Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce sickness absence rates in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to supporting people to remain in or return to work, particularly those experiencing health-related barriers. In Surrey, this commitment is being delivered through several targeted initiatives as part of the Government’s wider Pathways to Work reforms, which aim to improve employment support for people with health conditions and disabilities. DWP's current offer to employers includes a digital information service, www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/ which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees to remain in work. This includes guidance on health disclosures and having conversations about health, plus guidance on legal obligations, including statutory sick pay and making reasonable adjustments. Another intervention is the WorkWell pilot, which supports people both in and out of work. It provides low intensity holistic support for health and disability related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. WorkWell is being delivered in 15 areas across England, including Surrey Heartlands. Participants get a holistic assessment, and a tailored support plan that can include employer liaison; advice on workplace adjustments; health and wellbeing support; confidential support from specialist employment and skills advisors to explore new career opportunities in Surrey; and access to local mental health or physical activity support services within seven days. Participants in Surrey can be referred through primary care hubs, Jobcentre Plus, community-based services, or they can self-refer. Employer led occupational health services provide expert advice on fitness for work, return-to-work plans, and workplace adaptations, helping individuals remain in work and return to work after sickness absence. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care’s OH reform programme has focused on increasing access to and uptake of occupational health services. Together, these measures form part of a broader strategy to reduce sickness absence, improve productivity, and support economic growth in Surrey and across the country.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce child poverty in Surrey Heath constituency.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. It is unacceptable that 9.5% of children in Surrey Heath constituency are in relative poverty (before housing costs). The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments. As a significant downpayment ahead of Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament. We are also establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2 billion including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan. We’ve also committed to rolling out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority by April 2026 and creating up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028. Backed by £500m funding, this vital support will relieve pressure on parents and give half a million more children the very best start in life. And last month, we confirmed funding of £600m for the Holiday Activities and Food programme for the next three years, ensuring that children and young people can continue to benefit from enriching experiences and nutritious meals during the school holidays. These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available for children living in poverty in Surrey Heath constituency.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. It is unacceptable that 9.5% of children in Surrey Heath constituency are in relative poverty (before housing costs). The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments. As a significant downpayment ahead of Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament. We are also establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2 billion including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan. We’ve also committed to rolling out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority by April 2026 and creating up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028. Backed by £500m funding, this vital support will relieve pressure on parents and give half a million more children the very best start in life. And last month, we confirmed funding of £600m for the Holiday Activities and Food programme for the next three years, ensuring that children and young people can continue to benefit from enriching experiences and nutritious meals during the school holidays. These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing housing benefit for young people in Surrey Heath constituency.

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.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available to people with Parkinson’s in Surrey Heath constituency.

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.

What steps her Department is taking to support older people in financial hardship in Surrey Heath constituency.

The Government is committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the financial security and dignity they deserve. The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people and together with the private and workplace pensions system provides for security in retirement. That’s why we have made a commitment to the Triple Lock for the entirety of this Parliament which will see the forecast annual spend on people’s State Pensions rise by around £31 billion. In April this year, the basic and new State Pensions increased by 4.1%, benefitting 12 million pensioners by up to £470 this year. That’s up to £275 more than if pensions had been up rated by inflation. The standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit, which provides a vital safety net for around 1.4m pensioners on the lowest incomes, also increased by 4.1%. Pension Credit can passport pensioners to a range of extra support including help with rent, council tax reduction, fuel bills (via the Warm Home Discount scheme and Cold Weather Payments) and a free TV licence for those over 75. We have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit campaign across Great Britain since Autumn 2024. Our drive to maximise Pension Credit take-up has seen the Department receive around 285,600 claims from July 2024 to May 2025 with almost 60,000 extra awards on the comparable period the previous year. Further promotional activity is planned from this Autumn through to the end of the financial year, as part of a nationwide campaign aimed at eligible pensioners, their friends and their families – including those in Surrey Heath. The Household Support Fund also continues to provide support to those most in need, including older people in financial hardship. The Government has extended it in England until 31 March 2026 with funding of £742 million – and additional corresponding funding for the devolved administrations.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of four-weekly employer pay cycles on the (a) calculation and (b) consistency of Universal Credit payments.

Those who are paid their earnings four-weekly will normally get one payment in each monthly assessment period and will have one assessment period a year where they will receive two four-weekly payments. This is because there are 12 assessment periods a year and those who are paid four-weekly will receive 13 payments a year. This means for 11 assessment periods entitlement to Universal Credit should be the same and in the other assessment period entitlement will be reduced or end because of the higher amount earnings received in that assessment period. The proportion of Universal Credit claimants in work who are paid their wages 4-weekly by their employer are 10% (excluding self-employed people).The Department has committed to reviewing Universal Credit, to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We know that UC’s monthly assessment period doesn’t suit household circumstances in all cases. We are meeting with expert stakeholders to explore this as part of the review

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the use of food banks in Surrey Heath constituency.

We are committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food support landscape. We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need and extended the Household Support Fund by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food. Alongside this, the Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. The Strategy will look at four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty. Our plan to Make Work Pay, will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards, including by increasing the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers. It is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.

What steps she is taking to support autistic people into employment in Surrey Heath constituency.

Neurodivergent people bring many positive benefits to workplaces but face particular barriers to employment, which is reflected in a poor overall employment rate.In Surrey Heath, the Jobcentres work closely with employers and providers to support customers with autism into employment. Our Disability Employment Advisers work closely with Surrey Choices who regularly attend both job fairs and events to support neurodivergent and autistic job seekers. The Employer and Partnership Team also identify Disability Confident employers to highlight/implement reasonable adjustments and signposting to Access to Work where appropriate to do so.At national level, on 29 January this year, the Government launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. Many of the panel are diagnosed or identify as neurodivergent and/or have familial experience alongside their professional experience and expertise. Recommendations are expected to include employer actions that can support the inclusion of neurodivergent people, including in recruitment and day to day workplace practices.Under the Government’s new Get Britain Working Strategy, the forthcoming voluntary, locally led Supported Employment programme ‘Connect to Work’ will support disabled people, those with health conditions and other complex barriers including neurodivergent people, to get into and on in work.Our support to employers also includes the online Support with Employee Health and Disability service, to support employers managing health and disability in the workplace. This includes questions of disclosure and equipping employers to feel confident having conversations about health and disability.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a Commissioner for Older People to amplify the voices of older demographics in policy-making.

DWP offers employment support for eligible older people through the network of Jobcentres across the UK. The White Paper published on 26 November focuses on support for people who are economically inactive, people who are looking for work or want to progress, and people who are at risk of economic inactivity despite having a desire to stay in work. This includes and goes beyond people who are claiming benefits. The new national jobs and careers service will be instrumental in achieving this objective. This service will be available for anyone, including older people, who wants to look for work, wants help to increase their earnings, or who wants help to change their career or re-train. The service will be tailored to local needs. We are committing to the establishment of ‘collaboration committees’ to further develop the reforms set out in our Pathways to Work Green Paper. These we will bring together groups of people for specific work areas, collaborating with civil servants to provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations. Each group will have a different mix of people including older people. My department also engages with employers to ensure their recruitment practises attract and support the retention of older people and encouraging employers to sign the Age-Friendly employer pledge.

What steps she is taking to support disabled people with increases in the cost of living in Surrey Heath constituency.

The extra costs disability benefits, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), provide a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. These additional costs are not defined, and customers are able to spend the money they receive according to their own priorities. In England, the Household Support Fund (HSF) provides discretionary support to those most in need towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy, and water. The Government is further extending the HSF by a year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. Funding of £742 million will be provided to enable the HSF extension plus additional funding for the Devolved Government through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. This builds on the previous investment of £421 million to extend the current HSF in England for six months, running from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her proposed changes to disability benefits on people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

What steps she is taking to help reduce youth unemployment rates in Surrey Heath constituency.

As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we will also be 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.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.One such provision is our DWP Youth Hubs. The Surrey Heath Youth Hub provides employability support, mental health support and confidence building sessions, and also works alongside partners such as Surrey Young People’s Fund and Surrey Choices. Surrey Young People’s Fund provides funding for disadvantaged young people aged 16-25, who are resident in Surrey, to assist them in moving towards an identified goal in education, training, apprenticeship, or employment. Surrey Choices offer specialised programmes for young people aged 16-24 with a range of support needs – the aim of these programmes is to prepare disabled, neurodivergent and autistic people for work.

What steps she is taking to (a) tackle discrimination and (b) enhance inclusion policies for neurodiverse people in the workforce in Surrey.

Neurodivergent people bring many positive benefits to businesses but can face stigma and disadvantage. We understand the importance of tackling discrimination and encouraging employers to adopt neuro-inclusive working practices so that everyone can thrive at work. In our plan to Make Work Pay, we committed to raising awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace. We will be gathering expert evidence on how best to improve employment for all neurodivergent people and will be considering the Buckland Review of Autism Employment’s findings. Employers have a key role to play. Our support to employers includes a digital information service for employers, and the Disability Confident scheme. Both help employers to understand their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010. We will be considering how to enhance our work with employers in the months ahead, including in response to the independent employer review announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper.