Written questions by Babarinde.

What consideration he has given to reviewing criteria for those in receipt of Attendance Allowance to be able to access to the Motability scheme.

Awaiting answer.

What arrangements are in place to ensure that claimants who have previously received support from a Disability Employment Advisor are known to all staff interacted with.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that relevant information on claimants’ learning difficulties, mental health conditions and other vulnerabilities is recorded and made accessible to Jobcent

DWP has established processes to identify, record and share relevant information about claimants’ circumstances, including vulnerabilities, so staff can provide appropriate support.Colleagues carry out vulnerability checks and record outcomes on DWP syste...

What guidance his Department provides to Jobcentres on avoiding repeated (a) changes and (b) cancellations of appointments for claimants with learning difficulties and other vulnerabilities.

Jobcentre guidance emphasises identifying, recording and acting on a claimant’s individual needs, including any reasonable adjustments, accessibility requirements or support. This helps Work Coaches plan appointments in a way that reflects the claimant’s ...

Whether he plans to review sanctions that apply following a first missed appointment.

The Department keeps the operation of conditionality and sanctions policies and processes under regular review to ensure they remain clear, fair and effective.Details on the Department’s assessment and position on a number of benefit sanctions related mat...

Whether her Department will require Jobcentres to provide claimants and their representatives with named representative for their designated contact officer.

When a claimant is allocated to a Work Coach or Case Manager they are currently provided with a named point of contact.

Whether she plans to enable supporters of vulnerable claimants to contact Jobcentres by telephone.

Universal Credit is a digital-first service, but it is not digital-only. Support is available by telephone and face to face where appropriate, including for vulnerable claimants or those who cannot access digital services. Claimants can opt to make and ma...

What procedures are in place to ensure that claimants are immediately informed of their right to challenge a sanction and seek accessible support.

Claimants are clearly informed of their rights when a sanction decision is made. All sanction decision letters include details of what to do if a claimant disagrees with the decision, including how to seek a review and access support.When a claimant is no...

What his Department's policy is for staff (a) reviewing and (b) interviewing Universal Credit claimants records ahead of conducting appointments.

The Department for Work and Pensions expects staff to use relevant information held on DWP systems when preparing for and conducting Universal Credit appointments. This includes reviewing claimant circumstances, work search activity, agreed requirements a...

What training is provided to Jobcentre staff on supporting claimants with hidden disabilities.

DWP recognises the importance of providing learning to enable all Jobcentre staff in customer contact roles to meet the needs of all our claimants, including those with hidden disabilities. Jobcentre staff receive role specific learning, which: provides a...

If he will review communication on the Universal Credit journal to distinguish between different types of appointments, including digital and telephone appointments.

When a Universal Credit appointment is created the claimant is informed of the date, time and the channel of their appointment, whether it will take place by telephone, video (including a link to join) or face to face (with details of the venue). This inf...

Whether he has considered introducing safeguards to prevent the withdrawal of Universal Credit payments where those payments are required to cover housing costs.

The Department has safeguards in place to help ensure customers can meet their housing costs and sustain their tenancies. This includes measures to protect customers’ income, such as capping deductions from the standard allowance at 15 per cent, as well a...

What steps are taken to inform claimants when their Universal Credit journal will not be (a) monitored and (b) responded to, including for temporary administrative reasons.

Claimants are routinely informed of actions, requests and updates through journal messages, which are recorded on their UC account to ensure transparency and provide a clear audit trail of communications. DWP staff are required to leave journal messages w...

If he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of disregarding the Pension Scheme and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for the purpose of calculating entitlement to Pension Credit.

No formal assessment has been made.

Whether the Government has produced an impact assessment of the effects of the reforms to Level 7 apprenticeship funding.

The government completed an equality impact assessment ahead of making its decision on the changes to level 7 apprenticeship funding. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 2 June 2025, this decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England’s analysis found that level 7 apprenticeships have a higher proportion of older learners than other apprenticeships, a higher proportion of learners who already hold higher level qualifications, and a significant proportion are less likely to be deprived than those in apprenticeships at lower levels. It also suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding. The government's decision on defunding Level 7 apprenticeships for those aged 22 and over, including the full summary of the evidence that informed that decision, is published here: Written Statements - Hansard - UK Parliament

What estimate his Department has made of the number of households affected by the Local Housing Allowance freeze since its introduction.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. LHA rates are reviewed annually at Autumn Budget. The Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement that LHA rates would be maintained at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27.Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament The impact on private renters was considered alongside factors such as rent levels across Great Britain, the fiscal context and welfare priorities including the decision to remove the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty. Information on the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall (i.e. where contractual rent costs exceed LHA), is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall are published in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide. Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from local authorities. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). However, DWP would also point out that the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of LHA on homelessness are considered.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Local Housing Allowance freeze on homelessness.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. LHA rates are reviewed annually at Autumn Budget. The Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement that LHA rates would be maintained at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27.Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament The impact on private renters was considered alongside factors such as rent levels across Great Britain, the fiscal context and welfare priorities including the decision to remove the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty. Information on the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall (i.e. where contractual rent costs exceed LHA), is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall are published in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide. Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from local authorities. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). However, DWP would also point out that the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of LHA on homelessness are considered.

What steps his Department is taking to review the current freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. LHA rates are reviewed annually at Autumn Budget. The Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement that LHA rates would be maintained at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27.Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament The impact on private renters was considered alongside factors such as rent levels across Great Britain, the fiscal context and welfare priorities including the decision to remove the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty. Information on the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall (i.e. where contractual rent costs exceed LHA), is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of households in receipt of LHA and those in shortfall are published in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide. Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from local authorities. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). However, DWP would also point out that the causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of LHA on homelessness are considered.

Whether his Department has made an estimate of how many claimants have incurred overpayments as a result of moving into or between temporary accommodation.

We cannot provide any figures for this request as DWP does not record “moving into/ between temporary accommodation” as an overpayment reason. Further information on published statistics for overpayments can be found here:Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK

Whether his Department is notified that a claimant has been moved in to out of area temporary accommodation.

The Department works closely with local authorities, who are responsible for administering Housing Benefit for people living in temporary accommodation. Housing Benefit covers housing costs in temporary accommodation, while Universal Credit supports daily living costs. When a claimant moves into temporary accommodation, they or their appointee must report any change of circumstances through their Universal Credit account. Local authorities cannot do this on a claimant’s behalf. Jobcentre staff in England support customers at risk of homelessness through the statutory Duty to Refer, offering a referral to a local authority for housing support.