theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the Nursery Milk Scheme entitlement to the end of the academic year in which a child turns five. \p Ashley Dalton: The Nursery Milk Scheme is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five who attend a setting for two or more hours per day. Schools can claim reimbursement from the scheme in respect of their pupils aged under five years old.

There are no plans to extend eligibility for the Nursery Milk Scheme to cover children until the end of the academic year, during which they reach their fifth birthday. Separate legislation allows pupils from lower-income families, and who are eligible for free school meals, to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment on (a) cold-related illness and (b) hospital admissions amongst older adults in Wiltshire. \p Ashley Dalton: A specific assessment relating to older adults in Wilshire has not been produced. The Department for Work and Pensions published an equality analysis of the changes to eligibility for the winter fuel payment last summer, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responses-to-freedom-of-information-requests-on-equality-impact-assessments-produced-for-targeting-winter-fuel-payment/dwp-freedom-of-information-response

The Government has continued to take action to support vulnerable households with cost-of-living pressures, including extending the Household Support Fund until March 2026, thereby providing local authorities with an additional £742 million of funding.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory nutritional targets for large supermarket retailers. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and tackling the three biggest killers, which will require effort from across society, not just for obesity but also for alcohol and smoking.

We have made a start with the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and will continue to speak to partners across industry and civic society to best understand what actions help to change behaviours in a way that puts power in the hands of consumers.

As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, we are committed to achieving our Health Mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, and under the 10-Year Health Plan, to shift from sickness to prevention. Making the healthier choice the easier choice is a major part of creating a food environment that is fairer, with the fewest lives lost to the biggest killers, and where everyone lives well for longer.

As part of considerations around mandatory healthiness targets, the previous administration brought together the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP), a shared programme of work across the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency. Separate from the eco strand of FDTP headed by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, the FDTP health strand was paused at the election and is being reviewed alongside other obesity policies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Peter Lamb:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary housing has not increased since 2011. \p Sir Stephen Timms: DWP pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere.

We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. MHCLG are increasing funding for homelessness services this year by an extra £233 million compared to last year (2024/25).

We continue to keep the rates used for Housing Benefit subsidy under review and are working closely with MHCLG and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to explore the impacts of subsidy rates on local authorities.

Any future decisions on subsidy rates will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the current challenging financial environment at the appropriate fiscal event.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help end discrimination against disabled people. \p Sir Stephen Timms: I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 5 February to PQ 27692.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether proposed changes to PIP will include people of pensionable age. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, only if they score fewer than 4 points in one category in their reassessment by a trained assessor or healthcare professional.

In keeping with existing policy, people over state pension age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by these changes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the welfare system on people with disabilities. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Some 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]

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The proposals have been carefully designed to protect the finances of severely disabled people.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Alison Hume:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the (a) secondary and (b) related conditions of people claiming PIP. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Information is collected on secondary and related conditions during a claimant’s assessment. However, information on secondary and related conditions is not held centrally for analysis and it would therefore incur disproportionate cost to the department to undertake analysis on it, as it would require the manual investigation of individual claimant records.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her department has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people with Parkinson's disease. \p Sir Stephen Timms: No assessment has been made.

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’.

Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.

There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of statutory maternity pay. \p Andrew Western: Government spends approximately £3 billion a year on parental payments.

When considering calls to increase the level of parental benefits, the Government must balance a range of factors including the needs of parents, the impact on employers, and affordability for taxpayers. This is particularly true in today’s challenging economic climate. As such, any changes would need to be carefully considered, taking into account views from businesses and other stakeholders.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and State Pensions, including Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance. She announced her decision from the latest review of benefits in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 30 October. From April 2025, the rate increased by September 2024's CPI figure of 1.7%, from £184.03 to £187.18 per week.

Depending on individual circumstances, additional financial support, for example, Universal Credit, Child Benefit and the Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) may also be available.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the Child Maintenance Service helpline's performance in responding to phone calls against its service level standards. \p Andrew Western: The Child Maintenance Service are committed to delivering the best possible service to all customers. We continuously monitor telephony performance and through this fully recognise that call waiting times are at times longer than we would like. To address this, we are working extensively to improve the efficiency of our customer interactions through both telephone and digital channels. We introduced the Digital Assist Telephony Service September 2024, which has been a significant step forward in our mission to support and encourage customers to use our online services. We restructured our call routing October 2024 to make more caseworkers available to answer telephone calls. By promoting self-service options online and efficient call routing, we have freed up valuable resources to deliver a more responsive service and allow caseworkers more time to better assist customers who need to reach out to us via telephone. Additionally, we have extended the telephony service to 6pm on weekdays to meet demand. and our online services are available to all customers 24/7. The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service and the latest statistics are currently available to December 2024. Table 12 of the latest National tables shows the percentage of calls to the CMS that were answered each quarter, from January 2015 to December 2024. Latest published quarterly telephony performance for the period Oct to December 2024 was 75% for Percentage of calls answered.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Serco's performance against key performance indicators in their Functional Assessment Services contract. \p Andrew Western: Serco secured the Functional Assessment Services (FAS) contract for Lot 3 (south-west England) through a competitive and transparent procurement under the Public Contract Regulations in line with Government policies. Serco strives to provide an excellent service to claimants and are held to account for their performance.

The contract with Serco is robustly managed to obtain optimal performance, with a dedicated performance management team monitoring performance on an ongoing basis. DWP does not use key performance indicators in the FAS contract; instead, we monitor performance through the achievement of Target Performance Levels (TPLs) and Volume Clearance Targets (VCTs). As the contract is still relatively new, we do not yet have sufficient data to share a full assessment of Serco's performance. However, plans are being developed for a routine statistics publication.

We are working hard to ensure all services are delivered to a high standard for customers and we have sufficient controls in place to quickly identify any future deterioration.
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Ms Polly Billington:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who receive (a) enhanced daily living Personal Independence Payment awards and (b) standard daily living Personal Independence Payment awards did not score four or more points on any individual activity descriptor in 2024-25. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Information on the volume of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who received a standard Daily Living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities can be found in Table 1 below.

The number of people currently on PIP and did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP. 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.

No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. 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. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time.

After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will lose their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

We have launched a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. 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.

Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants who are in receipt of the standard daily living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities

Daily Living Award

Volume of PIP claimants who scored <4 points

Enhanced

203,000

Standard

1,121,000

Source(s): PIP administrative data

Notes:
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department. \p Andrew Western: We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity.

A new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. The Department for Work and Pensions has been supporting Cabinet Office with the development of this new scheme, sharing learning from our own school leaver Social Mobility Apprenticeship pilot, which has run successfully for the last two years, with our first cohort of school leavers all securing permanent employment within the Department.

In addition, in the Department for Work and Pensions we are developing an internal apprenticeship strategy, which will utilise the flexibility provided by the new Growth and Skills Levy to develop skills and support the future needs of the Department. Expansion of opportunities to recruit new apprentices are being explored, including continued use of our Social Mobility Apprenticeship schemes and direct recruitment of apprentices into entry level roles. We have recently run a campaign for 50 new Level 3 apprentices in Counter Fraud and Compliance, with a further 40 roles due to go live next month.

We are committed to Getting Britain Working, driving growth through employment. Our plan includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who have commenced phased delivery of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper from May 2025. The Department is committed to offering high quality apprenticeships for all and working with professions to identify opportunities to fulfil business needs.
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Sorcha Eastwood:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of her Department's proposals to freeze the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element of Universal Credit until 2029-30 on disabled people. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Some 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]

The proposals have been carefully designed to protect the finances of severely disabled people. However, there will be no immediate changes. The rebalancing of Universal Credit (UC) is not coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

A further programme of analysis to support development of these proposals will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
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Yasmin Qureshi:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the treatment of Maternity Allowance as unearned income when calculating means-tested benefits. \p Andrew Western: We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby’s health and wellbeing.

Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid by the State, for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, and is classed as unearned income for Universal Credit purposes. As such, in determining the entitlement to Universal Credit, Maternity Allowance is deducted pound for pound from the total value of the award.

Where an individual claims Universal Credit, their award is adjusted to take account of other financial support that the customer is already receiving – including earnings, other income and benefits. This principle applies to other benefits: for example, the same approach is applied to new style Jobseeker’s Allowance and new style Employment and Support Allowance.
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Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work Green Paper on (a) local government and (b) the voluntary sector. \p Sir Stephen Timms: No assessment has yet been made. 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’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Notes:
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of operational changes to Access to Work on disabled people who (a) are self-employed and (b) work in small businesses. \p Sir Stephen Timms: As part of our Plan for Change, and as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published in March, we are consulting on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the programme to help more disabled people into work and support employers, ensuring value for money for taxpayers. We will review all aspects of the Scheme following the conclusion of the consultation, and carefully assess the impact of any proposed changes.

We 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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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

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Sir Oliver Dowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of lessons from (a) the JobsPlus and (b) other pilot programmes in informing the development of Local Get Britain Working plans. \p Alison McGovern: The Jobs Plus pilot which began in summer 2024 is an exciting test of how housing and community-led employment support can help engage social housing communities. The first report, due this summer, will help us understand how Jobs Plus or similar models might help us achieve our objectives to Get Britain Working. Evaluation will be shared with a range of commissioners and stakeholders, including local authorities.

Local Get Britain Working plans will support areas in identifying and addressing labour market challenges, tackling inactivity, and increasing employment rates. They are a key element in tackling challenges in labour market participation across England and in achieving the long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate.

Local government have been asked to lead a partnership of local labour market stakeholders and seek insights from a broader range of stakeholders. The guidance we published earlier this year included housing associations in the list of key partners to consider.

Drawing on the range of experiences and expertise of partners within the area, the partnership will ensure a comprehensive analysis of key labour market issues and priorities as well as setting short- and longer-term objectives specific to the needs of the labour market locally.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people with (a) musculoskeletal disorders and (b) learning disabilities who will be affected by changes to PIP eligibility in Wiltshire. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Estimates of the volumes of PIP claimants affected by the reform in the future are forecast for England and Wales only and are not broken down by Local Authority or any other geographic area, nor by specific primary health condition.

After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment daily living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities, by local authority area, is available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.25, while data by primary health condition is in table 2.22.

Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK

Notes:
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to PIP on people living with Multiple Sclerosis. \p Sir Stephen Timms: No assessment has been made.

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’.

Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.

Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
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Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 49218 on Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations, whether her Department plans to (a) make an assessment of the potential merits of exploring more tailored mechanisms to reduce the frequency of assessments for people with (i) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and (ii) other clearly documented, severe and long-term health conditions where improvement is unlikely and (b) involve (A) people with lived experience and (B) relevant charities in the (1) development and (2) implementation of such mechanisms. \p Sir Stephen Timms: As stated in our response to Question 49218, we are not planning to exempt specific conditions, but we are planning to reduce reassessments for those with the most severe conditions.

We aim to do this in Universal Credit through guaranteeing that for both new and existing claims, those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed in the future. In PIP, we are exploring ways we could use evidence from other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe conditions to undergo a full functional assessment.

In the Green Paper, we also promised to review the PIP assessment to make sure that it is fit for the future. I shall lead the review in close consultation with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, and other experts. To get this right, I am bringing together stakeholders to agree the scope and timing of the review. I will then publish Terms of Reference for the review in due course.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who (a) are currently eligible for PIP and (b) will not be eligible for PIP following her Department's proposed changes to the assessment criteria for that benefit in Wiltshire. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Estimates of the volumes of PIP claimants affected by the reform in the future are forecast for England and Wales only and therefore have not been broken down by Local Authority or any other geographic area.

After taking account of behavioural changes, OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment daily living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities, by local authority area, is available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.25.

Notes:
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with (a) young people with severe mental illness and (b) organisations representing them on the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the eligibility criteria for Personal Independent Payments. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.

In the Green Paper, we are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by this change and what this support could look like. We are keen to hear views from a wide group of people, in particular people with disabilities and health conditions and organisations that represent them.

We also announced plans to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment led by myself, and we will bring together a range of people with disabilities and health conditions, organisations that represent them, and other experts to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

This government strongly values the input of disabled people and representative organisations. Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we engaged with a number of disability organisations and other stakeholders, and we will continue to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives. Since last July, I have had a number of meetings involving Mind, Rethink Mental Health and other organisations concerned about the mental health of young people.

There are nearly one million young people (16-24) not in Education Employment and Training, and the number is rising. Our future depends on young people being able to achieve their full potential. The period when young people transition from full-time education to building their careers is critical in shaping their professional future. We know that disengaging from employment and learning during early adulthood can have a lasting and detrimental impact on career prospects and be detrimental to a young person’s health and well-being.

The Government is launching the Youth Guarantee to ensure that all young people aged 18-21 in England can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. It will help them explore a range of pathways into employment, education and training by connecting a range of local services and support, with local accountability to identify and support young people.
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Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the number of people in poverty in each of the next five years. \p Sir Stephen Timms: An assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the number of people in poverty in each of the next five years is not yet available.

The government's impact assessment regarding the Pathways to Work Green Paper is available here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish its assessment of the labour market impacts of the Green Paper proposals at the time of the Autumn Budget.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_70

Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason accessible versions of the Pathways to Work Green Paper were not published at the same time as the original version; and if she will take steps to ensure that accessible versions of documents are published simultaneously in the future. \p Sir Stephen Timms: A full suite of accessible versions were published on 7 April, including web-accessible HTML versions, Large Print, Audio, British Sign Language, Braille and Easy Read. The consultation period closes on the 30 June 2025, allowing for a full twelve weeks after all the accessible versions were released to en-sure all stakeholders have sufficient time to engage. We published the Green Paper ahead of some accessible versions to put detailed information about the matters subject to consultation in the public domain at the earliest opportunity. The production of accessible versions to a high standard requires additional time.
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_71
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_71

Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the eligibility criteria for Universal Credit on (a) young adults under 25 and (b) young adults under 25 who are (i) living independently and (ii) without family support in Wiltshire. \p Sir Stephen Timms: There are currently no plans to make such an assessment.

To be eligible for Universal Credit a person is usually required to be at least 18 years old but there are circumstances where those aged 16 and 17 may be eligible to claim Universal Credit in their own right, including if they have no parent or cannot live with their parent(s). Young people under 25 who live independently may also be able to get help with their housing costs.

DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

All jobcentres deliver the Youth Offer and have Youth Employability Coaches in post to support young people aged 18-24 years old. Youth Hubs are currently being explored and are in the planning phase by both Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council.
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_72
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_72

Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the eligibility for PIP on the number of people who qualify for (a) a Blue Badge, (b) Housing Benefit and (c) Carer’s Allowance in Wiltshire. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Changes to the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not have an impact on Blue Badge holders as no changes are being made to the mobility component of PIP.

The assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility of the impact of the proposed changes on carers was made for England and Wales as a whole.

The impacts can be found in table A4 here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

Notes:
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_73
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_73

David Mundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that financial reparations to LGBT veterans are not considered in assessments for benefit entitlement. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Financial recognition payments made to LGBT veterans as part of the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme are not taken into account in the assessment of DWP means-tested benefits. The Department has legislated to disregard these payments and issued guidance to our staff to advise them that these payments should be disregarded in calculating benefit entitlement.
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_74
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_74

Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause in the workplace. \p Alison McGovern: On 18th October 2024 the Secretary of State for DWP appointed Mariella Frostrup as the new Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause and wider women’s health issues. The Menopause Employment Ambassador launched her Menopause Advisory Group on 24th April who will provide her with expert knowledge from a wide range of sectors on how businesses can better support women experiencing menopause in the workplace by creating a more supportive environment that helps women to stay in work and progress.

The government has also proposed a wide-ranging set of generational reforms to boost protections for workers, including women experiencing menopause symptoms at work. The policy proposals in the Employment Rights Bill would require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans on how they will support employees through the menopause. Alongside this the government has also committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence.
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_75
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_75

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the number of job opportunities in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Alison McGovern: As announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice.

In Fylde and Lancashire our Jobcentre teams are work closely with Blackpool Borough Council and Fylde Borough Council as well as a range of employers and providers to create numerous job opportunities. Our Employer and Partnership Team support events within the community, recently this has included the Northwest Apprenticeship & Careers Expo 2025 and the Fylde Coast 'Work this Way' Jobs Fair. The team also encourage the take up in initiatives such as Sector Based Work Academies, Mentoring Circles, Apprenticeships and Work Experience as these help our customers meet employers and partners and explore all the opportunities available to them.

We will provide an update on our plans to Get Britain Working and the steps we are taking in due course.
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_76
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_76

Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the (a) potential implications for her policies of trends in and (b) adequacy of her Department's policies for tackling regional differences in worklessness. \p Alison McGovern: The Get Britain Working White Paper set out the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation to support our ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate and reduce regional disparities. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will shift from being a department for employment support and welfare to being a department for work. This means introducing reforms to achieve a new, locally led system of work and health support being available for those who are unemployed and economically inactive, no matter where they live.

To support this, we have asked every area in England to develop a local Get Britain Working plan. These plans will help to join up new support and enable local areas to develop a system wide approach to tackling their needs in partnership with key local stakeholders including Integrated Care Boards and Jobcentre Plus.

At a national level our policies will be assessed against our Get Britain Working outcomes which includes local variation in employment rates. DWP will provide an annual update outlining recent trends in these metrics, with the first update coming later this year.
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_77
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_77

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support young people in Slough into (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training. \p Alison McGovern: As announced in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper, we are launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Youth Guarantee will build upon and enhance existing entitlements and provisions with the aim of tackling the rising number of young people who are not participating in education, employment or training.

DWP provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

At Slough Jobcentre, young people receive tailored support from dedicated youth work coaches. Those facing multiple barriers to employment are assisted by a Youth Employability Coach. Individuals unemployed for over six months attend bi-weekly job clubs to enhance their job search and application skills.

Opportunities for work experience are available through the Movement to Work programme. Slough Jobcentre also hosted youth-focused job fairs, job-matching events, and mentoring programmes designed to motivate and engage young people.
wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_78
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-19 conversation_78

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade,  what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the US-UK trade deal on Northern Ireland businesses. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The UK-US economic deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors - sectors that directly employ over 320,000 people across the UK including Northern Ireland. What we have agreed will provide the foundation for a new reciprocal trading partnership between the US and the UK, as well as secure actions that will protect jobs and businesses across the country.

All along, we have continued to act in the best interests of all UK businesses which of course includes those in Northern Ireland, and we continue to engage with Northern Ireland counterparts to ensure the deal delivers for Northern Ireland business.