Written questions by Khan.

What steps he is taking to help remove barriers to work faced by young disabled people with complex needs in Birmingham Perry Barr constituency.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group. Access to the right support, in the right place, at the right time, is crucial.Jobcentre Plus provides tailored, person-centred support to young disabled people, focusing on their individual needs. Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) provide personalise support for people with health conditions and disabilities to enable them to achieve appropriate and sustainable employment. DEAs work closely with Youth Employability Coaches (YECs), who deliver longer-term support, specifically for young people facing with complex to work. Both DEAs and YECs work with partner organisations to ensure access to expert advice.The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education continue to work closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) on the design and delivery of their Youth Guarantee Trailblazer. WMCA has actively engaged its seven Local Authorities, which includes Birmingham, to co-develop and test place-based solutions aimed at tackling high youth unemployment, economic inactivity, and declining apprenticeship opportunities. Examples of programmes being delivered through the Trailblazer include work experience placements, pre-apprenticeship training, and NEET prevention. This locally tailored support is also accessible to young people with health conditions and disabilities. Insights from the Trailblazer will inform future national policy and delivery.In addition, young people with health conditions and disabilities can benefit from other locally delivered programmes such as Connect to Work and Workwell. Connect to Work, is a voluntary, high-fidelity programme, connecting work, health and skills support for people with challenges to employment, including health and disability. Workwell, provides a light touch intervention which focuses on prevention and support for people in work to sustain employment. It also supports people who have fallen out of work due to health and disability to return to the workplace.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Funeral Expenses Payment's eligibility criteria on the finances of local authorities.

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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62414 on Funeral Payments, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of assessing the (a) ability and (b) willingness of other family members to take responsibility for a funeral within the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment.

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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62414 on Funeral Payments, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) amending the family-related questions for the application process and (b) reviewing the eligibility criteria for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment, in the context of situations in which the next of kin has refused to pay for the funeral.

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.

Whether her Department plans to assess the adequacy of the clarity of the application process for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment for bereaved applicants.

The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment 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, processing times and administrative costs.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of simplifying the eligibility criteria for the Funeral Expenses Payment on (a) application processing times and (b) the administrative costs of processing applications.

The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment 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, processing times and administrative costs.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the eligibility criteria for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment in line with the Scottish Government’s Funeral Support Payment.

The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment 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, processing times and administrative costs.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reinstating the Winter Fuel Allowance before the winter 2025-26.

The Government wants to expand eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments, recognising the goals of supporting these pensioners, meeting need and of sustainable public finances. Any change will be announced to Parliament in the normal way.

What steps the Government is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause in the workplace.

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.

Whether her Department plans to publish an Equality Impact Assessment of proposed reforms to the health and benefit system.

As with all policies, we will ensure that considerations about their impact are at the heart of the policy making process. We will consider the publication of any future Equality Impact Assessments on a case by case basis as usual.

Whether her Department plans to publish all recorded responses to its consultation on reforms to health and disability benefits.

There are currently no plans to publish all recorded responses to the forthcoming Green Paper consultation on health and disability benefits. After the consultation period, we will review and analyse consultation responses and we will set out our response in a White Paper later this year.

Whether the child poverty taskforce will consider the impact of proposed reforms to the health and disability benefit system on child poverty rates in the UK.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, and the Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy to deliver lasting change. 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 part of the Strategy's development, the Taskforce is considering the potential impact of policies across government. We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also work to support disabled people to live independently and be financially sustainable in the long term. We will set out our proposals for reform in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year.

What steps she is taking to support British state pensioners residing overseas.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, based on a person’s National Insurance record. People move abroad for many reasons and may have access to their host country’s benefit system or other sources of income such as an occupational pension. Information about the impact on State Pensions of moving abroad is available on Gov.uk.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of uprating the state pension for British pensioners residing overseas.

No assessment has been made. The UK's policy on the up-rating of the UK State Pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one. The UK state pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. Up-rating is based on levels of earnings growth and price inflation in the UK which has no direct relevance where the pensioner is resident overseas. Over many years, priority is given to those living in the United Kingdom when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.

Whether the new Get Britain Working Trailblazers will help support people with musculoskeletal conditions to remain in employment.

We plan to publish the Get Britain Working White Paper shortly that will set out how we are investing £240 million to trial new ways of getting people back into work. The government will test new approaches and collect robust evidence on how to tackle the root causes of ill-health related inactivity, support young people who are ‘not in education, employment or training’ and help people to develop their careers. In at least three areas the NHS will also receiving funding to develop evidence of the impact of targeted action on those top health conditions most associated with economic inactivity including musculoskeletal conditions, mental health and cardiovascular disease. Once established, the government will work closely with local areas to develop the support they will provide to local communities.

Whether the Connect to Work scheme will include provisions to support people living with arthritis to remain in employment.

Connect to Work will be a new, locally led, voluntary Supported Employment programme in England and Wales which in 26/27 will support around 100,000 disabled people, people with health conditions (such as arthritis) and those with complex barriers to employment to get into as well as remain in work.Local Authorities are designing their own local Connect to Work programmes, working within national guidance. There will be a phased roll out, led by Local Authorities’ own timetables. We expect to see local areas opening for Connect to Work referrals in the spring and summer of 2025.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the decision to means test the winter fuel payment on the expected number of excess deaths in winter 2024-25.

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives. However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control. The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS. The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. We are supporting consumers, including pensioners, through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. Additionally, there are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). Pensioners if eligible may also receive the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025/26. Guidance to help people stay safe in cold weather has been published by UKHSA. This will help ensure that organisations and staff are prompted to signpost those vulnerable to cold weather to sources of support for keeping their home warm, with cost of living support, including help to manage energy bills, as needed. As well as advice on simple measures to improve home energy efficiency and safety to reduce risks that may increase in cold weather (for example from carbon monoxide exposure). Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

What steps she is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause.

The Government believes in the vital importance of equality of opportunity and of treatment in the workplace. The plan to Make Work Pay includes clear action to place equality, diversity and inclusion issues on a statutory footing. This includes requiring large employers to publish plans detailing the action they're taking to improve gender equality and support employees during the menopause. Alongside this, the Government has appointed a Menopause Employment Ambassador who will work with employers to improve the support for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.