Written questions by George.

What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of the disability employment gap; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce that gap.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of mandatory disability pay gap reporting on the disability employment gap.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate he has made of the legal costs that may be incurred by the Department in relation to ongoing litigation regarding compensation for women affected by maladministration in State Pension Age

Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We do not comment on live litigation.

What estimate he has made of the comparative cost to the public purse of compensating women affected by maladministration in State Pension Age communications, as identified by the Parliamentary and Heal

Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We are not able to comment on live litigation, but full details of our decision in this cas...

How much his Department has spent on legal fees and associated costs defending judicial review proceedings brought by the WASPI Campaign since December 2024.

Based on the information held, since December 2024, the recorded legal costs on litigation brought by WASPI including disbursements and VAT and costs paid to WASPI are £348,566.14.

On how many occasions Ministers or Officials from his Department have met representatives of the WASPI Campaign since September 2024.

During this time, the previous Minister for Pensions met with representatives, the first Minister to do so in eight years.

What steps he is taking to promote the use of (a) biological safety cabinets, (b) closed-system drug-transfer devices and (c) other engineering controls during (i) preparation and (ii) administration of hazardous medicinal products; and whether he plans to provide funding for NHS trusts to implement those controls.

Where hazardous medicinal products (HMPs) are substances hazardous to health subject to The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) (COSHH) employers, including NHS Trusts, are required to comply with the requirements of these regulations. The regulations require employers who prepare and administer substances hazardous to health to undertake a risk assessment, the purpose of which is to make valid decisions about the measures needed to prevent, or where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately control the exposure of their employees to substances hazardous to health. If it is not reasonably practicable for an employer to prevent exposure, the regulations require that the exposure of employees is adequately controlled and through the risk assessment process that the employer considers and identifies the control measures that should be implemented. Priority should be given to those controls that contain or minimise the release of contaminants and the spread of hazardous substances into the workplace. The Approved Code of Practice and guidance to the COSHH regulations provides employers with detailed information and guidance on the requirements of the regulations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has also produced specific guidance on it’s website on the Safe handling of cytotoxic drugs in the workplace, which are one particular type of HMP.

If he will review the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 to ensure that hazardous medicinal products with reprotoxic effects are controlled to the same standard as (a) carcinogens and (b) mutagens.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has no current plans to amend The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) (as amended). These regulations place duties on all employers to assess the risk and ensure that the exposure of their employees to substances hazardous to health is either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled. This includes any hazardous substances within hazardous medicinal products. COSHH requires employers to carry out their risk assessments to establish the hazards arising from work activities, including the products and processes being used, and for the employer to put measures in place to control those risks. The risk assessment must take into account the properties of the hazardous substance and how and when they can give rise to risks to health. If exposure cannot be prevented, employers must implement an effective programme of management procedures and put in place and maintain suitable and sufficient control measures to mitigate against the risks to health posed by any such exposure.

Whether his Department plans to (a) (i) develop and (ii) adopt a list of hazardous medicinal products and (b) require safety data sheets for finished medicines; and if he will take steps with the Health and Safety Executive to make such a list publicly available to NHS employers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has no current plans to develop or adopt a list of hazardous medicinal products. The GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Chemicals Regulations 2009 (GB CLP) is disapplied to medicinal products in their finished state as outlined in Article 1(5)(a) of GB CLP. Furthermore, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulations 2006 include an exemption from the need to provide a safety data sheet (SDS) for substances and mixtures intended for medicinal products. This occurs to avoid duplication when other more specific legislation exists to regulate those uses. Medicinal products for human and veterinary use, which are within the scope of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 or the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, are partially exempt from REACH for this reason. The responsibility for the REACH legislation lies with the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of support for low income workers.

This Government is committed to supporting low income workers to boost their earnings and progress in work.DWP offers work coach support in Jobcentres and a variety of contracted employment programmes to help people into work.As part of our plans to Get Britain Working, we will create a new Jobs and Careers Service to give everyone access to employment support, not just those on benefits.

What recent estimate he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to disability payments on the number of claimants in poverty.

The Department published an updated assessment of the poverty impacts of the benefit changes announced at Spring Statement with revisions to reflect the proposed changes since tabled. This estimates that there will be 50,000 fewer individuals in relative poverty after housing costs in 2029/30 as a result of the changes. This includes a reduction in poverty for both children and working age individuals. The assessment is available at Spring statement social security changes – updated impact on poverty levels in Great Britain, July 2025 - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 29583 on Apprentices: Artificial Intelligence, whether she will plans to evaluate the outcome of adult AI literacy and reskilling programmes by (a) occupation and (b) region.

We fund post-16 education, training and qualifications through 16-19 funding, the Adult Skills Fund and apprenticeships. This can support people at all stages of their lives to train and reskill in a range of sectors – including in response to changes in technology such as AI. Skills England will provide the single authoritative voice on the country’s current and future skills needs, and co-design new approaches with industry and regional partnersto improve the skills of our workforce, collaborating with a wide range of interestedparties across the skills system. We are investing £187 million to bring digital and AI learning into classrooms and support over 4,000 graduates, researchers, and innovators in areas like AI, cyber security and computer science. We will also train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 through our new industry partnership with major tech players. Skills England is working with DSIT to mobilise the government-industry partnership that will deliver on this commitment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question HL8737, what assessment her Department has made since 2022 of changes in online job advert volumes by Standard Occupational Classification groups ranked by AI exposure; and whether analysis using the ONS job advert data will be published disaggregated by exposure quintile.

No such assessment has been made.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 29583 on Apprentices: Artificial Intelligence, what funding her Department has provided to support adult AI literacy and reskilling programmes through (a) pilots via Skills England and (c) adult education providers in the 2025-26 financial year.

We fund post-16 education, training and qualifications through 16-19 funding, the Adult Skills Fund and apprenticeships. This can support people at all stages of their lives to train and reskill in a range of sectors – including in response to changes in technology such as AI. Skills England will provide the single authoritative voice on the country’s current and future skills needs, and co-design new approaches with industry and regional partnersto improve the skills of our workforce, collaborating with a wide range of interestedparties across the skills system. We are investing £187 million to bring digital and AI learning into classrooms and support over 4,000 graduates, researchers, and innovators in areas like AI, cyber security and computer science. We will also train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 through our new industry partnership with major tech players. Skills England is working with DSIT to mobilise the government-industry partnership that will deliver on this commitment.

What recent guidance his Department has issued to (a) Jobcentre Plus and the (b) National Careers Service on advising graduates entering occupations with high task exposure to AI.

There are no departmental operational instructions or guidance which refer to graduates entering occupations with high task exposure to AI.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to disability payments on the proportion of Universal Credit claimants who will enter employment.

The DWP is working with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to assess the employment impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper. The OBR will publish their estimate of the impacts alongside the Autumn Budget.