Every parliamentary written question tabled by Helen Whately this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 161–180 of 440 · this parliament
Whether he has a target for the number of work coaches employed by his Department.
The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on preparing Jobcentres for the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill.
Our Get Britain Working strategy is driving forward reforms and helping create a more inclusive labour market that supports economic growth and opportunity for individuals. The Employment Rights Bill is key to this agenda as it aims to deliver greater security in work, support higher living standards and contribute positively to productivity. This complements our approach to Jobcentre reform; the new Jobs and Careers service will have a renewed focus on helping people into good quality work, with career progression and increased earnings potential. It will also put employers’ needs at the heart of the service - we are engaging closely with employers on the design of a future service. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has engaged with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the government’s approach to these labour market reforms.
What engagement he has had with (a) the BMA and (b) GP surgeries on embedding employment advisers in GP surgeries.
With 2.8 million people out of work due to health conditions, Connect to Work is part of the Government’s plan to get Britain working again. Connect to Work is designed to give local areas considerable flexibility in determining how they deliver it, including decisions about integration into health care settings. Connect to Work is rolling out across all areas of England and Wales. As of 12 November 2025, 23 of the 49 delivery areas have a live service funded by Connect to Work. Every delivery area is expected to be open for participants by early 2026. Further details will be set out as more areas go live. JobCentre Plus sites also have discretion to co-locate work coaches and Disability Employment Advisers, in health settings (including GP surgeries) with agreements made locally. The Department has a regular quarterly GP forum that includes the BMA and representative bodies for GPs where Employment Support policies and programmes are discussed. There is a DWP Chief medical Advisor Clinical Advisory Group and ad hoc meetings focussed to discuss GP involvement in health and work policy.
How many GP surgeries will have employment advisors; and what his planned timetable is for rollout.
With 2.8 million people out of work due to health conditions, Connect to Work is part of the Government’s plan to get Britain working again. Connect to Work is designed to give local areas considerable flexibility in determining how they deliver it, including decisions about integration into health care settings. Connect to Work is rolling out across all areas of England and Wales. As of 12 November 2025, 23 of the 49 delivery areas have a live service funded by Connect to Work. Every delivery area is expected to be open for participants by early 2026. Further details will be set out as more areas go live. JobCentre Plus sites also have discretion to co-locate work coaches and Disability Employment Advisers, in health settings (including GP surgeries) with agreements made locally. The Department has a regular quarterly GP forum that includes the BMA and representative bodies for GPs where Employment Support policies and programmes are discussed. There is a DWP Chief medical Advisor Clinical Advisory Group and ad hoc meetings focussed to discuss GP involvement in health and work policy.
What estimate he has made of the number of employment advisers that will be employed to work in community healthcare settings.
With 2.8 million people out of work due to health conditions, Connect to Work is part of the Government’s plan to get Britain working again. Connect to Work is designed to give local areas considerable flexibility in determining how they deliver it, including decisions about integration into health care settings. Connect to Work is rolling out across all areas of England and Wales. As of 12 November 2025, 23 of the 49 delivery areas have a live service funded by Connect to Work. Every delivery area is expected to be open for participants by early 2026. Further details will be set out as more areas go live. JobCentre Plus sites also have discretion to co-locate work coaches and Disability Employment Advisers, in health settings (including GP surgeries) with agreements made locally. The Department has a regular quarterly GP forum that includes the BMA and representative bodies for GPs where Employment Support policies and programmes are discussed. There is a DWP Chief medical Advisor Clinical Advisory Group and ad hoc meetings focussed to discuss GP involvement in health and work policy.
How many and what proportion of Personal Independence Payment (a) assessments and (b) reassessments were carried out (i) face-to-face, (ii) remotely and (iii) on paper in each month since July 2024.
In the recent Autumn Budget, the government reenforced a commitment it made in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to increase face-to-face assessments for disability benefits. All assessment suppliers have contractual requirements to raise the proportion of assessments conducted in person, and are expected to plan and manage recruitment accordingly, with progress regularly reviewed. The department is working closely with suppliers to boost capacity, with a key focus on recruiting suitably qualified health professional to support delivery in assessment centres Through these measures, the department will meet the government priority to increase the proportion of face-to-face Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments to 30% from 5% in 2024. The number and proportion of PIP assessments carried out by channel of assessment from July 2024 until the most recent month available can be found in the table below, with comparative annual figures from 2019 provided below.YearProportion of PIP assessments undertaken face-to-face201983.4%202019.0%20212.9%20226.5%20237.4%20245.0% The information is not available in the breakdowns requested for all four Functional Assessment Service (FAS) suppliers for the time-period requested. We can provide data on the total number of assessments (which includes assessments and reassessments) for all four suppliers and for the time-period requested. Data for July 2024 and August 2024 is for pre-FAS contracts, data for September 2024 is a blend of pre-FAS and FAS contracts, data for October 2024 onwards if for FAS contracts. MonthFace-to-FaceTelephoneVideoPaper-Based Number%Number%Number%Number%Jul-24*5,7005.4%75,00071.4%3,0002.8%19,00018.3%Aug-24*3,4003.7%70,00074.5%2,3002.4%17,00018.1%Sep-24**1,3001.7%58,00079.9%6100.8%13,00017.3%Oct-24***2,6002.5%81,00078.0%1,9001.8%18,00017.7%Nov-243,6003.9%69,00075.1%2,9003.2%16,00017.8%Dec-243,0004.2%54,00075.8%2,2003.1%12,00017.0%Jan-254,0004.2%72,00076.3%3,2003.3%15,00016.2%Feb-253,6004.2%64,00075.6%3,1003.6%14,00016.5%Mar-254,2004.6%69,00075.0%3,4003.7%15,00016.6%Apr-254,1004.8%65,00075.4%3,1003.6%14,00016.2%May-254,3005.1%63,00075.3%3,1003.7%13,00015.9%Jun-254,7005.5%64,00075.2%3,0003.6%13,00015.7%Jul-254,8005.2%70,00076.5%3,2003.5%13,00014.7%Aug-253,7004.8%58,00076.8%2,5003.2%11,00015.1%Sep-254,4005.0%68,00077.5%3,3003.8%12,00013.8% Please Note * Data for July 2024 and August 2024 is for pre-FAS contracts,** Data for September 2024 is a blend of pre-FAS and FAS contracts,*** Data for October 2024 onwards if for FAS contracts.From 9 September 2024, the start of FAS, there was a ramp-up period to give suppliers time to embed the new contracts.Rounding policy used: between 10,000 and 100,000 rounded to nearest 1,000, between 1,000 and 10,000 rounded to nearest 100 and below 1,000 rounded to the nearest 10.Numbers may not sum due to rounding; percentages are based on actuals.All the above data is derived from unpublished contractual management information produced by the FAS assessment Suppliers which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) London, (b) the West Midlands Combined Authority, (c) Greater Manchester Combined Authority and (d) the Liverpool City Region in each of the last five years.
Figures have been provided in the table below. Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants in an active Motability contract 202020212022202320242025London29,80033,40036,70044,40056,80061,600West Midlands Combined Authority22,70024,60026,10030,70037,00038,400Greater Manchester Combined Authority20,80022,40023,70027,90033,90035,600Liverpool City Region16,70017,90019,00022,00026,40027,400 Notes:- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.- Figures include claims made under Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload within that calendar year.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) Wales and (b) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.
The Department is unable to provide data related to Northern Ireland, as Personal Independence Payment is administered by the Department for Communities in the Northern Ireland Executive. The figures for Wales are provided in the table below. Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants with an active Motability contract 202020212022202320242025Wales33,50035,70037,30042,40048,90050,400 Notes:- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.- Figures include claims made under Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload within that calendar year.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as mixed anxiety and depressive disorder in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as ADHD in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as depressive disorder in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as bipolar affective disorder in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as an anxiety disorder where the type was not known in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as generalised anxiety disorder in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme and primary disabling conditions recorded as agoraphobia in each of the last five years by region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in each of the last five years by (a) primary disabling condition and (b) region.
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
How many times his Department has attended Motability board meetings over the past two years.
The Department has attended every Motability Board meeting which are held quarterly each year for the last two years.
How many (a) PIP and (b) DLA claimants who are members of the Motability scheme had any type of depressive disorder as their main disabling condition in each of the last five years.
At the end of July 2025 (latest available data), 593,700 PIP claimants had an active contract with the Motability Scheme. The number of PIP claimants who had an active contract with the Motability Scheme broken down by condition groups over the past 5 years is provided in the table below. Table 1: PIP claimants with an active Motability Scheme contract by condition over the past 5 years 202020212022202320242025 (to July-25)Psychiatric disorders76,10086,80097,200125,000162,700174,700 of which ADHD / ADD1,9002,6003,4005,6009,00010,400 of which any depressive disorder16,20019,70022,70032,80046,10049,900 The Department does not hold Motability data in its analytical datasets for DLA. Obtaining these data from other sources would involve disproportionate costs. Notes: - The figures provided are for PIP claimants in England and Wales only.- The figures include both claims made under Normal Rules and those made under Special Rules for End of Life.- The claimants’ primary conditions were used to categorise them in the provided table. Many claimants have two or more health conditions, and it is not necessarily the case that the listed primary condition is that which gives rise to the functional limitation(s) behind the award of the enhanced mobility component of PIP.- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.- The calendar year 2025 only contains data to July 2025, therefore volumes may be smaller than what would appear within a full calendar year. Data beyond this point is currently unavailable centrally for analysis.- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload at some point within that calendar year.- The “of which any depressive disorder” category is made up of 4 primary conditions:o Anxiety and depressive disorders – mixedo Bipolar affective disordero Depressive disordero Mood disorders – Others / type not known- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.