Written questions by Egan.

What backlog remains outstanding for DLA and PIP applications, and what measures are being taken to speed up processing times for DLA and PIP applications.

We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAc) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for our claimants is a priority for the De...

What steps his Department is taking to improve transparency in Child Maintenance Service decision‑making.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to making its decisions clear, accessible, and transparent.Whenever a decision is made that affects a child maintenance calculation or payment arrangements, CMS issues notifications to customers explaining the outcome. Where the maintenance calculation changes, customers are provided with information setting out how the new calculation has been reached.CMS is taking steps to improve communications with parents by simplifying content and retiring outdated letters. In addition, the online My Child Maintenance Case service enables parents to view their case details, track changes, check their current position and view digital copies of notifications at any time. CMS are continuing to develop this service to provide even more information to customers.

What assessment he has made of the issues faced by carers working in the gig economy in maintaining eligibility for Carer’s Allowance; and whether his Department has assessed the potential merits of reforms to address volatility in earnings for such workers.

Unpaid carers are vital – to the people they support, to their community, and to our country. We acknowledge and value the important contribution made by unpaid carers every day in providing vital care and continuity of support to family and friends with disabilities. Universal Credit provides financial support for carers on low incomes and is designed to accommodate fluctuations in earnings. Around 68% of unpaid carers receiving support from the benefit system receive it via Universal Credit. For carers in England and Wales who are unable to access Universal Credit, Carer’s Allowance can provide financial support. This is available to those who are providing unpaid care for 35 hours a week or more, and whose weekly earnings are at or below 16 hours at the National Living Wage after allowable expenses. These include costs associated with securing alternative care arrangements for the person with care needs. Around 15% of people receiving Carer’s Allowance have earnings. Where earnings are not paid weekly, they can be averaged over a period that best reflects the carer’s working patterns. Where possible, the Department looks for a regular "cycle" or pattern in earnings to achieve this. For cases where fluctuations in earnings are irregular, the Department has recently clarified the processes relating to averaging and publicised them on GOV.UK and in letters sent to Carer’s Allowance recipients. Income other than earnings does not affect entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the five week wait for Universal Credit payments on prison leavers with limited or no support networks; and what steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that people leaving custody do not face immediate financial insecurity or debt.

The Department has over 200 Work Coaches based in prisons across Great Britain providing benefit advice and support to individuals, including booking an appointment at their local jobcentre on or soon after their day of release. When a claim is made for Universal Credit, the customer will receive their first award around five weeks after the claim is made, this period is known as the initial assessment period. This process ensures that customers are paid their correct entitlement, based on verified information, and reduces the risk of significant overpayments occurring. If a customer needs support before their first payment is made, a New Claims Advance of up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit entitlement is available at any time during the initial assessment period. With such an advance, customers receive an additional Universal Credit payment, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. Crucially for prison leavers, this means that financial support can be accessed from day one of the claim subject to verification. I am currently undertaking a review of Universal Credit. The five week wait for Universal Credit is one of the topics being considered in the review.

What steps his Department has taken to support carers whose earnings fluctuate from week to week; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of variable income patterns on levels of continued eligibility for Carer’s Allowance.

Unpaid carers are vital – to the people they support, to their community, and to our country. We acknowledge and value the important contribution made by unpaid carers every day in providing vital care and continuity of support to family and friends with disabilities. Universal Credit provides financial support for carers on low incomes and is designed to accommodate fluctuations in earnings. Around 68% of unpaid carers receiving support from the benefit system receive it via Universal Credit. For carers in England and Wales who are unable to access Universal Credit, Carer’s Allowance can provide financial support. This is available to those who are providing unpaid care for 35 hours a week or more, and whose weekly earnings are at or below 16 hours at the National Living Wage after allowable expenses. These include costs associated with securing alternative care arrangements for the person with care needs. Around 15% of people receiving Carer’s Allowance have earnings. Where earnings are not paid weekly, they can be averaged over a period that best reflects the carer’s working patterns. Where possible, the Department looks for a regular "cycle" or pattern in earnings to achieve this. For cases where fluctuations in earnings are irregular, the Department has recently clarified the processes relating to averaging and publicised them on GOV.UK and in letters sent to Carer’s Allowance recipients. Income other than earnings does not affect entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.

What assessment his Department has made of the availability of apprenticeship opportunities for young people in Bristol North East constituency; and what plans he has to work with local employers to expand provision of apprenticeships in sectors with skills shortages.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer that will give greater flexibility to employers and support young people, including those in Bristol, at the beginning of their careers.In August, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.More recently, we have announced our ambition is to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships and backed this with an additional £725 million of investment. This will enable us to expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people. It also provides £140 million to pilot new approaches, with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to better connect young people aged 16–24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.We also announced that the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises), for all eligible people aged under 25. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.In addition, we provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England, including the South West, through nine regional networks which provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process Access to Work applications.

We are committed to reducing the time taken to process Access to Work applications and are considering the best way to deliver that for customers. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work applications. We prioritise applications from customers who are about to start a job or are renewing existing support. In March 2025, DWP published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to consult on the future of Access to Work. Alongside this, we are exploring further changes within the current policy framework to reduce the time taken to process Access to Work applications.

What steps his Department takes to ensure that information in official leaflets on (a) access to and (b) guidance on benefit entitlements is accurate.

To ensure information is accurate, all new and amended leaflets are subject to a quality assurance process where content is checked and approved by subject matter experts before publication. In addition, the department undertakes an annual uprating review of all leaflets that are impacted by rate changes.

What her Department's planned timeline is for the (a) launch and (b) operational availability of non-government pensions dashboards.

Private sector (non-government) dashboards will be launched when the Secretary of State is satisfied that the dashboards ecosystem is ready to support widespread use by the general public, following consultation with the Money and Pensions Service, The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority. Insights gained from the launch and operation of the MoneyHelper will help inform this. The Secretary of State will announce the date for the public availability of private sector dashboards at least six months in advance, in line with the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January to Question 27607 on Work Capability Assessment, how many and what proportion of decisions for each assessment interview type were classified as (a) fit for work, (b) need to prepare to work in the future, but have limited capability for work and (c) have limited capability for work and work related activity between January 2019 and December 2024.

The information requested on decisions is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, we have provided the monthly figures on health professional (HP) recommendations, Fit for Work, Limited Capability for Work (LCW) and Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA), following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) separated by assessment type, since January 2021, in the attachment. Please Note The information in the attachment shows recommendations made by assessment suppliers for claimants undergoing Employment Support Allowance or Universal Credit WCAs. These are not decisions. Recommendations made by a health professional are considered, along with other evidence, by DWP decision makers who will make a final decision on benefit entitlement.All of the above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the assessment suppliers.The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.We have not provided HP recommendations management information for periods prior to January 2021 because the information for this period is not robust enough for publication.Volumes have been rounded to the nearest 100 and therefore the totals may not add up.The percentages are based on the actual amounts and not the rounded figures.The Other columns include other outcomes recorded as 'not terminally ill', 'other' and 'home visits' where recommendations are not available.All data is showing recommendations made by assessment suppliers and therefore is not the finalised customer outcome (cannot be classed as the decision).

How many and what proportion of Work Capability Assessments were carried out (a) face-to-face, (b) remotely and (c) on paper in each month since March 2020.

The number and proportion of Work Capability Assessments carried out face-to-face, remotely (by telephone and video) and by paper each month since March 2020 can be found in the tables below. March 2020 to December 2020 MonthFace-to-FaceTelephoneVideoPaper-Based NumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionMar-2033,20062.4%00.0%00.0%20,00037.6%Apr-2000.0%2001.0%00.0%19,00099.0%May-2000.0%1,0004.7%00.0%20,20095.3%Jun-2000.0%8,50042.3%00.0%11,60057.7%Jul-2000.0%13,20058.7%00.0%9,30041.3%Aug-2000.0%14,00066.7%00.0%7,00033.3%Sep-2000.0%24,60076.4%00.0%7,60023.6%Oct-2000.0%33,40079.5%00.0%8,60020.5%Nov-2000.0%31,10079.3%00.0%8,10020.7%Dec-2000.0%30,70081.4%1000.3%6,90018.3% 2021 MonthFace-to-FaceTelephoneVideoPaper-Based NumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionJan-2100.0%33,00082.9%1000.3%6,70016.8%Feb-2100.0%36,20084.0%1000.2%6,80015.8%Mar-2100.0%50,20086.3%2000.3%7,80013.4%Apr-2100.0%45,00085.9%00.0%7,40014.1%May-217001.4%41,80084.8%00.0%6,80013.8%Jun-213,7006.9%42,70080.0%00.0%7,00013.1%Jul-214,0008.2%38,30078.6%1000.2%6,30012.9%Aug-211,4003.0%37,50081.0%8001.7%6,60014.3%Sep-211,2002.5%37,20077.0%2,6005.4%7,30015.1%Oct-211,6003.6%33,60074.7%3,3007.3%6,50014.4%Nov-216,20012.3%33,20065.7%3,4006.7%7,70015.2%Dec-215,40012.1%30,20067.7%2,9006.5%6,10013.7% 2022 MonthFace-to-FaceTelephoneVideoPaper-Based NumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionJan-223000.6%43,10079.8%4,0007.4%6,60012.2%Feb-223,7006.9%38,00071.2%4,2007.9%7,50014.0%Mar-228,10014.0%37,50064.9%4,7008.1%7,50013.0%Apr-227,20015.0%30,50063.7%3,6007.5%6,60013.8%May-229,00016.3%35,20063.9%3,8006.9%7,10012.9%Jun-227,40015.4%31,20064.7%3,5007.3%6,10012.7%Jul-227,40015.3%31,50064.9%3,2006.6%6,40013.2%Aug-228,20016.0%32,50063.6%3,8007.4%6,60012.9%Sep-227,40015.0%31,80064.5%3,7007.5%6,40013.0%Oct-227,50014.2%35,30066.6%3,9007.4%6,30011.9%Nov-228,60014.8%38,70066.5%4,1007.0%6,80011.7%Dec-226,40014.2%30,80068.1%3,2007.1%4,80010.6% 2023 MonthFace-to-FaceTelephoneVideoPaper-Based NumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionJan-238,60014.4%40,30067.4%4,6007.7%6,30010.5%Feb-238,20013.9%40,60068.6%4,1006.9%6,30010.6%Mar-239,10013.7%45,20068.3%4,6006.9%7,30011.0%Apr-236,60012.3%37,90070.8%3,6006.7%5,40010.1%May-237,40012.8%40,30070.0%4,0006.9%5,90010.2%Jun-237,60012.1%44,60070.9%4,3006.8%6,40010.2%Jul-237,00011.7%41,60069.6%3,9006.5%7,30012.2%Aug-236,60010.6%42,30067.8%4,1006.6%9,40015.1%Sep-235,7009.5%39,90066.6%4,1006.8%10,20017.0%Oct-233,9007.9%33,90068.8%3,0006.1%8,50017.2%Nov-236,70010.9%42,50069.0%4,0006.5%8,40013.6%Dec-235,80012.1%32,60068.2%3,6007.5%5,80012.1% 2024 MonthFace-to-FaceTelephoneVideoPaper-Based NumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionNumberProportionJan-248,30012.4%45,20067.5%5,0007.5%8,50012.7%Feb-249,00013.5%44,40066.4%5,3007.9%8,20012.3%Mar-248,10013.0%40,80065.6%5,5008.8%7,80012.5%Apr-248,50013.0%43,50066.5%5,6008.6%7,80011.9%May-246,50010.0%45,70070.4%5,7008.8%7,00010.8%Jun-245,80010.1%40,10069.7%4,7008.2%6,90012.0%Jul-245,0007.5%45,90069.2%6,70010.1%8,70013.1%Aug-243,8006.9%39,30071.3%5,2009.4%6,80012.3%Sep-243,6007.0%39,90077.8%1,3002.5%6,50012.7%Oct-245,5009.2%41,50069.4%4,4007.4%8,40014.0%Nov-245,1009.2%38,50069.2%4,2007.6%7,80014.0%Dec-244,60010.4%31,20070.4%2,9006.5%5,60012.6% Please Note All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 100.Due to rounding some percentages may exceed 100%.Remote assessments include telephone and video assessments.Due to the period covered in this question, the data source has been amended so figures may not exactly match with previous publications.All the above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the assessment suppliers.The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

What recent progress her Department has made on tackling fraud in the welfare system.

We are delivering £8.6bn of new savings over the next five years to tackle fraud. This includes recruiting an additional 3,000 counter-fraud staff, committing to deliver the Targeted Case Review in Universal Credit and bringing forward savings of £1.5bn through measures within the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill) which we introduced to Parliament on 22nd January.