Every parliamentary written question tabled by Bell Ribeiro-Addy this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 66 · Department for Work and Pensions
What estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of Universal Basic Income on (a) absolute and (b) relative poverty in the UK.
Universal Basic Income is not being considered as an alternative social security system by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Whether her Department has undertaken research into the potential impact of implementing a universal basic income on (a) employment rates and (b) workforce participation.
Universal Basic Income is not being considered as an alternative social security system by the Department for Work and Pensions.
What steps she is taking to (a) review and (b) incorporate international best practices from Universal Basic Income trials into domestic policy considerations.
Universal Basic Income is not being considered as an alternative social security system by the Department for Work and Pensions.
What steps she is taking to prevent companies sponsoring pensions from reducing pension indexation rates below promised levels.
Defined Benefit schemes are legally required to increase pensions in payment annually (for pension rights earned from April 1997 onwards) to provide pensioners with a measure of protection against the effects of inflation. Before April 1997, there was no statutory requirement on defined benefit schemes to increase pensions once in payment, apart from any Guaranteed Minimum Pension element (paid in place of the additional State Pension) earned between April 1988 and April 1997 which must be increased by inflation capped at 3 per cent. Defined Benefit schemes must meet the legal minimum requirements. However, schemes can and do make more generous arrangements through the scheme rules. If the scheme rules provide for increases above the legal requirements these increases must continue to be paid. If a member thinks the trustees or sponsoring employer have acted outside the scheme rules, they can take the matter up with the pension scheme through the Internal Dispute Resolution arrangement the scheme is required to have in place. If the Internal Dispute Resolution arrangement does not provide a satisfactory conclusion, they may wish to consider taking the case to the Pensions Ombudsman.
Whether she plans to introduce safeguards for pensions against future (a) sale and (b) transfer of pension funds to (i) insurance companies and (ii) other entities.
Insurance buyout is a long-established way of ensuring members get the full value of their promised defined benefit (DB) pensions from an insurer, backed by a 100 per cent compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This is widely regarded as a positive outcome for scheme beneficiaries. The Pension Schemes Bill 2025 introduces a regulatory framework for “superfunds”, which can consolidate closed DB schemes where buyout is unaffordable. Member security is at the heart of the new regime, which has rigorous safeguards and robust funding requirements. Superfunds will also continue to be overseen by the Pensions Regulator and underpinned by the Pensions Protection Fund. Trustees must be satisfied that transferring the liabilities of the scheme to an insurer, or to a superfund, is in the best interests of the members before any transfer can take place.
How Serco performed against key performance indicators at the most recent performance review of their Restart Scheme contract.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her previous Question UIN 50919.Cabinet Office Statistics publish some of the Serco Key Performance Indicators on a regular basis. The latest publication is available here.Ongoing performance reviews have identified a need for performance improvement in the two Contract Package Areas (CPA) CPA1a and CPA6 that Serco delivers in. Therefore, the department has implemented intensified support and heightened monitoring as part of our established performance management intervention regime.This activity incorporates more frequent and more senior scrutiny and includes requiring Serco to implement comprehensive action plans to address concerns, with the intensity of support and challenge increasing at higher intervention levels.
With reference to the Office for National Statistics' data entitled The night-time economy, UK: 2022, published on 24 January 2023, what recent steps her Department has taken to support the health and safety of the 76,300 workers in Lambeth identified as working at night.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. This applies to all employers in Great Britain. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, Health and Safety Executive has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256]). Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance. The Government recognises that night working can increase stress levels and can have an impact on both physical and mental health. In Great Britain, working hours, including working at night, are governed by the Working Time Regulations (WTR). These provide protections to night time workers including by establishing the maximum working hours and minimum rest breaks that workers are entitled to. Before someone starts working at night, they must be offered a free health assessment to see if they are fit to work nights before they become a night worker and on a regular basis after that. The frequency of the health assessment should be guided by an assessment of the specific risks to each individual worker. A record of the health assessments and the dates when assessments were offered must be kept by the employer. If a worker suffers from health problems that are caused or made worse by night work, employers must offer suitable other work where possible.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Serco's performance against key performance indicators in their Functional Assessment Services contract.
Serco secured the Functional Assessment Services (FAS) contract for Lot 3 (south-west England) through a competitive and transparent procurement under the Public Contract Regulations in line with Government policies. Serco strives to provide an excellent service to claimants and are held to account for their performance.The contract with Serco is robustly managed to obtain optimal performance, with a dedicated performance management team monitoring performance on an ongoing basis. DWP does not use key performance indicators in the FAS contract; instead, we monitor performance through the achievement of Target Performance Levels (TPLs) and Volume Clearance Targets (VCTs). As the contract is still relatively new, we do not yet have sufficient data to share a full assessment of Serco's performance. However, plans are being developed for a routine statistics publication.We are working hard to ensure all services are delivered to a high standard for customers and we have sufficient controls in place to quickly identify any future deterioration.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Serco's performance against key performance indicators in the Restart Scheme contract.
Serco’s performance against the contracted Key Performance Indicators has been varied. As part of our established performance management intervention regime, the department has therefore implemented intensified support and heightened monitoring for the two Contract Package Areas in which Serco delivers.
What steps she is taking to (a) understand and (b) mitigate the negative effects of night shift work on maternal health.
Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as outlined in their strategic objectives. One of the ways this is achieved is supporting employers to protect their workers’ health and keep them in the workforce. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256]).Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.In addition, employers have a specific responsibility to complete an individual risk assessment for workers who are pregnant, are breastfeeding, or have given birth in the last 6 months. They must review the existing general risk management and controls for pregnant workers and new mothers and discuss any concerns they have about how their work could affect their pregnancy. Employers must also account of any medical recommendations provided by their doctor or midwife. The individual risk assessment should then be regularly reviewed.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) restricting eligibility for PIP, (b) reducing the health component of Universal Credit and (c) removing the health component of Universal Credit for 18-21 year olds on the unemployment rate.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Whether the child poverty strategy will set longer term goals beyond the next 10 years.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Our focus is on bringing about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, thereby reversing the trend that is seeing forecasts of child poverty continuing to increase. More details, including on the time horizon, will be set out in the strategy publication. We recognise the critical role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay. The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit on Gov.uk that supports claimants to identify what support may be available.
Whether the child poverty strategy will include the removal of the (a) two-child limit and (b) benefit cap.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Our focus is on bringing about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, thereby reversing the trend that is seeing forecasts of child poverty continuing to increase. More details, including on the time horizon, will be set out in the strategy publication. We recognise the critical role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay. The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit on Gov.uk that supports claimants to identify what support may be available.
What steps her Department is taking to increase the take up of benefits in households with children in poverty.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Our focus is on bringing about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, thereby reversing the trend that is seeing forecasts of child poverty continuing to increase. More details, including on the time horizon, will be set out in the strategy publication. We recognise the critical role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay. The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit on Gov.uk that supports claimants to identify what support may be available.
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38383 on G4S: Fines, what steps she is taking to (a) highlight and (b) report on steps taken by her Department to (i) monitor the performance of and (ii) impose financial penalties on G4S in relation to its key performance indicators.
The Department has an established robust contractual performance management regime in place that reviews G4S achievement against KPIs monthly. The top 3 KPIs achievement are published quarterly in line with Cabinet Office transparency guidelines. In terms of fines, I refer the honourable member to PQ 38383.
What estimate she has made of the number of people reliant on Personal Independence Payments to access employment opportunities.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 March 2025 to Question UIN39344.
If her Department will publish an equality impact assessment on reforms set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025.
We will publish the equality analysis for measures included in the Spring Statement alongside the Spring Statement, with equality analysis for other reforms, where possible, following shortly after.
What financial penalties have been imposed on G4S for failing to meet key performance indicators on officer deployment or site availability in the last twelve months.
DWP have applied the full contract performance management regime across the last 12 months, including service credits (pre-determined costs associated with a supplier failing to deliver a service or missing a target). Over the last 12 months, strike activity on the contract has increased the amount of Service Credits applied. DWP have worked with G4S collaboratively to mitigate the impact on front line services while G4S sought a resolution to the dispute with their workforce. The exact value of the service credits is commercially sensitive and I am therefore unable to set out exact amounts.
What disability rights organisations and campaigners her Department is consulting with on planned reforms the disability welfare system; and whether any user-led organisations have been consulted.
This government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do. We have already started discussing the case for reform, including with representatives from the Disability Charities Consortium and the Disabled People’s Organisations Forum England. We intend to publish a Health and Disability Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year. After publication, the proposals will be subject to a consultation involving disabled people and representative organisations, with the conclusions to be set out in a white paper later in the year.
If she will make it her policy to increase Local Housing Allowance rates in line with inflation.
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was introduced in 2008 and determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Claimants in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates do not cover all rents in all areas. In April 2024, LHA rates were restored at the 30th percentile of local market rents at a cost of approximately £7bn over 5 years. In relation to LHA rates remaining at current levels for 2025/26, the Government has had to take difficult decisions at Autumn Budget to address the challenging fiscal context. For LHA a range of factors were considered, including rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, the fact that rates were increased in April, and the wider fiscal context. Decisions on LHA rates for future years will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, housing priorities, and the fiscal context. For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to housing support who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.