theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to develop a cross-departmental strategy on youth work. \p Stephanie Peacock: DCMS is leading a National Youth Strategy in collaboration with a number of other key departments to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. This strategy will cover youth services, provision and policy at local, regional and national levels. We are co-producing this National Youth Strategy with young people and cross-sector experts and so the breadth of issues will be shaped by our engagement.

The Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts. We will publish the Strategy in the Autumn.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help encourage girls to participate in grassroots rugby in (a) schools and (b) local clubs through its funding for the Impact 25 programme. \p Stephanie Peacock: Since July 2024 the Government has invested £6.78m in Impact 25 the legacy programme for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. Impact 25 supports women's and girls' clubs across England as part of the Rugby Football Union’s ambition to widen female participation. It has provided investment to 850 clubs to improve facilities and to train 3,385 new female coaches and match officials, making coaching sessions and matches more accessible contributing to a 35% increase in female age grade registrations in England rising from 17,700 places in 2022 to 23,900 in 2025.

The programme has provided direct support to clubs in the West Dorset constituency, providing £10,000 of funding to Bridport RFC , Dorchester RFC and Sherborne RFC. Each club received funding for a ‘Girls Activity Day Pack’ to introduce girls aged 6-12 to rugby with activities, merchandise, and prizes (such as tickets to a Women's Rugby World Cup match). All clubs also received sanitary product packages which are made freely available in club restrooms.

More broadly, we want as many girls as possible to get involved in sport and physical activity, including in schools. That is why on 19 June 2025, the Government announced a new School Sport Partnerships model and a new Enrichment Framework for schools to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity. Girls will be given the same opportunity as boys to play sports at school.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how she plans to allocate dormant assets to youth organisations. \p Stephanie Peacock: On the 2nd June, DCMS Secretary of State announced that £132.5 million of dormant assets funding will be allocated to support the provision of services, facilities or opportunities to meet the needs of young people. This will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability, and be delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund.

It also includes the £15 million ‘Building Futures’ programme announced under the previous government in September 2023, and delivered by Youth Futures Foundation.

Further details, including how the funding will be allocated, will be shared in due course.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether funding for the National Citizenship Service will be redistributed to other youth services. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. We know that being part of supportive communities and having access to youth provision can improve a young person’s wellbeing, health and personal development.

The Secretary of State previously committed to set out this department's 2025-26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.

The Government will publish the National Youth Strategy this Autumn. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in the strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector and will be announced in due course.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of combined authorities on youth services funding. \p Stephanie Peacock: We are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the introduction of combined authorities and the potential impact this will have on youth services.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. DCMS published the updated, more fit-for-purpose guidance in 2023 to support local authorities to better understand what their existing duty is and how to deliver it.

We have launched the Local Youth Transformation Pilot which will test a new way of working and supporting local authorities to deliver for young people.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure youth work funding is distributed (a) across the country and (b) rural areas. \p Stephanie Peacock: Local Authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. Local Authorities fund youth services from their Local Government Finance Settlement in line with local need. To support Local Authorities, we launched the £8 million Local Youth Transformation pilot this year, which will support local authorities across the country to build back capability to improve local youth offers. The selected local authorities for the pilot include a mix of urban and rural areas.

In addition, we are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy. The strategy will support better coordination of youth services across the country and will increase access to opportunities, in particular in underserved areas. The Strategy will be published in Autumn and will be supported by funding, across the SR period to develop new youth facilities and improve existing ones, as well as further funding to support local youth service provision.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of youth work on (a) the wellbeing of and (b) employment outcomes for young people. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We know the impact that youth work has on young people’s life chances, including on their wellbeing and their employment outcomes. That is why we are co-producing an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, with young people, sector experts and cross-government colleagues.

The Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts. We will publish the Strategy in the Autumn.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage people into the youth work profession. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government recognises the vital role that youth workers play in the lives of young people. In 2024-25, we provided over £600,000 of bursary funding to support over 400 individuals from underrepresented groups to gain a youth work qualification.

In a written ministerial statement on 15 May 2025, the Secretary of State announced DCMS's commitment to provide over £3 million in the financial year 2025-26 to increase youth sector and workforce capacity, this includes a further £250,000 in bursary funding to support up to 160 individuals to gain a qualification, and funding to the National Youth Agency to maintain youth work qualifications, national standards and curriculum to ensure a sufficiently qualified and trained youth work workforce.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of youth workers on levels of costs for (a) the NHS and (b) other public bodies providing services to young people. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential.

We have not made an assessment of the potential impact of youth workers on costs for the NHS or other relevant public bodies, instead, we utilise the wealth of external research indicating the positive impact youth work and youth services can have on young people’s health and other outcomes, including helping to reduce costs for a range of public services.

The new National Youth Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working and driving efficiencies - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

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Mr Toby Perkins:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support indoor tennis facilities. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment to the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years to invest in community tennis initiatives.

The Government has also announced another £400 million to transform facilities across the UK following the Spending Review. We will work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of regional differences in economic inactivity rates by (a) gender, (b) age, (c) ethnicity and (d) religion. \p Alison McGovern: (a)(b)(c): The information requested is published and available at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

(d): The most recent data is published and available at: Economic activity status by religion - Office for National Statistics
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of economic inactivity rates amongst (a) foreign and (b) UK nationals. \p Alison McGovern: The latest inactivity rates for UK and non-UK nationals are published and available at:

A12: Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity by nationality and country of birth - Office for National Statistics
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve take-up of Pension Credit in areas where rates of claim are low. \p Torsten Bell: The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why since autumn 2024 we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign. The latest Pension Credit applications and awards statistics show that DWP received over 320,000 Pension Credit claims between July 2024 and July 2025 – with nearly 60,000 extra awards compared to the same period the previous year. The statistics also show more households getting Pension Credit than at any time since November 2021.

Maximising the take-up of Pension Credit is a priority with new promotional activity due to start this month and DWP linking up with partners and stakeholders to promote Pension Credit as widely as possible.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money was saved following the means-testing of the winter fuel allowance in 2024-2025, net of the increase in successful Pension Credit claims during the same period. \p Torsten Bell: Linking Winter Fuel Payment eligibility to Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits in England & Wales for winter 2024/25 was estimated to save around £1.3 billion, inclusive of an estimated increase in Pension Credit take-up of five percentage points as a result of the policy change. This figure has been published in the Office of Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook (October 2024), available here: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_Oct_2024.pdf. Final 2024/2025 expenditure figures for Winter Fuel Payment and Pension Credit will be available in the next edition of the Benefit Caseload and Expenditure tables.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to pension funds on reducing the proportion of their funds invested in the fossil fuel industry. \p Torsten Bell: Pension funds have a duty to manage investments in the best long-term interests of their members, which includes decisions concerning investments in fossil fuels. Occupational pension schemes are required to make climate-related disclosures aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. Schemes should also set out their stewardship approaches to voting and engagement in the Statement of Investment Principles and Implementation Statement. Schemes voluntarily signed up to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Stewardship Code can also publish an additional Stewardship Report. TCFD reports and information about stewardship increasingly provide evidence of how schemes are managing climate risks and actively engaging with companies to reduce exposure to fossil fuels. Trustees may decide to divest from fossil fuel companies, or funds with high carbon exposure, particularly where sustained engagement efforts do not achieve satisfactory outcomes.

My Department has issued statutory guidance for trust-based schemes, which trustees must have regard to. The guidance aims to support trustees in their efforts to meet their climate reporting and governance duties. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) also provides detailed guidance to support trustees address climate-related risks and provides feedback to the industry on areas for improvement. Information from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is available to support FCA-regulated pension providers.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has considered the risks posed by (a) climate change and (b) nature destruction as factors for the Pensions Commission to take into account. \p Torsten Bell: The Climate Change Governance and Reporting Regulations in the UK already require trustees of larger occupational pension schemes to identify, assess, and manage climate-related risks and opportunities, and to report on these actions in a manner aligned with the Task Force Climate Related Disclosures TCFD recommendations. Regulations do not currently cover nature risks, but in line with guidance from the Pensions Regulator pension schemes should be placing greater consideration on nature-related risks, including familiarisation with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures framework.

My department is legislating through the Pensions Scheme Bill for a larger, more consolidated pensions system, which will be better equipped to manage systemic risks such as those posed by climate change and biodiversity loss, and to invest in projects and businesses that contribute to climate solutions and environmental resilience.

Separately, the Government is currently consulting on UK Sustainability Reporting Standards aligned with international sustainability standards, and Climate Transition Plans. Together these initiatives will support the UK’s net-zero goals and broader green agenda and are expected to influence the investment landscape in which pension schemes operate.

The Government has asked the Pensions Commission to examine the pensions system as a whole and look at what is required to build a future-proof pensions system that is strong, fair and sustainable.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will conduct a lessons learned review from the initial period of the decision to withdraw universal Winter Fuel Payments. \p Torsten Bell: The Government linked eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments to receipt of Pension Credit or certain other benefits for winter 2024/25 to help address immediate fiscal pressures, and to focus them on those with the lowest incomes.

From this winter (2025/26), the vast majority of pensioners in England and Wales – over three quarters – will now benefit from Winter Fuel Payments. Payments will be made to all pensioners in England and Wales. As in previous years, these will be payments of between £100 and £300, depending on age and whether the pensioner is living alone or in a household with another pensioner. Pensioners with a total income over £35,000 (excluding disability benefits), and who are not in receipt of Pension Credit or other relevant means-tested benefit, will have the Winter Fuel Payment recovered through the tax system.
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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Funeral Expenses Payment's eligibility criteria on the finances of local authorities. \p Torsten Bell: The long standing state position is that individuals should look to make financial provision for their own funeral, and that where this has not happened family or friends who can take part or all of the responsibility for the cost of funeral arrangements should do so.

Where responsibility for organising a funeral falls to those on qualifying benefits a Funeral Expenses Payment may be available, but eligibility criteria are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.

We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience and administrative costs.

We have not made a specific assessment of the impact of Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria on the finances of local authorities.
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has had discussions with private pension schemes on ensuring that people who have made contributions to defined benefit private pensions are able to benefit from a pension surplus. \p Torsten Bell: The Department for Work and Pensions consulted on surplus release from defined benefit pensions schemes last year. Throughout the consultation, and in developing the consultation response and the Pension Schemes Bill, the Department has engaged with pension schemes, representatives of their members, sponsoring employers and trustees. We recognise the valuable perspectives of stakeholder groups.
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Lola McEvoy:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to support local authorities to help tackle the differences in (a) access to the Sure Start Maternity Grant and (b) other financial and practical support between pregnant 16 and 17 year olds who are (i) in care and (ii) not in care. \p Torsten Bell: The Children Leaving Care Act places a responsibility on local authorities to support children and young people in their care financially until the age of 18. The Act also precludes entitlement to the Department for Work and Pensions benefits for this group unless specific circumstances apply. This support is managed through local authorities rather than central government.

There are exceptional circumstances where 16 and 17-year-olds can claim Universal Credit in their own right. A 16 or 17-year-old may be able to claim Universal Credit if they are pregnant and within 11 weeks of their expected date of confinement.

Eligibility for the Sure Start Maternity Grant is dependent on the claimant receiving a qualifying income-related benefit such as Universal Credit. Eligibility is not age dependent and the grant can be claimed up to 6 months after the baby is born.

A pregnant 16 or 17-year-old may also qualify for either Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance if they meet the standard employment and earnings eligibility criteria.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the need to clarify trustee fiduciary duties regarding inflation protection. \p Torsten Bell: I understand the concerns that have been raised over the issue of inflation protection for defined benefit pensions (indexation). Discretionary indexation is over and above statutory and scheme requirements. Trustees can already award discretionary increases where scheme rules allow. Decisions on discretionary benefits are usually exercised by the trustees with the agreement of the sponsoring employer.

The Pension Schemes Bill makes changes so that more trustees of well-funded schemes have the flexibility to share their scheme surplus with employers, subject to strict funding safeguards for members. Scheme trustees are required to act in the interests of scheme beneficiaries, and can agree with employers how members can benefit from the release of any surplus which may include discretionary indexation.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has expressed 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. TPR will be producing further guidance on surplus sharing once the legislation is in place.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Money and Pensions Service has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years. \p Torsten Bell: The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has contributed the following for homeworking equipment in each of the last three years: £59,658 in 2022/23, £103,604 in 2023/24, and £61,087 in 2024/25.
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with the Pensions Regulator on the effectiveness of the steps it is taking to ensure the independence of pensions trustee bodies. \p Torsten Bell: The Department works closely with the Pensions Regulator (TPR) to ensure that pension scheme trustees always act in the interests of all beneficiaries.

All pension scheme trustees have the same duties and responsibilities and must comply with the law and the rules of their scheme. All pension schemes are required by legislation and the Regulator’s General Code of Practice to have processes in place to identify and manage conflicts of interest.

TPR’s corporate plan outlines the importance of good governance as a foundation of the pensions system and their priority to raise standards of trusteeship. The plan outlines their core delivery objectives in 2025 to 2026 to develop a new strategy for raising the standards of trusteeship and expand their market oversight to the largest professional trustee firms. DWP continues to regularly review TPR’s delivery against its corporate plan through its sponsorship arrangements.

The Government recognises the vital role trustees play in running occupational pension schemes and will consult on matters to improve trusteeship and governance later this year.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of levels of pensioner poverty in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire in winter 2024-25. \p Torsten Bell: Statistics on the number of pensioners living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are produced on an annual basis and published in the Households Below Average Income statistics.

Statistics on the number of pensioners living in relative and absolute poverty are not available at a constituency or county level.

The latest available data covers financial year ending 2024, and is published by the Department here Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK

Poverty figures relating to the financial year 2024-25 will be published in due course.
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Adam Thompson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for attendance allowance are processed each year; and what proportion of those applications do not proceed to assessment. \p Torsten Bell: The number of Attendance Allowance (AA) applications cleared are measured weekly. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

In 2022/23, 415,800 applications were cleared.

In 2023/24, 508,200 applications were cleared.

In 2024/25, 517,200 applications were cleared.

Because of how we capture our operational data, information on if a claim has progressed to assessment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Special Notes:

The Applications Cleared figures are unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

Please note that data is missing for w/c 18th December 2023 as such the figure for 2023/24 has a small undercount.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of pensioners (a) have no private (i) pension and (ii) savings and (b) rely solely on the state pension. \p Torsten Bell: In financial year ending 2024, 30% of UK pensioners received no private pension income. This includes income from occupational pension income and personal pension income.

In financial year ending 2024, 10% of UK pensioners had no savings.

In financial year ending 2024, the percentage of UK pensioners receiving just the State Pension as their income was estimated to be 5%.

Sources: Pensioners’ Incomes (PI) series 2023/24; Households below average income (HBAI) statistics 2023/24.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the pension credit threshold. \p Torsten Bell: The rates of Pension Credit are reviewed annually as part of the Secretary of State’s statutory review of State pension and benefit rates. Following the last review in Autumn 2024, the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit increased by 4.1% in line with average earnings. This raised it to £227.10 a week for a single pensioner and £346.60 a week for a couple from 7 April 2025. The next review will be undertaken following confirmation in October by the Office of National Statistics of the earnings and prices indices which are used to inform the review.
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Adam Thompson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of people who pass away before their attendance allowance appeal is concluded. \p Sir Stephen Timms: For Attendance Allowance Appeals raised in the 2024/25 year, 10 claimants died before their appeal was concluded.

Please note that the figure supplied is derived from unpublished information and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It should therefore be used with caution and may be subject to future revision.

Notes:

Figure has been rounded to the nearest 10
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of people who will pay income tax on the state pension from April 2026. \p Torsten Bell: The headline rates of the basic and new State Pensions are currently below the level of the Income Tax Personal Allowance, so pensioners for whom that is their sole income pay no income tax.

It is pensioners with larger than average State Pension entitlements, because of, for example, entitlement to additional earnings-related State Pension, inherited awards or Protected Payments under the new State Pension who will be liable for income tax on their State Pension income.

Utilising DWP’s pensioner benefit forecasting model and the State Pension caseload forecast published at Spring Statement 2025 (Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2025 - GOV.UK), it is estimated that around 30% (approximately 4m) of State Pension recipients will be liable for tax on their State Pension award administered by DWP in 2026/27. This figure is a modelled estimate from DWP’s pensioner benefit forecasting model and therefore should not be treated as an official statistic.

This is consistent with current personal tax allowance policy and the OBR’s Spring Statement 2025 State Pension forecasts. Tax liabilities considered are from DWP administered State Pension awards only.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the length of Personal Independence Payment processing times in Stockton-on-Tees. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner and always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence

For PIP new claims the current average clearance time is approximately 14 weeks, which includes the period allowed for customers to complete and return their questionnaire.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make a comparative assessment of the level of Universal Credit payments made to foster carers with the prior system of (a) Working Tax Credit and (b) Child Tax Credit. \p Sir Stephen Timms: No such assessment has been made. Whilst the UC child element won’t be paid if the child or qualifying young person is looked after by a foster carer, the allowance and fees received by foster carers in return for fostering are not treated as earnings and are fully disregarded for the purposes of calculating entitlement to Universal Credit. The rules differ to how WTC and CTC treated the income.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_202

Dan Aldridge:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has considered making a carers allowance supplement payment available to carers in England. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Scottish Government uses its powers under devolution to pay some unpaid carers who live in Scotland, regardless of their means, an extra amount through the twice-yearly payments of a Carer’s Allowance Supplement.

This Government is continuing with a different approach which focuses on extra support given to carers on the lowest incomes. Carers across the UK who are on Universal Credit can therefore receive around an additional £2,400 a year through the Carer Element compared to those without caring responsibilities.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_203
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_203

Cameron Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of Universal Credit childcare costs. \p Sir Stephen Timms: No such assessment has been made.

The Universal Credit Childcare element expenditure and forecast statistics can be found in row 18 of the ‘Universal Credit and equivalent’ tab, published here: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2025 - GOV.UK

Further information, including Universal Credit childcare element statistics and supplementary data tables, are also published and available here: Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 10 July 2025 - GOV.UK
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_204
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_204

Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Universal Credit in supporting working families. \p Sir Stephen Timms: As promised in our election manifesto, we are currently reviewing Universal Credit, including its support for working families, to ensure it makes work pay and tackles poverty.

Universal Credit is designed so that people who can, are able to secure and progress in work, and to provide a vital safety net for those who cannot work. The Universal Credit Bill has now passed all remaining stages and will receive Royal Assent this month. This bill legislates for the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of households.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_205
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_205

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether existing claimants of Employment Support Allowance, who leave the social security system and later need to return to claim (a) Employment Support Allowance and (b) Universal Health, will be considered new claimants. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Customers who leave the social security system and later need to return to claim New Style Employment Support Allowance or the Universal Credit health element will be considered new claimants, unless they stopped receiving Universal Credit as a result of increased earnings and then return to payment within six months.

All new claimants who apply for the Universal Credit health element from 6 April 2026 will receive the lower rate unless they meet the Severe Conditions Criteria or qualify under Special Rules for End of Life.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_206
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_206

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available to people with Parkinson’s in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition.   Entitlement to PIP focuses on the functional impacts of a person’s health condition or disability on their daily life. It is assessed on the basis of needs arising and not on the condition itself, so is available to individuals when they meet the PIP qualifying criteria.

PIP is non-contributory, non-means-tested and can be worth up to £9,747.40 a year, tax free. Receiving a qualifying rate of PIP can act as a ‘passport’ to extra money or higher amounts of other means-tested benefits, such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, and Housing Benefit. It can also provide access to council tax reductions and a Disabled Person's Railcard.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_207
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_207

Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that (a) alignment with EU standards and (b) the highest safety standards are maintained on chemical regulation when importing toxic chemicals. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The reforms set out in the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) consultation on Chemicals Legislative Reform proposals aim to give HSE greater flexibility and scope to make necessary or appropriate regulatory decisions in Great Britain (GB) at pace with international partners, including the European Union (EU) and rest of the world where appropriate. The proposals are intended to maintain current levels of protection for people and the environment from harmful chemicals and are therefore not expected to impact on the UK’s compliance with the Trade and Co-operation Agreement. Part of this consultation delivered the commitment made in the Regulatory Action Plan (RAP) on how international approvals can be recognised to reduce the time and cost to bring chemicals products, including biocides, to the GB market.

The proposals include a new system to recognize international approvals from "trusted jurisdictions" where the regulatory standards are "similar to and at least as high as" those in GB. This is likely to include the EU given the similarity in the regulatory standards. The proposals are intended to remove the duplicative processes and associated evaluation costs.

A key safeguard is that the Secretary of State with responsibility for HSE would retain the power to refuse an approval from a trusted jurisdiction if it is deemed "harmful to GB interests," such as for the protection of public health or the environment.

No decisions have been made as HSE is currently analysing the consultation responses, following closure of the recent consultation on 18 August, and any changes will be subject to parliamentary approval.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_208

Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the consultation entitled: HSE Chemicals Legislative Reform Proposals, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of divergence from European standards on chemicals with compliance with the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The reforms set out in the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) consultation on Chemicals Legislative Reform proposals aim to give HSE greater flexibility and scope to make necessary or appropriate regulatory decisions in Great Britain (GB) at pace with international partners, including the European Union (EU) and rest of the world where appropriate. The proposals are intended to maintain current levels of protection for people and the environment from harmful chemicals and are therefore not expected to impact on the UK’s compliance with the Trade and Co-operation Agreement. Part of this consultation delivered the commitment made in the Regulatory Action Plan (RAP) on how international approvals can be recognised to reduce the time and cost to bring chemicals products, including biocides, to the GB market.

The proposals include a new system to recognize international approvals from "trusted jurisdictions" where the regulatory standards are "similar to and at least as high as" those in GB. This is likely to include the EU given the similarity in the regulatory standards. The proposals are intended to remove the duplicative processes and associated evaluation costs.

A key safeguard is that the Secretary of State with responsibility for HSE would retain the power to refuse an approval from a trusted jurisdiction if it is deemed "harmful to GB interests," such as for the protection of public health or the environment.

No decisions have been made as HSE is currently analysing the consultation responses, following closure of the recent consultation on 18 August, and any changes will be subject to parliamentary approval.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_209
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_209

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing housing benefit for young people in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Most young people in receipt of support with housing will receive this support through the Housing Element of Universal Credit. However, there are some groups of customers receiving their rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, individuals living in supported housing or temporary accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit.

Maintaining rent support through Housing Benefit for customers (including young people) in this type of housing has meant that they are not subject to the same restrictions that apply in general needs housing. This approach recognises the higher costs that can be associated with these types of housing.

Any amendment to the Housing Benefit rules would apply to all of these groups and could result in Housing Benefit outstripping the provision provided by Universal Credit or undermining the work incentives.
wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_210
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-09-05)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-09-05 conversation_210

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the Housing Benefit taper rate from to 55 per cent to bring it in line with Universal Credit. \p Sir Stephen Timms: It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.

The Department acknowledges there is a challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those living in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation and receiving their housing support through Housing Benefit. The department will consider the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.

Like Universal Credit, Housing Benefit has an income taper. As Housing Benefit may be claimed by those both in work and out of work, there are no rules around the number of hours that someone may work; instead, there are income tapers which apply.

The income taper in Housing Benefit ensures people in work are better off than someone wholly reliant on benefits. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These benefits include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health. However, the treatment of earnings in Housing Benefit is less generous than that of Universal Credit. Therefore, although customers living in Supported Housing are better off working than doing no work at all, they can be financially better off limiting the hours they work to ensure they retain a small amount of Universal Credit entitlement.

Changing the current rules would require a fiscal event and funding at a Budget. As funding is required to allow a change, any future decisions will take account of the current fiscal context.