSE also collects data on occupational cancers through the Health and Occupational Reporting (THOR) network. This includes:

Where available, occupational information such as job title may be recorded, potentially identifying welders.

However, welders may also be exposed to other carcinogens, such as asbestos, during their work so it is difficult to directly link a diagnosis of cancer specifically to exposure to welding fumes.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Local Housing Allowance rates in meeting private rental costs in Epsom and Ewell constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed annually, usually at an Autumn fiscal event. Rates are set based on the area of the country a person lives and their bedroom entitlement.

The decision to maintain LHA rates at current levels for 2025/26 was taken after a range of factors were considered, including rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, rate increases in April 2024 and the wider fiscal context. The April 2024 one-year LHA increase cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25, and approximately £7bn over 5 years.

Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the challenging fiscal context.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with (a) less than two children and (b) more than two children receive both the (i) Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity payment and (i) Universal Credit in Fylde constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Official statistics for the number of people on Universal Credit are published each month on Stat-Xplore, with breakdowns available by various geographies including Westminster Parliamentary Constituency. The latest statistics are available to March 2025.

Official statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit are published every three months on Stat-Xplore, with breakdowns available by various geographies including Westminster Parliamentary Constituency. In addition breakdowns are available by the number of children and the different UC elements, including the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity payment. The latest statistics are available to November 2024.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access general guidance on how to extract the information required. For guidance on the Universal Credit datasets on Stat-Xplore, see the Universal Credit Official Statistics Stat-Xplore User Guide.
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Richard Baker:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will estimate the number of workers exposed (a) directly and (b) indirectly to welding fume since it was categorised as carcinogenic by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect data on the numbers of people directly or indirectly exposed to welding fume.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Easements from RSRS deductions allow for the provision of an additional bedroom to support the needs of disabled people and families of disabled children such as where members of the household are unable to share a bedroom or where overnight care is required from a non-resident carer where they meet the qualifying criteria.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.

The information requested on how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

All DWP policies are kept under review and all decisions are taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the challenging fiscal context. Data on number of people subject to RSRS is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including an increase in employment among people aged 50–59 and 60–66 as a distinct intermediate outcome metric in the Get Britain Working framework. \p Alison McGovern: A key outcome in our Get Britain Working outcome metrics framework is our ambition to raise the country’s employment rate to 80%. To achieve this ambition, we will need to improve employment across a range of groups of the population, including people aged 50 and over.

The outcomes framework intermediate outcome metrics monitor progress of the effect of policies announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper that provide extra support for specific groups of people - for example young people; people with health conditions and disabled people.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people who are in receipt of the Universal Credit health element who were not also in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment daily living component prior to the Work Capability Assessment being abolished will automatically lose their entitlement to the Universal Credit health element once the Work Capability Assessment is abolished. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Our Pathways to Work Green Paper set out why we are scrapping the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). We want to end the binary categorisation of groups and labelling as either ‘can or can’t work’. Instead, any extra financial support for health conditions in UC will be assessed via a single assessment – the PIP assessment – and be based on whether someone is receiving any Daily Living award in PIP, not on capacity to work. This will de-couple access to the health element in from work status, so people can be confident that the act of taking steps towards and into employment will not put their benefit entitlement at risk.

We are considering how any change of this kind could affect individuals who currently meet limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) criteria due to non-functional special circumstances; for example, those affected by cancer treatment, people with short term conditions that get better, women with a high-risk pregnancy and those currently classed as having substantial risk. Individuals in these categories may not be eligible for PIP, and therefore the UC health element, in the reformed system.

In the reformed system these groups will still be eligible for UC and for the proposed new higher rate Unemployment Insurance if they meet relevant eligibility criteria. Individuals who are nearing the end of their life with 12 months or less to live will continue to be able to access PIP through the existing fast track route (Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) to ensure we protect those who are nearing the end of their life, irrespective of the duration of their illness.

Further details on these changes will be set out in a White Paper in the Autumn.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is for her Department to respond to Mandatory Reconsideration requests. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The median mandatory reconsideration (MR) clearance times have been provided for Universal Credit (UC), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessment (WCA) benefit decisions. To provide information across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.

Median clearance times have been provided as the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases.

Universal Credit

The median clearance time for UC MRs cleared in the 2024/25 financial year was 33 calendar days.

Notes:

Personal Independence Payment

PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. They can be found by accessing the latest release and opening the excel tables. Tables 4A – 4Biii contain information on PIP MR clearance times.

Employment Support Allowance

ESA WCA MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. They can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of stay-at-home mothers in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England who claimed Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000 and may have missed out on receiving a full State Pension due to missing Home Responsibilities Protection or National Insurance credits. \p Torsten Bell: The Department estimates in total there are around 210,000 people with State Pension underpayments due to missing Home Responsibilities Protection on their National Insurance record DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 (HTML) - GOV.UK.

Geographical breakdowns are not available.
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Helen Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of households in receipt of Personal Independence Payments in Dulwich and West Norwood constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is an individual-based benefit and therefore DWP does not hold household-level information on its administrative systems. However, some limited household-level information is available on the DWP’s Family Resources Survey.

Data on PIP by household can be found on Stat Xplore. The requested data can be found in the “Household dataset” under “Family Resources Survey”. You can use the “Benefit receipt” filter to select “Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Daily Living received by the household” and “Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mobility received by the household” and select “in receipt”.

Due to sample sizes, the Department does not hold household data at Parliamentary Constituency level, however you can use the “Geography” filter to select the Region, or whether the household lives in Inner or Outer London.

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.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether receipt of compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme impacts entitlement to benefits. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Means tested benefits do not provide a specific disregard for a Criminal Injuries Compensation payment. However, it is very likely, due to the nature of these payments, that they will be regarded as a payment for personal injury and disregarded for 12 months from when the payment is received, or indefinitely if the payment is held in trust.

For Pension Credit, the treatment is similar with the main difference being that there is no requirement for it to be held in a trust.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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Anna Sabine:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to speed up the process of DVLA reviewing license renewal following medical improvement. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online services are the quickest way to apply for a driving licence and drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, visual impairments, sleep conditions or heart conditions can renew their driving licence online. The DVLA has also introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with multiple sclerosis, some mental health conditions and glaucoma. This has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver.

The DVLA is continuing to make improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions and is introducing a new strategic system to process cases. This will provide better services for customers and allow straightforward applications to be processed more quickly.

In the 2024/25 financial year, the average time taken to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued was 44 working days, a reduction from 56 working days in the previous financial year.

Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued can sometimes take longer depending on the medical condition or conditions being investigated. The DVLA is also often reliant on receiving information from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a decision can be made on whether to issue a licence.

Most applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2025 to Question 54084 on Roads: Fylde, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the road maintenance backlog in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government takes the condition of the country’s roads very seriously and is committed to supporting local highway authorities across the country in maintaining and renewing the local highway network. The highway maintenance backlog in Lancashire and elsewhere is the result of a decade of underinvestment by the previous government, and is one of the reasons why this Government has announced nearly £1.6 billion in capital funding for local highways maintenance in England for the financial year 2025/26. This includes £500 million of additional funding when compared to the previous financial year. Funding allocations for individual local authorities can be found on gov.uk.

Local highway authorities are required to provide data regularly on the condition of their local roads. In addition, in March 2025, the department wrote to all local highway authorities to request further data on the condition of their network and their maintenance plans and practices, with first returns being due by the end of June. This information will help the government and local people understand the activities of local highways authorities better, as well as understanding the state of local roads and the scale of the challenges each authority faces. Authorities that fail to publish these reports may have a portion of their funding uplift withheld. A copy of the letter can be accessed on gov.uk.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for drivers, published on 2 October 2023, whether her Department has taken steps to remove local authorities’ access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data. \p Lilian Greenwood: This was a commitment made by the previous Government which we have no plans to take forward.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of (a) moped and (b) motorcycle riders with provisional licences who have been convicted of (i) road traffic offences, (ii) robbery and (iii) drug trafficking in each of the past 5 years. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will be able to provide the information in relation to road traffic offences, but this requires a scan of the driver database. Officials will write to the Honourable Member as soon as the information is available.

Information about robbery and drug trafficking offences is not recorded by the DVLA.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will provide a response to Early Day Motion 1222 on Speed camera guidance, tabled on 8 May 2025. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.

Responsibility for making decisions about the roads under its care rests with the traffic authority, based on its knowledge of the area and taking into account local needs and circumstances.  This includes setting local speed limits and introducing traffic calming measures such as speed cameras and speed activated warning signs.

The Department for Transport’s guidance on the Use of Speed and Red Light Cameras for Traffic Enforcement clearly recommends that locally agreed deployment criteria are developed. The guidance acknowledges that the primary objective of camera deployment is to reduce KSIs at known collision locations; however, it also states that cameras can be beneficial where there is community concern.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve rural road safety. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. To this end, my Department is developing its Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.

Local authorities are best placed to decide on delivery of road safety initiatives, because of their knowledge of the roads for which they are responsible. We aid local authorities by providing guidance and initiatives such as our flagship road safety campaign, THINK!
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for (a) the Home Department and (b) Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impact of the proposed new Chinese embassy on traffic disruption. \p Lilian Greenwood: There have been no discussions on the potential impact of the proposed new Chinese embassy on traffic disruption. Responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London, National Highways, and the 32 London boroughs, plus the City of London. These bodies are responsible for considering traffic impacts on their roads.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-11)

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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of allowing (a) older and (b) disabled bus pass holders to travel before 9:30am on weekdays under the English national concessionary travel scheme. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department has not made an assessment of the cost to remove the travel time restriction on disabled passholders concessionary bus passes only or for older person passholders only. However, the Department has conducted a review of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme, which included considering travel times. We are considering next steps following the review.