Written questions by Cooper.

What assessment they have made of the adequacy of Statutory Sick Pay in meeting essential living costs for low-income workers.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is designed to provide a minimum level of support and financial security for employees when they are unable to work due to sickness whilst also balancing the cost to employers. The government has made key changes to SSP, which came into force last month. Through the Employment Rights Act, we have removed the Lower Earnings Limit for SSP. Previously employees had to earn at least £125 per to week to be eligible to receive SSP from their employer, the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit has meant this threshold no longer applies. This means up to 1.3 million more employees will be covered, supporting low-income workers and those who work for more than one employer. We have also removed the waiting period, so people can access sick pay from their first day of sickness absence. These changes will mean that employees receive around an extra £400 million a year in sick pay.

With reference to the Government response to the Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments consultation, published on 23 June 2025, what her planned timetable is for publishing further information on next steps.

Primary legislation is required to make the change to remove Direct Pay and reform the collection fee structure, meaning these changes will be subject to detailed parliamentary scrutiny. Our intention is to implement these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of administrative capacity to manage the volume of transitions from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit; and what steps she is taking to ensure that vulnerable claimants do not experience prolonged delays or shortfalls in payment due to outstanding actions as a result of these transitions.

Adequate resourcing for the transition is an important priority for the department. The department has identified a small number of cases where the payments due have not all been paid in full in the first assessment period, due to delays in the process. The problem has been addressed by introducing additional automation, and increasing the resources to deal with these cases. DWP has also enhanced the identity verification identity process, reducing the requirement for customers to attend the office or receive a home visit. We have robust plans in place to support the safe migration of cases onto UC. We will continue to monitor the position on these cases carefully through to the end of the migration activity, responding quickly if difficulties arise.

What steps she has taken to implement a strategic plan to remove asbestos from all non-domestic buildings.

The Government is committed to working towards asbestos removal across Great Britain’s (GB) workplaces, whilst ensuring the safe management of any asbestos present. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is engaging with stakeholders about how to improve what is known about the scale and condition of asbestos remaining in GB workplaces. This will be used to develop a robust evidence base that can support or improve legacy asbestos management as part of a wider, long term strategic plan.

If she will take steps to amend the eligibility criteria for Universal Credit so that people on temporary employment contracts are able to make claims as soon as their contract ends.

A person on a temporary contract can claim UC at any time and the amount of UC will adjust depending on their earnings. The Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit. Details of the review will be set out in due course.