Every parliamentary written question tabled by Charlotte Nichols this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–9 of 9 · Department for Work and Pensions
What steps the Department is taking to help improve employer-led training and workplace experience within further and higher education, particularly in construction; and what assessment he has made of how local initiatives such as the Warrington and Vale Royal College Construction and Civil Engineering Academy fit within the national approach to tackling construction skills shortages.
Awaiting answer.
What the annual cost has been for the Bereavement Support Payment over the last five years, including regional breakdown, and the percentage of those eligible who claim this.
Official statistics for Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2025 Table 1: Annual cost for Bereavement Support Payment for the last five financial years rounded to the nearest million pounds 2020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Annual cost (£m)257188253194208 Further annual expenditure figures can be found in the outturn and forecast tables, in the ‘Bereavement_benefits’ sheet:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/694931a672075a1d4a5089d9/outturn-and-forecast-tables-autumn-budget-2025.ods A regional breakdown of BSP alone is not available, but a regional breakdown for bereavement benefits as a whole can be found in the benefit expenditure by country and region, in the ‘BBWB’ sheet:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6940017ac72b0f8ccf33d78f/benefit-expenditure-by-country-and-region-2024-25.ods It is not possible to accurately measure take-up of BSP, out of those who are eligible, as this would require monthly data on deaths by age, marital status, cohabitee status, dependent children and National Insurance contributions.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of welfare reforms on demand for independent advice services; and if he will make a statement.
The public consultation on the “Pathways to Work” Green Paper received over 47,500 responses before closing on the 30 June. We are now carefully reviewing responses as we develop further proposals, involving disabled people, including through the Timms review of PIP, collaboration committees and the department’s new Disability Advisory Panel. We will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms as part of our consideration of responses to the consultation, including any impacts on services.
What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of the creation of a national advice workforce development fund.
Skills England will identify and address skills gaps across all sectors. It works with employers, training providers, and local authorities to ensure the skills system reflects real-world workforce needs, both nationally and locally.Through 16-19 funding, the Adult Skills Fund and apprenticeships, the department provides funding for education, training and qualifications across a range of sectors. This will support people on pathways that will be relevant to roles in the advice sector.
Pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2025 to Question 61211 on Asbestos: Ovarian Cancer, if she will direct the Health and Safety Executive to collect data on asbestos-related ovarian cancer cases.
Collecting data on individual cases of asbestos-related ovarian cancer is not feasible due to difficulties attributing them to historic exposure with confidence. Significant resource would be needed to produce estimates based on epidemiological evidence. These are likely to be small in comparison to other asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma (which is more clearly linked to past exposure) and would have considerable associated uncertainty.
If she will require the Health and Safety Executive to collect data on asbestos-related ovarian cancer cases.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for collection of data of workplace injury and illness. Under Regulation 9 of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), it requires the responsible person to report a diagnosis of any cancer attributed to an occupational exposure to a known human carcinogen in their current job. When reporting, the responsible person must provide details on the affected person's occupation or job title and a description of the work that led to the disease. Estimated numbers of cases of certain kinds of cancer other than mesothelioma and lung cancer that are attributable to past exposure to asbestos are available from previous HSE sponsored research into the burden of occupational cancer in Great Britain. However, ovarian cancer in relation to asbestos was not considered at the time this research was carried out, and so estimates are not currently available and HSE has no plans to collect this data.
What data her Department holds on the number of people eligible for child maintenance who are not claiming it.
It is estimated that at the financial year ending 2023, there are 2.4 million separated families in Great Britain and 3.8 million children in those families. 41% of these did not have either a statutory arrangement with the Child Maintenance Service or a private arrangement.At the end of June 2024, the Child Maintenance Service was managing 744,000 arrangements for 675,000 Paying Parents, the number of arrangements has increased by 10% since the end of June 2023.Legislation to remove the £20 application fee was introduced in February 2024, removing a financial barrier to parents wishing to access the CMS.Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance is an online service that provides free information and support to help parents make decisions about CM and make a CMS application if they choose to.
What progress her Department has made on reviewing the fairness of PIP assessments.
The Department is not currently undertaking a review of the fairness of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments. PIP is designed to treat all claimants fairly, focusing on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, rather than the condition itself. Individuals can be impacted by their health conditions in different ways, so the PIP assessment considers the needs of each individual claimant against the assessment criteria set out in legislation, regardless of whether those needs relate to a physical or non-physical impairment. DWP has set standards for the quality of assessments and closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the assessment suppliers. Our audit process considers the initial review, evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the advice within the assessment report completed by a health professional (HP). The check is completed against a set of guidelines to ensure a consistent approach is taken. This ensures that assessment reports are fit for purpose, clinically justified and sound, and provide sufficient information for the department to make an informed decision on entitlement to benefit. All assessment suppliers work with the department on plans to continuously improve assessment quality through a range of measures including audit procedures, clinical observations, tailored training and development plans, providing feedback and in the support available to HPs. All claimants have the right to request a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) if they disagree with their PIP decision. If they disagree with the outcome of their MR, they are able to appeal to an independent tribunal. We are exploring potential changes to modernise the PIP service to improve claimants’ experience and trust in our services and decisions. We will set out the detail of any changes in due course.
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.