Written questions by Whately.

For what reason the Connect to Work programme will be implemented in 2025, in the context of its predecessor programme being planned for 2024; and if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of the timing of this rollout on the number of people who will be supported into work by the end of 2025.

As announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper published 26 November 2024 Get Britain Working White Paper - GOV.UK, the new voluntary, locally led, supported employment programme Connect to Work will be the first programme under the Government’s new Get Britain Working Strategy. Whilst Connect to Work will use the funding that was initially reserved for the Universal Support Programme, Connect to Work has been co-designed with Local Authorities and has flexibility to meet local needs at its core. The Connect to Work grant guidance, also published on Gov.uk on 26 November Connect to Work - GOV.UK, invites areas to develop a delivery plan which sets out the design of their own local Connect to Work programmes, working within the national guidance. We do not know what volumes will be delivered by local areas until Delivery Plans are received. With a phased rollout led by Local Authorities’ own timetables. When the General Election was called, there were no plans in place to support delivery in 2024. We have extended the funding for Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care to sustain delivery of this locally led programme while areas develop their Connect to Work plans.

Whether she has had discussions with the Office for Budget Responsibility on the timing of the implementation of changes to the Work Capability Assessment on their projections.

The Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced. This needs to come alongside a proper plan to support disabled people into work. We will continue to deliver the savings set out by the previous government but will set out our approach and timescale in the coming months. If changes to this policy - or any other policy - are made in future, this will be accounted for at a subsequent fiscal event. The department does not routinely engage the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on policy details such as this outside of fiscal events. It is also the case that this engagement would be carried out by officials on behalf of the department, not the ministerial team. Therefore, there have not been discussions between the Secretary of State and the OBR.

With reference to the White Paper entitled Get Britain Working, published November 2024, whether the 384,000 additional Talking Therapies places in Priority 1 were previously (a) announced and (b) funded in the Autumn Statement 2023.

The Government inherited a £22 billion blackhole in the nation’s finances which has required necessary choices around spending priorities. Despite this backdrop, we were determined to identify the funding required to support NHS Talking Therapies.The White Paper confirms the Government’s commitment to expand access to NHS Talking Therapies for adults in England with common mental health conditions.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing minimum pay age bands for the National Minimum Wage on youth (a) inactivity and (b) unemployment.

In April 2025, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for workers aged 18 to 20, workers under 18, and apprentices will increase significantly – narrowing the gap between those rates and the National Living Wage.The impact of wage levels on youth employment and on incentives to remain in education and training is a key consideration of the Low Pay Commission when it makes recommendations. This Government is committed to removing pay bands in a way that does not have a detrimental impact, and the Impact Assessment for annual rises will consider this issue.

What new funding has been provided for the Get Britain Working Fund.

To help us deliver and build on labour market reforms to Get Britain Working, £240 million was announced in the recent budget. Measures will include:£45m for Youth Guarantee Trailblazers so that all young people in England, aged 18-21, can access quality training and education opportunities or help to find work.£55m for the development of the new public employment and careers service, which will be open to everyone, transforming our ability to support people into and on at work.£125m for Trailblazers to tackle economic inactivity through increased engagement and tailored approaches in England and Wales.And £15m to support local areas in England to go further, developing their own Get Britain Working Plans.

With reference to the Get Britain Working White Paper, published on 26 November 2024, what differences there are between DWP ASK and the A-cubed tool.

A-cubed was a proof-of-concept project built to test the feasibility of utilising generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist DWP Work Coaches in finding Universal Credit guidance. After the successful completion of the proof-of-concept project, the Department created a tool to test the capability further, and to roll it out following completion of successful testing. DWP Ask is the tool that has been developed, incorporating lessons from A-cubed. The A-cubed prototype has been discontinued, which is standard practice for proof-of-concepts.

What steps she is taking to ensure that funding for supported employment provision in integrated settlements for devolved authorities is spent in line with the delivery plans for that funding.

Government has committed to give areas the tools and powers they need to deliver growth, which includes offering integrated settlements. Integrated settlements will give Mayoral Combined Authorities who have shown exemplary management of public money the ability to plan long-term and make the strategic policy decisions necessary to deliver growth. The integrated settlement will be monitored and governed using a single accountability framework and a single outcomes framework to ensure funding included in the settlement can be accounted for. Delivery will be monitored via a programme board which will track outcomes negotiated between Authorities and the Government. Local outcome delivery will be the responsibility of the MCAs. The oversight of the approach to securing value for money and upholding governance structures is the responsibility of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The Department for Work and Pensions are responsible for signing off on the outcomes and targets for Connect to Work funding, as well as signing off mitigations where performance expectations are not met.

With reference to her Department’s press releases entitled (a) Good work is good for health, published on 6 November 2024 and (b) New £64 million plan to help people stay in work, published on 7 May 2024, for what reason there is a difference in the number of people supported through WorkWell pilots in each release.

The original WorkWell funding settlement supported up to 59k participants based on unit cost. As part of our grant competition, and as outlined in our Prospectus, local systems were required to bid for the volume of participants they expected to support, based on population need and what was deliverable within the pilot’s timeframe. The total volumes from our 15 successful bids was closer to 56k participants. We will continue to monitor the delivery of local areas throughout the pilot.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions announced the Autumn Budget 2024 on jobs.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance Contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate by 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the impact of all the Budget measures are taken into consideration, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.

What assessment his Department has made on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on levels of (a) employment, (b) unemployment and (c) economic inactivity.

The Employment Rights Bill Impact Assessments was published on October 21 and can be found here. It illustrates that the provision of better-quality work, more family friendly employment protections and flexible working rights could increase the range of jobs and working patterns that suit individuals. Further, the Impact Assessment finds evidence that the Bill could particularly benefit those who are currently inactive or intermittently working due to childcare responsibilities, long term illness or disabilities. The Impact Assessment also deemed the risk of significant unemployment effects as a result of the Bill to be ‘low’.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on jobs.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 forecast, which takes into account impacts from policy measures announced in the Budget, expects the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.

Whether she plans to expand the WorkWell pilot.

WorkWell is a pilot that went live from October and will run in 15 areas across England, providing low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. Pilots will run until March 2026 and will generate evidence to support future policy making. Decisions about the future direction of the work, health and skills agenda will be set out at the multi-year spending review in 2025, building on the ambitions set out in the Get Britain Working white paper.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the labour market.

The Secretary of State, and ministers, regularly meet with Cabinet and ministerial colleagues, regarding a range of matters. Our ambitions are to reverse the trend of inactivity, and to raise both productivity and living standards whilst improving the quality of work. To help achieve this, we have set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate, demonstrating our commitment to bringing those furthest away from the labour market into it, increasing local labour supply. Achieving our ambitions requires a cross-government approach, which is why the Employment Rights Bill will make work more secure, boost wages, and help people thrive by supporting them into and to get on in work.

Whether her Department intends to implement the recommendations of the Disability Action Plan, published on 5 February 2024.

The Disability Action Plan was an initiative of the previous administration. This government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people. We will build on the insights shared by disabled people and their representative organisations, working closely with them so that their views and voices are at the heart of everything we do.We will provide further updates on the Government’s priorities for disability policy in due course

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Living Wage on the (a) number of people claiming Universal Credit and (b) amount of working age benefits claimed.

The independent Low Pay Commission has published the labour market evidence underlying its recommendations for the April 2025 National Living Wage Rates available at: Low Pay Commission summary of evidence 2024.The Department for Business and Trade, will also publish a regulatory Impact Assessment of the change in due course. The Department for Work and Pensions has not undertaken separate analysis.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Living Wage on youth (a) inactivity, (b) unemployment and (c) employment.

In April 2025, the National Living Wage, payable to eligible workers who are 21 years old and over, will increase by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour. The impact of wage levels on youth employment, unemployment and inactivity (usually defined as 16-24-year-olds) and on incentives to remain in education and training is a key consideration of the Low Pay Commission when it makes recommendations.This Government is committed to setting the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates in a way that does not have a detrimental impact, and the Impact Assessment for annual rises will consider this issue.

What assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of the recommendations in the Buckland Review of Autism Employment.

We welcome the independent Buckland Review focused specifically on autism and employment. We intend to build on this to meet our commitment to promoting awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. We are gathering expert evidence on how best to improve employment for all neurodivergent people, including considering the Buckland Review’s findings. Our assessment will also be informed by the independent employer review announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper. The review will consider what more can be done to enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, recruit and retain disabled employees or employees with a health condition, and support people to stay in or return to work from periods of absence.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to make a decision on the future of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our fruit and vegetable growers and Producer Organisations and recognises their important role in maintaining a secure supply of home – grown fresh produce. As part of our mission-driven Government, and in partnership with the sector, the Department is considering how we can achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for the sector, including how to recognise the sector’s diversity and specialist needs. Defra officials meet regularly with growers to discuss a range of issues. These discussions help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme beyond 31 December 2025.

The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our fruit and vegetable growers and Producer Organisations and recognises their important role in maintaining a secure supply of home – grown fresh produce. As part of our mission-driven Government, and in partnership with the sector, the Department is considering how we can achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for the sector, including how to recognise the sector’s diversity and specialist needs. Defra officials meet regularly with growers to discuss a range of issues. These discussions help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with producer organisations on the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our fruit and vegetable growers and Producer Organisations and recognises their important role in maintaining a secure supply of home – grown fresh produce. As part of our mission-driven Government, and in partnership with the sector, the Department is considering how we can achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for the sector, including how to recognise the sector’s diversity and specialist needs. Defra officials meet regularly with growers to discuss a range of issues. These discussions help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive.