theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Ann Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of utility social tariffs for people (a) on low income and (b) with disabilities that do not receive (i) Universal Credit and (ii) PIP. \p Alison McGovern: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is committed to tackling poverty and discusses access to social tariffs regularly with her Cabinet colleagues as part of her work to address poverty. This includes through her role as co-chair of the Child Poverty Taskforce.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) qualifying period and (b) delays in processing applications for disability benefits on carers of children and young people with cancer who are unable to apply for (i) carers benefits and (ii) other associated support until the disability benefits have been awarded. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The information requested on the number of delayed applications is not collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

It is a long standing principle that Carer’s Allowance can only be awarded once a decision has been made to award the “trigger” disability benefit to the person being cared for, but the award of Carer’s Allowance can be backdated to the date that the disability benefit is payable from.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Kate Osamor:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's report entitled Triggers to claiming personal independence payment, published on 2 May 2025, whether she will publish (a) an updated version of her Department's report entitled Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms - Impacts, updated on 28 March 2025, (b) a full impact assessment of the proposed reforms to disability benefits in light of that report. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months. Where relevant, findings included in the report Triggers to claiming Personal Independence Payment - GOV.UK, as well as the numerous other pieces of research and analysis commissioned or undertaken by the Department, have been factored into the impacts analysis already published, and will also feed into future analytical work.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a mandatory Code of Ethical Practice for pre-1997 members of pension schemes, that promotes (a) transparency, (b) fairness and (c) accountability in managing discretionary pension increases. \p Torsten Bell: It is important that trustees make transparent and fast decisions about discretionary indexation. Defined Benefit Schemes are regulated by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) which has set out that trustees should consider the situation of those members who would benefit from a discretionary increase and whether the scheme has a history of making such awards.

Most schemes do pay some pre-1997 indexation, because of scheme rules or as a discretionary benefit. Analysis published last year by the Pensions Regulator shows that as of March 2023, only 17 per cent of members of private sector defined benefit pension schemes do not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests#f3a5fe60511a445f91112bd7dd8a64ae

The Government’s upcoming pension reforms on the use of surpluses in defined benefit schemes will make it easier for individual schemes to make decisions that improve outcomes for both sponsoring employers and members, which could include discretionary benefit increases.

These changes will be taken forward through the Pension Schemes Bill. TPR will be producing further guidance on surplus sharing once the legislation is in place.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the loss of transitional protection under Universal Credit for claimants who form a couple, including where one partner acts as a carer. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Transitional Protection is designed to give customers notified to move to Universal Credit time to adjust. It is not intended to permanently replicate legacy benefits and ends when there is no longer a meaningful comparison between a household’s final legacy benefit and Universal Credit awards, such as due to a relevant change in circumstances.

The relevant change of circumstances that end the Transitional Element include a sustained decrease in earnings, formation of a new benefit unit, such as a couple separating or a single customer becoming a member of a couple, or where a Universal Credit claim terminates.

There are no plans to review this loss of transitional protection even if one partner is a carer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Margaret Mullane:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to include policies on autism in the youth employment strategy delivery plan. \p Alison McGovern: The Department recognises that young people with autism can face significant barriers to seeking and remaining in employment. As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers.

The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out our approach to supporting young people into employment, including the introduction of a new Youth Guarantee for all 18–21-year-olds in England. As part of this, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Education are working with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities who have commenced delivery of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. These Trailblazers are testing how new local leadership, accountability structures and provision can be integrated into a cohesive education, training and employment support for young people. Several areas are specifically designing support for young people with health conditions and disabilities, including autism.

DWP also provides tailored employment support for 16–24-year-olds on Universal Credit through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes access to work coaches, Youth Hubs, and Disability Employment Advisors, who can offer personalised support to neurodivergent young people.

The Government wants to support all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. We are looking to build on the findings of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment and have launched the Neurodiversity Academic Panel – an independent group of experts, many with lived experience—to advise on boosting awareness and inclusion across all age groups.

The Government is committed to consulting with stakeholders, including young people with health conditions and those who are neurodivergent.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Jacob Collier:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Restart Scheme. \p Alison McGovern: The Department undertook a mixed-method, multi-strand evaluation of the Restart Scheme, delivered by external research providers Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and Ipsos. The research comprised three strands: a longitudinal cohort study, a survey of Restart Scheme providers, and case study research of 12 geographic areas. The report was published in May 2024 and can found on gov.uk here The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme - GOV.UK.

Official Statistics on the Restart Scheme are published bi-annually and can be found on gov.uk here Restart Scheme statistics - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Sarah Bool:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available for older workers in rural areas seeking to return to employment. \p Alison McGovern: The government is reforming jobcentres to better match people with the right jobs and provide employment skills, and career support to individuals including older workers and those in rural areas.

Design elements of the new National Jobs and Careers Service will be tested to develop a service that is effective for local areas, individuals, and employers. The service will cover Great Britain and will adapt to operate differently in each locality to accommodate local systems and needs, including rural regions and reflecting devolution settlements in Scotland and Wales.

DWP currently offers tailored employment support through Jobcentres, including a review of health finances and skills for eligible over 50’s on Universal credit, with an online offer available to all. Our network of 50plus Champions drive localised activity through Jobcentres. In rural communities this includes adapting delivery of employment support, to ensure attendees in rural communities can access information, training courses and job opportunities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the press release entitled Trial encourages low-income pensioners to apply for extra financial support, published on 17 July 2023, whether she plans to publish the results of this trial. \p Torsten Bell: The results from the ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial were published in October 2024 on GOV.UK and are available at: Pension Credit 'Invitation to Claim' Trial - GOV.UK
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of means-tested benefits among households with children in poverty in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit including on GOV.UK that supports customers to identify what support may be available. Additionally, we signpost potential customers to external benefit calculators where they can identify what they are likely to be eligible for. We also work closely with Citizens Advice who provide Help to Claim support by phone and on-line for customers to apply for Universal Credit.

Tackling child poverty is an urgent priority for this government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy as soon as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are (a) eligible for pension credit and (b) have yet to apply for it in Woking constituency. \p Torsten Bell: Published DWP Pension Credit Take-up statistics estimate that up to 760,000 households who were entitled to receive Pension Credit did not claim the benefit. These statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2022 to 2023 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK

Latest caseload statistics show that as of November 2024, there were 1,390,749 people in receipt of Pension Credit in Great Britain, of which 1242 were in Woking constituency. This data is available via DWP Stat-Xplore.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether claimants need to appeal in order to receive transitional protection when they are moved from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Since 2024 the Department has been inviting claimants of income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA IR) to make a claim to Universal Credit (UC) within three months in order to maintain their financial support. Those making a UC claim before their deadline, whose circumstances remain the same as those of their ESA claim will be assessed for transitional protection and, where eligible, this will automatically be applied to their Universal Credit award without requiring an appeal although statutory appeal rights are attached to this decision.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce call waiting times for claimants. \p Sir Stephen Timms: DWP reviews forecasted telephony demand and plans resourcing accordingly to keep wait times down. Wait time performance is frequently reviewed and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered. All DWP customer telephone lines are Freephone numbers.

The Department is investing in a new capability that aims to better route customers to the right offer at the right time. This will help to reduce waiting times by supporting customers to utilise digital alternatives where appropriate, which enables telephony agents to speak to our customers that really need to speak to someone. If a customer indicates they may be at risk of physical or mental harm e.g. suicide, terminal illness, homelessness, and clinical mental health, they will be routed to a telephony agent in as short a journey as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Harriet Cross:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in receipt of a Winter Fuel Payment in 2023-24 were no longer eligible in 2024-25. \p Torsten Bell: It is estimated that 9.2 million pensioners who received a WFP in 2023/24 were not eligible for a WFP in 2024/25. This estimate was published in the OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to take steps to apply transitional protections automatically for claimants moving from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Since 2024 the Department has been inviting claimants of income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA IR) to make a claim to Universal Credit (UC) within three months in order to maintain their financial support. Those making a UC claim before their deadline, whose circumstances remain the same as those of their ESA claim will be assessed for transitional protection and, where eligible, this will automatically be applied to their Universal Credit award.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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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 currently in receipt of the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity element of Universal Credit who will lose access to their entitlement under the proposals set out in the Pathways to Work green paper in Dulwich and West Norwood constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Households currently in receipt of the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity element of Universal Credit in Dulwich and West Norwood will have their incomes protected under the proposals set out in the “Pathways to Work” Green Paper. They will continue to receive the Universal Credit health premium, who’s value will be maintained in cash terms. They will also benefit from the increase in the Universal Credit Standard Allowance.

A programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months. Information on the impacts of the “Pathways to Work” Green Paper has been published in the evidence pack, impacts analysis and equalities analysis at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper

At the heart of our plans is a commitment to protecting the most vulnerable. As part of this, the proposals have been carefully designed to protect the finances of those with the most severe, life-long, conditions. We are also ensuring the welfare safety net is there to protect those who need it most both now and into the future.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and care needs are met.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Helen Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he Department has made of the number of households with children in receipt of the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity element of Universal Credit inDulwich and West Norwood 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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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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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 Payment who will lose access to their entitlement under the proposals set out in the Pathways to Work green paper in Dulwich and West Norwood constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

Estimates of the impact of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reforms are made for England and Wales only and not on region or any lower-level geographic area. The department does not forecast benefit receipt at a regional level or below, nor have estimates of the behavioural impacts of the policy been produced at these levels.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is an individual-based benefit and therefore DWP does not hold household-level information on its administrative systems. The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment is published for Dulwich and West Norwood in the document referenced above. However, this should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP in future. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. Someone who did not score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment as conditions change over time.

There will be no immediate changes to PIP eligibility. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 9 in 10 of those on PIP daily living at the point any changes come in will still be receiving PIP by the end of the decade.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I will lead. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Helen Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate has her Department made of the number of households with children in receipt of Personal Independence Payment 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”. Under the “household composition” filter, you can select the “Household composition by children” and select “Household with children”.

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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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Ms Polly Billington:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who are receiving the maximum permitted benefits under the benefit cap have one or more children with a disability in East Thanet constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Households receiving disability benefits are exempt from the benefit cap.

Households are exempt from the benefit cap if somebody in the household is receiving, for example, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment. Universal Credit customers that receive the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element or Employment and Support Allowance customers in receipt of the support component are also exempt.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Ms Polly Billington:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who are receiving the maximum permitted benefits under the benefit cap have three or more children in East Thanet constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who are affected by the benefit cap are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are currently available up to November 2024. These statistics include the number of children in the household and are available by various geographies including Westminster parliamentary constituency.

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.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have applied for Pension Credit in Woking constituency since 29 July 2024. \p Torsten Bell: Statistics on Pension Credit application volumes, for Great Britain only, were published on 29th May 2025. This includes numbers of applications that were received, awarded and not awarded, and outstanding, from week commencing 3rd April 2023 up to week commencing 19th May 2025: Pension Credit applications and awards: May 2025 - GOV.UK.

The next quarterly release of Pension Credit applications and awards statistics for Great Britian has been announced for late-August 2025: Pension Credit Applications and Awards Statistics: August 2025 - Official statistics announcement - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Natalie Fleet: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 Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity payment and Universal Credit in Bolsover 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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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the potential impact oforganophosphate exposure on occupational health outcomes in agricultural workers. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for workplace health and safety on farms. The potential impact of organophosphate exposure on occupational health outcomes in agricultural workers, taking account of occupational exposure risk and current state of knowledge, is the basis for industry specific guidance in relation to organophosphate exposure and sheep dipping.

This information is published in HSE Agricultural Information Sheet AIS41 (Sheep dipping: Advice for farmers and others involved in dipping sheep) and is freely available to download from the HSE website.

HSE has no plans to carry out a further review at this time.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Ann Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cancellation of the in-person Pathways to Work public consultation event in Wales, scheduled for 3 June 2025, on stakeholders in Wales. \p Sir Stephen Timms: As part of our commitment to hear from members of the public directly, including disabled people and their representatives, we have now held a number of virtual and in person public consultation events, as per the advertised schedule on GOV.UK. Unfortunately, the Cardiff in person event (initially scheduled for 3 June) was postponed at the last minute due to the venue cancelling and no appropriate accessible alternative being available at such short notice. We are working with the Welsh Government to rearrange this event and have reached out to all registered participants directly, also offering a priority space on other virtual events.

Additionally, a Wales-only virtual consultation event has now been arranged and scheduled for 26 June.

Throughout the consultation we are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do. We encourage members of the public to continue to respond to the consultation online, in writing and via email.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the White Paper entitled Get Britain Working, published on 26 November 2024, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises to improve access to occupational health services. \p Alison McGovern: The Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care are committed to supporting people with their employment journey. Expert-led impartial advice, and interventions such as Occupational Health, can help employers provide appropriate and timely work-based support to manage their employees’ health conditions, and also support business productivity.

The Joint Work Health Directorate Occupational Health reform programme has focused on increasing access and uptake of occupational health. This has included increasing private market coverage of employer led Occupational Health to help businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, to support disabled employees and those with health conditions to get in and on in work and get back into appropriate work as quickly as possible. Through this programme we have also explored how we enable a sustainable workforce to support good quality provision across all sectors.

The Department for Work and Pensions additionally offers support to small and medium-sized enterprises through a number of programmes, such as the Disability Confident Scheme, which provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to employ those with a disability or health condition and a digital information service for (Support with Employee Health and Disability), which provides tailored guidance on supporting employees in common workplace scenarios involving health and disability.

Employers, including those from Small and Medium enterprises can also refer to WorkWell pilots which went live from October 2024 in 15 areas across England. Available to people both in and out of work, it provides low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision.

Upon publication of our Get Britain Working White Paper, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade 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 the vital role of businesses of all sizes, Sir Charlie Mayfield 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.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure access to cost of living support schemes for people living in West Dorset constituency. \p Alison McGovern: To support people in need, we are providing £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund until 31 March 2026 in England. This enables Local Authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food, and to develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.

As outlined in the scheme guidance, found on GOV.UK, Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination that the Department for Work and Pensions have set out, having the experience and the relationships to determine how best to support those in their local areas.

The guidance states that Authorities must have a website page dedicated to the scheme, and consider inclusive and accessible ways in which they might advertise availability of The Fund to local people. There are no set eligibility requirements, and every Authority must operate part of their scheme on an application basis to allow the opportunity for individuals struggling to ask for further support.

Further information on cost of living support can be found on Gov.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle childhood poverty in Canalside ward in Woking constituency. \p Alison McGovern: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish its strategy as soon as possible. We are exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.

The strategy will look 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.

The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, 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 and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers.
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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when secondary legislation for the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Act 2023 will be laid before Parliament. \p Janet Daby: The government is committed to delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) in the 2026/27 academic year for courses starting from 1 January 2027. We shall share further details and plans for LLE delivery alongside the multi-year spending review in June, including information on maintenance loans, supplementary grants, priority courses and additional entitlement, and information on the expansion and regulation of modular funding, together with the Office for Students. Parliamentary time allowing, the department plans to lay the secondary legislation necessary for the LLE, including that made under powers in the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Act 2023 in 2026.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) reform e-lending rules and (b) enable digital interlibrary loans for university libraries. \p Janet Daby: Universities are autonomous institutions and therefore operate independently from government. As such, the responsibility for enabling digital interlibrary loans for university libraries rests with the individual institutions themselves. It is within their purview to develop and implement policies that best meet the needs of their students and faculty. The government supports the autonomy of these institutions and encourages them to collaborate and innovate in the provision of digital resources and services.
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Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that medical students in receipt of the NHS Bursary can also access full student maintenance loans in their final years of study. \p Janet Daby: The department works closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) on a wide range of matters to ensure the education system is supporting healthcare students, including student funding.

The government needs to ensure that the student funding system is financially sustainable, and funding arrangements are reviewed each year. We will continue to engage with the DHSC to consider the financial support that medical students receive.

Students attending the fifth and sixth years of undergraduate medical courses and years 2 to 4 of graduate entry medical courses qualify for NHS bursaries. The government has announced an increase to all NHS bursary maintenance grants and allowances for the 2025/26 academic year by forecast inflation, 3.1%, based on the Retail Price Index (RPIX) inflation index.

Medical students qualifying for NHS bursary support also qualify for non-means tested loans for living costs from the department. The government has announced that maximum loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year, including reduced rate non-means tested loans for students undertaking NHS bursary years, will also increase by 3.1%.
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Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of pausing student loan interest from accruing while new parents are in receipt of statutory maternity pay. \p Janet Daby: Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree.

The student finance system protects borrowers if they see a reduction in their income for whatever reason. This includes those in receipt of statutory maternity pay, or any other person on parental leave. Student loan repayments are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant student loan repayment threshold. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower.

A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage pupils to undertake courses in (a) construction and (b) social care skills. \p Janet Daby: High quality, careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) is key to helping young people make informed decisions about their future. The department funds person-centred and impartial careers information and advice across all employment sectors, including construction and social care.​

Through the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), the department funds Careers Hubs which lead partnerships including secondary schools, colleges, employers and strategic and local authorities to help young people connect to local skills and economic needs through a responsive careers education programme. ​CEC also works with sector bodies and employers to help them to engage effectively with schools and colleges.

The National Careers Service, a free, government-funded CIAG service uses a range of labour market information to guide individuals. The Service website provides access to various digital tools and resources which cover over 130 industry areas and more than 800 job profiles including a range of construction and social care roles.

The government has introduced measures to raise awareness, boost access, and improve the quality of training available in both the construction and healthcare sectors, including the ‘Next Generation’ campaign promoting technical education pathways inspiring pupils to pursue careers in sectors like construction and healthcare and a £625 million skills package for the construction sector.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support adults to expand their digital capability. \p Janet Daby: The Digital Essential Skills Entitlement, funded by the Adult Skills Fund, provides full funding for adults with low digital skills to undertake Essential Digital Skills Qualifications (EDSQs) and digital Functional Skills qualifications up to level 1.

More flexible provision is available through Tailored Learning which offers bespoke courses in essential digital skills.

The Free Courses for Jobs offer gives eligible adults access to high value level 3 qualifications for free, to support them to gain higher wages or a better job. The offer currently includes 45 digital qualifications.

The department provides a range of post 16 academic and technical digital qualifications. There are currently 34 occupational standards in digital occupations and we are set to introduce foundation apprenticeships for young people, the first wave of which includes two digital standards. There are 78 Higher Technical Qualifications in the digital sector. Skills Bootcamps enable adults to build sector-specific skills, and 61% of 2022/23 Skills Bootcamp starts were in digital.

The Digital Inclusion Action Plan outlines steps toward delivering digital inclusion for everyone in the UK, including supporting local and community initiatives to increase digital participation and digital skills. The new Industrial Strategy will channel support to eight growth-driving sectors, including digital technologies.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the causes of the recent improvement in the apprenticeship achievement rate. \p Janet Daby: The apprenticeship achievement rate for apprenticeship standards increased by 6 percentage points to 60.5% for the 2023/24 academic year.

There are a range of drivers of non-achievement, and the department worked in partnership with providers, employers and apprentices to understand and directly address these.

The Apprenticeship Accountability Framework has supported and challenged providers to take proactive steps to improve the quality of their provision. Where performance falls short, the framework enables targeted challenge and intervention. As a result, most providers with an Accountability Framework Improvement Plan significantly improved their achievement rates between 2021/22 and 2023/24.

In addition, the support and guidance available to employers and apprentices has been enhanced and the department has worked with the Learning and Work Institute to produce a number of guides to support apprentices’ on-programme experience, including a line manger guide to apprenticeships.

The department has also introduced tools to provide timely feedback on quality and reasons for withdrawal so that we can continue to drive forward progress in the coming years, in partnership with the sector.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to use Immigration Skills Charge funding to (a) support skills funding for priority sectors and (b) upskill the domestic workforce. \p Janet Daby: As set out in the Immigration White Paper, the government will increase the Immigration Skills Charge for the first time since its introduction, by 32% to bring the Immigration Skills Charge rates in line with inflation. Further details on how skills funding in future years will be allocated will be set out in due course, following the Spending Review on 11 June 2025.