Written questions by Anderson.

With reference to the document entitled Backing your business, published on 31 July 2025, what steps her Department plans to take to tackle sector-specific labour shortages identified by industry groups through its policies on future-proofing skills, outlined in Chapter 5 of that document.

Skills England aims to understand the nation’s future skills needs and drive growth by mobilising employers and partners to co-create solutions that address national and regional skills priorities. Skills England’s second report, ‘Skills for Growth and Opportunity’, outlines key sector-specific skills needs. The department is aligning our skills system with priority sectors to tackle labour shortages. This includes funding uplifts for priority 16-19 courses, establishing new Technical Excellence Colleges and introducing short courses funded through the Growth and Skills Levy. Recognising that not all parts of the skills system work as well for smaller businesses, we have introduced flexible apprenticeship models including flexi-job apprenticeship agencies to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in sectors with short-term, project-based work, such as construction. Within the construction package announced this year, the Construction Industry Training Board is doubling its new entrant support team programme to help SMEs overcome administrative barriers and better recruit, engage and retain apprentices.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of current Direct Pay cases in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire that will transition to the Collect and Pay service following the implementation of child maintenance reforms.

Estimates of reform impacts are not available for local areas. Recent numbers of paying parents and arrangements in the Direct Pay service at regional level are available on Stat Xplore [Stat-Xplore - Table View]. There will be two clear options for parents following the planned reforms. One is to make a family-based arrangement, and the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will provide parents with enhanced support to make and maintain these. Parents with a stable and compliant direct pay arrangement may well find this option meets their needs.Where a family-based arrangement is not appropriate, or for those who prefer to be part of the statutory system, the CMS will operate a single service based on the current Collect and Pay model where it manages all payments, with an improved ability to identify and act on non-compliance.As part of these reforms, we will halve the fees for those using the CMS, while maintaining a 20% fee for non-resident parents who refuse to pay up on time and in full. Parents currently in the Direct Pay system will have the choice of keeping their CMS case which will be moved to the new, improved service, giving them the peace of mind that payment will be monitored and any problems followed up, in return for a small fee – or have improved support to make and maintain a family-based arrangement.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the Universal Credit deductions priority order on the (a) volume and (b) timeliness of child maintenance payments.

The Fair Repayment Rate (FRR) was implemented as a permanent change on the 30 April 2025. This measure reduces the overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer's Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance. This will enable approximately 1.2 million UC households retain more of their award, on average £420 a year or £35 per month. The FRR will impact UC assessment periods that start on 30 April 25 or after. The FRR measure as an isolated change, would have reduced the current number of child maintenance deductions taken from a UC award, resulting in a negative impact on child poverty. Therefore, in addition to the FRR, the child maintenance deduction was moved higher up the regulated deductions priority order on the 30 April, and for a temporary period of one year. The reason for implementing the child maintenance deduction measure on a temporary basis is to enable the Department to gather further evidence on the impact the changes will have on UC households with a child maintenance deduction. This evidence will determine the future child maintenance deduction policy. Outturn data on the full impact of the change to the positioning of Child Maintenance is not yet available. However, modelling of the change by the Department estimates that it will increase the number of monthly Child Maintenance deductions collected from approximately 50,000 to approximately 60,000. This estimate was derived using UC household deductions data from May 2024, the latest available when the modelling was done. Actual figures may differ as a result of changes to the composition and characteristics of the UC caseload in the intervening time. Timeliness of payments are in line with existing processes: the Universal Credit (UC) deduction is transferred to Child Maintenance Service (CMS) CMS on the Saturday following the UC award payment date and immediately paid out the receiving parent. The payment is subject to usual bank processing and is received in the parent’s bank account in 3-5 working days.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing the Direct Pay option on levels of compliance with child maintenance payments among non-resident parents.

Reforms will introduce a single service where all payments will be monitored enabling the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to identify missed, late, or partial payments in real time. This will enable swift enforcement action to restore compliance and increase the amount of money reaching children.We expect the reforms will make hidden non-compliance within Direct Pay visible, enabling the CMS to intervene earlier to ensure children receive the financial support they are entitled to.There is no evidence to suggest that cases currently working well under Direct Pay will cease to function. These families can move to a family-based arrangement or opt into Collect and Pay if they require the added security of enforcement.Where compliance cannot be achieved, the CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers that are designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and ensure children get the financial support they deserve.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Financial Reporting Council’s review of the Stewardship Code on pension schemes' decarbonisation goals.

The UK Stewardship Code is voluntary and provides signatories with an opportunity to report in a transparent and comparable way for clients and beneficiaries on how the signatory is delivering on the investment approaches mandated by their clients. The Financial Reporting Council’s recent consultation on the Code invited views on proposals to streamline reporting and help ensure that the Code’s principles can apply to a wide range of possible investment approaches. Pension schemes have climate-related reporting obligations set out in the TCFD regulations and DWP will work with the FRC as the revised Code is further developed, enabling the Code to continue to provide a means of demonstrating how the signatory’s stewardship contributes to meeting these obligations and any net zero goal the scheme may have.