Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ian Sollom this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 41 · Department for Work and Pensions
What components are included in the Government's estimate of around £2 billion for the cost of Financial Assistance Scheme pre-1997 indexation; and whether that figure includes (a) arrears, (b) indexation at a CPI cap above 2.5%, and (c) post-1997 assistance costs.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of calculating Motability mileage on an individualised basis, taking into account needs as assessed in Social Care and Support Plans.
Awaiting answer.
How many starts there have been on each foundation apprenticeship standard since their launch in August 2025; and what assessment he made of the adequacy of that performance before announcing the expansion of foundation apprenticeships into hospitality and retail.
In August 2025 we introduced foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, such as construction and health and social care, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills.Foundation apprenticeships are designed to support those young people who want to gain a broad grounding in a sector before they commit to progress into a more specific or more advanced occupation.As foundation apprenticeships are a new offer we understand providers and employers will need time to incorporate them into their businesses.In addition, other apprenticeships continue to support young people to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for a specific occupation.Apprenticeship and foundation apprenticeship starts are published here: Apprenticeships, Academic year 2025/26 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK. The latest published data shows that there have been 110 foundation apprenticeship starts so far this academic year (Aug 2025 - Jan 2026).To create more opportunities for young people at the start of their careers, we are expanding foundation apprenticeships into hospitality and retail from April 2026. These sectors traditionally employ large numbers of young people and offer strong entry points into sustained employment with clear progression routes across England.They will have employer payments of up to £2,000 employer payment to support with the additional costs of taking on and supporting a young person at the start of their career.
When is his estimated date for publishing publish funding rates, duration and assessment arrangements for each of the seven apprenticeship units due to launch in April 2026.
Following the announcement we will be carrying out further testing with critical stakeholders to confirm details, including funding rates and delivery hours, are set at the right level. We want to ensure the final figures are robust and reflect sector needs. The details will be made available on the Skills England website in April 2026.
How many of the 500,000 opportunities announced on 16 March 2026 comprise (a) apprenticeships, (b) subsidised jobs, (c) work experience placements and (d) sector-based work academy programmes.
This Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. For many years our young people have not had the opportunity and support they deserve. Under the last government, between 2021 and 2024, the number of young people not in education, employment or training increased by 250,000. The Government has recently announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking the total investment to £2.5 billion over the next three years though the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in the Growth and Skills Levy. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. The more detailed breakdown of the 500,000 opportunities have been published on GOV.UK, as follows:150,000 work experience145,000 SWAPs50,000 apprenticeships90,000 jobs guarantee jobs60,000 hiring incentives Together these measures demonstrate the Government’s commitment to backing young people, supporting employers, and working with partners across Great Britain to create clear pathways into employment and education for young people.
For each of the 16 apprenticeship standards being defunded, how many starts in 2024-25 were by people aged under 25.
Apprenticeship starts for the 2024/25 academic year by standard and age are published here: Apprenticeships, Academic year 2024/25 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK. Over the past 10 years, apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen sharply. Starts for 16–24-year-olds have declined by 40%, and over half of all apprenticeship starts are now by learners aged over 25, many of which are at higher levels. This has happened at a time when we have seen the number of young people who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) increase to nearly one million. The changes to streamline the apprenticeship offer will help to create headroom to invest in opportunities for young people and new apprenticeship units. An equalities impact assessment was undertaken and concluded that any potential negative impacts that could arise were proportionate to our legitimate aim of rebalancing funding towards young people, delivering growth, and better aligning the programme with the Youth Guarantee and the Industrial Strategy.
Whether an impact assessment was carried out before the decision to defund 16 apprenticeship standards.
Apprenticeship starts for the 2024/25 academic year by standard and age are published here: Apprenticeships, Academic year 2024/25 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK. Over the past 10 years, apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen sharply. Starts for 16–24-year-olds have declined by 40%, and over half of all apprenticeship starts are now by learners aged over 25, many of which are at higher levels. This has happened at a time when we have seen the number of young people who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) increase to nearly one million. The changes to streamline the apprenticeship offer will help to create headroom to invest in opportunities for young people and new apprenticeship units. An equalities impact assessment was undertaken and concluded that any potential negative impacts that could arise were proportionate to our legitimate aim of rebalancing funding towards young people, delivering growth, and better aligning the programme with the Youth Guarantee and the Industrial Strategy.
If he will publish (a) the total amount owed to parents in child maintenance payment arrears and (b) how much this has increased by over the last 10 years.
The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS)and the latest statistics are currently available to September 2025. Table 5 of the latest National tables shows the total amount of child maintenance that Paying Parents should have paid since the CMS began, and how much of that has not been paid at the end of every quarter, from March 2015 to September 2025.
What progress his department has made on the implementation of the Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 in England and Wales.
Work is ongoing to implement Administrative Liability Orders (ALO). While Child Maintenance is reserved, enforcement of CM arrears in Scotland requires using the Scottish judicial system, which is devolved. We are working closely with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to ensure enforcement action resulting from ALOs operates effectively across the UK, and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament to implement the measures across England, Scotland and Wales, as soon as possible.
What recent assessment he has made of the implications of his policies of recommendation 3a of the Public Administration Committee's fifty-seventh Report of Session 2022-23 on reviewing ombudsman arrangements to ensure that all aspects of people's interactions with their pensions have an adequate route of appeal.
The Department’s view remains that the Pensions Ombudsman has acted within his statutory remit in considering complaints related to the AEA Technology (AEAT) pension scheme. These matters have been subject to extensive scrutiny over the past decade, including debates in Parliament. Considering that scrutiny, the Government will not be proceeding with a review of the Pensions Ombudsman at this time.
What steps he is taking to ensure that the public have adequate routes of appeal to raise complaints about their pensions.
Members of the public have access to independent routes of appeal regarding pension maladministration through the Pensions Ombudsman (TPO). TPO operates independently to deliver its statutory responsibilities. The Department works closely with TPO to support the effective delivery of its functions and to ensure individuals can access appropriate routes of redress. Determinations made by the Pensions Ombudsman are legally binding. Parties may appeal to the High Court on a point of law. Complaints about the Ombudsman’s service, as distinct from case determinations, can be made through its internal complaints process and, if unresolved, referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman through a Member of Parliament. Consumers wishing to raise complaints regarding financial services firms, including pension providers, that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority can do so via the Financial Ombudsman Service.
What progress his Department has made on (a) improving access to and (b) streamlining the enforcement processes of the Child Maintenance Service.
The Government intends to remove the Direct Pay service and thereby speed up detection of non-compliance. Moving to a single, strengthened Collect and Pay system will allow the CMS to monitor all payments, identify missed or partial payments immediately, and take faster enforcement action. Ahead of this change, the CMS is already moving non-compliant parents more quickly from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay. To further improve arrears collection, the CMS will introduce administrative liability orders (ALOs) to replace the current court-based process. This will streamline enforcement, reduce delays, and help the CMS act more quickly against parents who avoid their responsibilities. Work with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government is underway, and regulations will be brought to Parliament as soon as possible.
What progress his department has made on the review of the Child Maintenance Service calculation announced on 24 June 2025.
We will announce further details about the publication of the Government’s consultation regarding the child maintenance calculation in due course. Given the significant amount of time since the child maintenance calculation was updated, we need to assess carefully the impact of any proposed changes on all parents that use the CMS to ensure they effectively support families and children and that they are introduced in a way which works well for CMS customers.
Pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 79779 on the Timms Review, when he will provide more details on the membership of the steering group overseeing the review and planned next steps in the process.
On 18 December, the Timms Review’s co-chairs provided an update on the work of the Review, including recruitment of the steering group and next steps. You can find this update on GOV.UK via the following link: The Timms Review: Co-Chair Update, December 2025 - GOV.UK. We will continue to publish updates on GOV.UK as the Review progresses.
How many people aged i) 18, ii) 19, iii) 20 and iv) 21 have been claiming Universal Credit for 18 months or longer.
The Department regularly publishes the number of people on Universal Credit by age and claim duration on Stat-Xplore. The provisional statistics for the number of people aged 18 to 21 who have been claiming UC for up to 18 months and for 18 months or more in October 2025 is shown in table 1. Table 1: Number of People aged 18 to 21 on Universal Credit for up to 18 months and for 18 months or more, October 2025 AgeDuration: 0 months up to 18 monthsDuration: 18 months or moreTotal1859,4043,14962,5541987,15115,804102,9512067,44843,783111,2372156,06260,457116,521Total270,065123,196393,262 Source: DWP Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) Extract Notes:Cells in this table have had statistical disclosure control applied to avoid the release of confidential data. Due to adjustments totals may not be the sum of the individual cells.Figures are a count of the number of people on Universal Credit on the second Thursday of each month, by age on that date, and are provisional.The duration of an individual's current claim is calculated using the difference between the date the claimant signed their claimant commitment and the count date, and for this table is given in the following bands: Up to 18 months (0 to 547 days) and 18 months and above (548 days or more).Users are advised that these statistics have ongoing work to improve the data quality and so are subject to revision.
What steps he is taking to support for people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions to (a) return to and (b) enter into work.
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including arthritis and MSK conditions, with their employment journey. We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well Connect to Work. Following publication of the Keep Britain Working review report on 5 November, we are immediately launching the Vanguard Phase to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work. Over 70 businesses and seven regions, giving access to their employer networks, have already expressed an interest to be involved and support the Vanguard Phase, aiming to reshape how health issues and disabilities are managed in the workplace.
What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for decisions on Access to Work claims.
We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why last year we increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% and we have continued to streamline delivery practices. To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise Access to Work applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks, or cases that are up for renewal. In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
How he will ensure that the Timms Review adequately takes account of the needs of people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions.
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon. On 30 October, I published the revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK which set out further details about its scope. I also announced that I will co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review's strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people's organisations and is being recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process, which ran from 30 October to 30 November. We are now considering applications. We have worked closely with experts to ensure the EOI is accessible, inclusive and has a broad reach. The steering group will not work alone, it will oversee a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices.
Pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 77776, whether his Department monitors the number of instances where work coaches (a) tailor (1) work and (2) work search requirements and (b) temporarily remove the requirement to (i) work and (ii) search for work for single parents under (A) compulsory switching-off and (B) discretionary switching-off requirements.
Work coach guidance supports work coaches to ensure that requirements are tailored to the circumstances of individuals. This is not monitored centrally and so to provide the information requested would incur disproportionate cost.
What steps he is taking to ensure that the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Taskforce will adequately factor in living with fluctuating conditions.
We are bringing together a Vanguard Taskforce to steer the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase and are committed to listening to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. This Taskforce will advise on the development of a Healthy Working Lifecycle Standard over the Vanguard Phase. The Standard will focus developing the best practices and approaches to drive better outcomes for all those managing health conditions or living with impairments, including fluctuating conditions.