Every parliamentary written question tabled by James Naish this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 38 · Department for Work and Pensions
Whether his Department has made an assessment of regional disparities in the outcome of the Individual Placement and Support Programme.
Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) was available in 12 areas in England and 2 Health Board areas in Wales. Evaluation of the programme is ongoing.
If he will publish the amount of people supported into employment through the Individual Placement and Support scheme.
Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) was available in 12 areas in England and 2 Health Board areas in Wales. Evaluation of the programme is ongoing.
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on utilising spare capacity in the chiropractic sector to support those with back pain and musculoskeletal sick notes back to the workforce.
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including back pain and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore 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 as Connect to Work and WorkWell. As well as supporting people back into work, it is important that they are supported to successfully remain there. The Keep Britain Working review, published in November 2025, examined how employers can support healthier and more inclusive workplaces. Sir Charlie Mayfield was appointed to work in partnership with DWP, DBT and DHSC to oversee the implementation of his recommendations. Over 120 employers and ten regions are working with us through employer-led vanguard sprints, reshaping how health and disability are managed at work.
What steps his Department is taking to support those with back pain and musculoskeletal sick notes to get back to the workplace.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) problems were one of the leading causes of sickness absence in the UK in 2024. Early detection and prevention, including increasing access to employment advice, can support people with MSK conditions getting into and remaining in work. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including those with back pain and MSK conditions, with their employment journey. We therefore 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 as Connect to Work and WorkWell. As well as supporting people back into work, it is important that they are supported to successfully remain there. The Keep Britain Working review, published in November 2025, examined how employers can support healthier and more inclusive workplaces. Sir Charlie Mayfield was appointed to work in partnership with DWP, DBT and DHSC to oversee the implementation of his recommendations. Over 120 employers and ten regions are working with us through employer-led vanguard sprints, reshaping how health and disability are managed at work.
Whether he is taking steps to engage disabled people in the process of the Timms Review of the Personal Independence Payment system.
The Timms Review is being co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.I am chairing the Review alongside my fellow co-chairs Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We have appointed a steering group of a dozen people, responsible for overseeing co-production of the Review.To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, almost all of the steering group has lived experience of a disability or long-term health condition. The group benefits from diverse perspectives from a range of backgrounds, but it is not intended to be representative of the UK’s disabled community—no single group could represent all perspectives or experiences of disability. Instead, the steering group will shape a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices. The steering group are currently shaping the programme of participation as a priority, and we will provide an update on this soon.
What steps she is taking to help ensure the Access to Work scheme supports people with multiple sclerosis.
The support that a customer will receive from Access to Work is dependent upon their needs and circumstances at the time they make an application. Case managers will use the current guidance to ensure Access to Work principles are considered when making a decision on support. All assessments are done on an individual basis with all conditions, including Multiple Sclerosis where applicable, considered as part of an individual’s application. We continue to engage disabled people’s organisations and individuals with lived experience, drawing on their insights alongside the National Audit Office’s recommendations as we take forward improvements to the scheme.
What assessment his Department made of the potential impact of withdrawing the universal credit health top-up for people under 22 on those unable to work.
The Pathways to Work consultation closed on 30 June 2025 and a summary of the consultation responses was published on 30 October. We will set out our plans in due course.
What steps his Department is taking to help (a) homeless and (b) disabled young people to seek employment.
Homelessness can act as a significant barrier to gaining and sustaining employment. DWP helps people experiencing homelessness to move towards work through tailored and place-based work coach support – a commitment outlined in the new cross-government National Plan to End Homelessness. This includes specialist employment support for people with complex needs through the new Connect to Work programme, and a new Jobs and Careers Service that will enable work coaches to focus more on individuals with the greatest barriers to work. The plan also commits to addressing the ‘work disincentive’ that can affect young people in supported accommodation, ensuring work pays and enabling residents to enter or progress in employment without facing financial barriers. The Department further supports homeless young people to move towards employment through Youth Hubs, which provide community‑based, wrap‑around employment support for 16–24‑year‑olds. As part of the core Youth Hub service blueprint, Hubs work with local partners to provide access to housing and homelessness advice alongside employment, skills and health support, recognising that housing insecurity is a significant barrier to work. The Government is also taking action to help young disabled people move towards work. Disabled young people are a diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them. The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for disabled young people. At the Budget, we have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn. Over the next three years nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds will be offered a dedicated session with a Work Coach, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support. We will also expand our network of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain. This investment will create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21 through the Jobs Guarantee. Alongside the Youth Guarantee, the Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for the Pathways to Work offer. Backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade, building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work offer once fully rolled out will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support. Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support already available to disabled people, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships. Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn is leading on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability and expected to report in Summer 2026.
What assessment his Department has made of the ways in which the Youth Guarantee will benefit disabled young people seeking employment.
The Government is taking action to help young disabled people move towards work. Disabled young people are diverse group, so it is key that the individual gets access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, for them. The Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will guarantee specialist support for disabled young people. At the Budget, we have announced an £820 million funding package for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn. Over the next three years nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds will be offered a dedicated session with a Work Coach, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support. We will also expand our network of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain. This investment will create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21 through the Jobs Guarantee. Success of the Youth Guarantee will be measured by improvement in employment outcomes, reduction in economic inactivity, and an increase in participation in education and training. We will monitor these outcomes nationally for all Youth Guarantee participants. This will build on already commissioned evaluation of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers and a planned full process evaluation of the Jobs Guarantee. Alongside the Youth Guarantee, the Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for the Pathways to Work offer. Backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade, building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work offer once fully rolled out will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support. Youth Guarantee and Pathways to Work will build on the range of support already available to disabled people, regardless of their benefit status or Work Group. For example, Connect to Work a supported employment programme that joins up work skills and health support, and Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, which combine the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them. Additionally, disabled people might be able to access WorkWell, which is our new way to deliver integrated work and health support through local partnerships. Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn is leading on an investigation of the rise in youth inactivity with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability and expected to report in Summer 2026.
What action is being taken to reduce the waiting times for a decision on Access to Work claims.
The Department is committed to reducing the Access to Work waiting times. We have 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 will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the consultation has closed. We are continuing to work closely with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives, on all aspects of our proposals.
What steps the Minister will take to ensure that the Timms Review adequately takes account of the needs of those living with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions.
For the Timms Review to be a success, lived experience must be at the heart of its work. To do this, we are co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs, and other stakeholders. In October last year, I published the revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK setting out further details about the Review’s scope. I also announced 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 and will determine how it runs and what it recommends. To recruit the steering group, we ran an open and accessible expression of interest from 30 October to 30 November. I will provide an update on its membership in the coming days, ahead of its first meeting later this week. The steering group will not work alone, once in place, it will shape a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices.
If he will make and assessment of the adequacy of funding for the voluntary sector through the Crisis Resilience Fund.
No assessment has been made on the adequacy of funding for the voluntary sector through the Crisis Resilience Fund. The Government is providing £842 million per year (£1 billion including Barnett consequential) to reform crisis support, which represents the first ever multi-year settlement for locally delivered crisis support. Whilst funding will be going directly to local authorities, the voluntary and community sector will play a pivotal role in delivery of the fund
What steps his Department is taking to help reduce Child Maintenance Service (a) response and (b) decision times.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has made significant strides through its Service Modernisation and Digital Transformation Programmes, improving response times and expanding online services for separated parents. It has optimised digital channels and self-service options, reducing caseworker involvement in many processes and speeding up outcomes for customers. Staff support has also improved through upgraded training and operational guidance. Communication with customers is quicker and clearer thanks to greater use of SMS, email, and simplified letters. As the demand for the service continues to grow, CMS is actively reviewing resources and recruiting to meet future needs. It regularly gathers feedback through the Customer Experience Survey and uses this insight to identify areas for improvement. Its focus remains on delivering efficient, accessible services while continuing to review, evaluate, and enhance tools, processes, and customer experience as part of the ongoing Service Modernisation Programme.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service do not send arrears letters to people who pay on time.
Robust processes are in place to ensure correspondence issued by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is accurate and reflects each customer’s payment status. CMS systems monitor compliance of expected payments and where payments are not made in full and on time, arrears or missed payment notifications will be issued. Where a payment has been made in full and on time, no arrears letter should be sent. The CMS are committed to modernising and regularly reviews processes and updates guidance to staff to minimise errors and improve accuracy.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service provides proof, if requested, of calculations of collection fees.
The Department is committed to ensuring transparency in the operation of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). The CMS provides two service types: Direct Pay, where parents arrange payments between themselves, and Collect and Pay, where the CMS calculates the liability and manages the transfer of funds. Collection fees only apply to the Collect and Pay service. A fee of 20% is added to what the paying parent needs to pay, while 4% is deducted from maintenance paid to receiving parents. For cases on the Collect and Pay service, details of what collection fees apply and how they are calculated are included in notifications sent to customers whenever there is a change to their child maintenance calculation. Customers can also view additional information about their payments and child maintenance calculation by accessing their online Child Maintenance account.
If he will consider how people with life-long disabilities caused by receiving sodium valproate in utero will be affected by welfare reforms when planning those reforms.
In our Pathways to Work Green Paper, we set out plans to remove the WCA and move to using the PIP assessment as the single assessment for additional financial support for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions in England and Wales. To ensure that PIP and the PIP assessment are fair and fit for the future, we have launched the Timms Review. The Review will look at PIP, the assessment criteria, and the wider role the assessment could play in providing access to the right support at the right level. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. It will be for the Review’s leadership group – building from the Terms of Reference – to set its strategic direction, priorities and workplan. It will also oversee a programme of participation and engagement that brings together the full range of views and voices. PIP assessments and Work Capability Assessments are not medical consultations and do not require Healthcare Professionals (HP) to diagnose conditions or recommend treatment. Instead, they are functional assessments designed to evaluate how an individual’s health conditions or impairments - including those caused by receiving sodium valproate in utero - affect their ability to carry out daily living activities and/or their capability for work HPs conducting assessments are trained specialists in disability analysis. Their focus is on understanding the functional impact of a claimant’s condition, rather than its clinical diagnosis. All HPs receive specific training on assessing the effects of physical and mental health conditions.
What steps he will take through the benefit system to incentivise young people to work additional hours.
Extended periods of unemployment at a young age can have long-lasting consequences, including limiting of future employment prospects and reduced lifetime earnings. Early intervention is therefore critical. That is why our plan to Get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers were launched earlier this year, and the insights gained will inform the future design and delivery of the Youth Guarantee. Universal Credit is designed to top-up earnings from employment and to make work pay, so a household’s Universal Credit is withdrawn at a steady rate as their net earnings increase. Some customers will also benefit from a work allowance which is the amount someone can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to reduce.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the universal credit taper to help more young people into work.
Extended periods of unemployment at a young age can have long-lasting consequences, including limiting of future employment prospects and reduced lifetime earnings. Early intervention is therefore critical. That is why our plan to Get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers were launched earlier this year, and the insights gained will inform the future design and delivery of the Youth Guarantee. Universal Credit is designed to top-up earnings from employment and to make work pay, so a household’s Universal Credit is withdrawn at a steady rate as their net earnings increase. Some customers will also benefit from a work allowance which is the amount someone can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to reduce.
Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing the housing benefit earnings disregard and (b) aligning the taper rate with Universal Credit.
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers living in supported and temporary accommodation. This issue is a complex one, and eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. As funding is required to allow a change, any future decisions will take account of the current fiscal context. It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
What steps he is taking to make work pay for young people in supported accommodation.
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers living in supported and temporary accommodation. This issue is a complex one, and eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. As funding is required to allow a change, any future decisions will take account of the current fiscal context. It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.