Written questions by Dillon.

What discussions he has had with small businesses on the apprenticeship system.

This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners in England and support the industrial strategy. We recognise the importance of ensuring that small and medium sized (SME) employers can benefit from these reforms and continue to access apprenticeships. The department engages regularly with employers and their representative organisations, including small businesses, to inform the ongoing development of the growth and skills levy. This includes regular sessions to explore how to simplify systems and processes as well as engagement with employers following the Budget on delivery of the next phase of the growth and skills levy. Skills England also works closely with employers, training providers, unions and other key partners to identify priority skills gaps, helping ensure that the growth and skills levy delivers value for money, meets the needs of business and helps kick-start economic growth. To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England maintains regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It also has a dedicated SME sponsor on its board and an executive team actively engaging SMEs across the country, ensuring smaller firms have a strong voice in shaping the skills system.

What plans the Government has to uprate the Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of local rents.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed each year at Autumn Budget. In his Written Ministerial Statement following Autumn Budget, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions confirmed that LHA rates will remain at current levels in 2026/27. He considered a range of factors, such as rental levels across Great Britain and the challenging fiscal context. Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament For those renters who require additional support to meet a shortfall in rent costs, Discretionary Housing Payments are available from local authorities.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to decide on a compensation scheme for women impacted by State Pension age changes on those women.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in his Oral Statement of 11 November that we will retake the decision made last December as it relates to the communications on state pension age. Information that was not considered at the time of the original decision has come to light. In retaking the decision, we will review this evidence alongside evidence previously considered. The process to retake the decision is underway and we will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.

When he plans to make a decision on a compensation scheme for women impacted by State Pension age changes.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in his Oral Statement of 11 November that we will retake the decision made last December as it relates to the communications on state pension age. Information that was not considered at the time of the original decision has come to light. In retaking the decision, we will review this evidence alongside evidence previously considered. The process to retake the decision is underway and we will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.

What plans her Department has to help support the financial needs of families, including their (a) eligibility for benefits and (b) access to childcare support.

Universal Credit is designed to be a flexible benefit which offers support for both those in and out of work. It provides an invaluable safety net for millions of customers through the standard allowance and additional elements. The government recognises the value of this safety net to millions of people and has therefore legislated for the first ever sustained above-inflation uplift to the UC standard allowance. In September we launched the Best Start in Life website for carers and parents, providing information on the government childcare offers available and an eligibility checker. Independent, free and anonymous benefit calculators are available to help people check what benefits they may be entitled to. The calculators can be accessed on the Government website at: https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

What steps his Department is taking with businesses to help ensure that staff working in high street businesses have adequate safety measures in place when working alone on the shop floor.

I refer the Honourable Member to the previous answer 71094

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that young people living in supported accommodation are not financially disadvantaged when increasing their working hours.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for young people living in supported and temporary accommodation, including the different income tapers used by each benefit. 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 assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Housing Benefit taper rate on the number of young people living in supported accommodation who are in work.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for young people living in supported and temporary accommodation, including the different income tapers used by each benefit. 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.

If she will publish a health and social care impact assessment of the decision to reduce disability benefits.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper was published on 18 March 2025. This paper sets out plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published in the impacts analysis and equality analysis on 26 March 2025 and the evidence pack on 2 May 2025 at:[https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper] A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months. We will consider the wider impacts of reforms for disabled people or those with a health condition as we develop our detailed proposals for change. We will also continue to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure health and social care considerations are built into our policies and to ensure everyone’s health and care needs are met.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact on disabled people of her decision not to hold a consultation on proposed cuts to disability benefits.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans and proposals for reform to health and disability benefits and employment support. This includes some urgently needed reforms to PIP eligibility and Universal Credit rates that are not subject to consultation but on which Parliament will fully debate and vote.This government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to the representative organisations and people that support them. The Green Paper consults on many key elements of the reform package, including employment support and Access to Work, which are at the centre of our plans to improve the system for disabled people. We hope that a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation, and we are holding a programme of public consultation events across the country to help facilitate input.We are also continuing to develop other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we are establishing ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific work areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience. We are also in the process of establishing the Disability Advisory Panel we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, which will be a strategic advisory panel of disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21895 on Benefits for people with disabilities, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the benefits available for people with disabilities.

There are a wide range of studies and estimates for the extra cost of disability. As such, there is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of the extra costs disability benefits should be, and everyone has different requirements reflecting their own circumstances and priorities. DWP pays close attention to the evidence base on the extra costs faced by disabled people; including academic research, analysis by Scope, and DWP’s own commissioned research.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of benefits for disabled people.

The extra costs disability benefits, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), provide a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. The extra costs benefits are non-contributory, non-means-tested and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use their benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences. The benefit can also be paid in addition to any other financial or practical support someone may be entitled to such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, NHS services, free prescriptions, help with travel costs to appointments or the Blue Badge scheme. The benefits have been consistently uprated in line with inflation since they were introduced and were, like other benefits, increased by 6.7% from 8 April 2024.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce unemployment among people aged 50 to 65 in Newbury constituency.

Improving employment outcomes for people of all ages will play an important part in the government’s economic growth and opportunity missions. We are reforming jobcentres, so they match people, including older workers, to the right job and combine employment skills and career focused support. This new jobs and careers service will transform our ability to support people into work and help people get on at work across Great Britain. We will set out more details about this and other labour market reforms through our forthcoming White Paper to Get Britain Working.The Government is delivering a package of support to help older workers, including those in Newbury, to remain in and return to work.Our jobcentres provide tailored support for older workers, including a review of health, finances and skills. In addition, over seventy 50Plus Champions are working in Districts across Great Britain, to drive local activity for older workers.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of lifting the two-child benefit cap on funding for local authorities.

No such assessment has been made.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending funding settlements for the Household Support Fund beyond one year.

We recognise that certainty helps Local Authorities to design and deliver sustainable plans for local welfare assistance. Committing to funding the Household Support Fund until 31 March 2026 will allow them to plan their approach with greater certainty. No decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.

What guidance her Department provides to parents on Universal Credit on using the Flexible Support Fund to cover upfront childcare costs.

The Flexible Support Fund can be used to pay 100% of the upfront costs of up to one month of childcare. This is designed to ensure that any costs that the Universal Credit customer incurs in relation to childcare when starting work or increasing their hours is not a barrier to taking up this work. The Government website ‘Childcare Choices’ is a key source of childcare information for parents. It advises that UC customers might be eligible for upfront childcare costs, and to speak to their work coach. We also issue guidance to Jobcentre Plus work coaches on the eligibility and awarding criteria for the Flexible Support Fund and upfront childcare costs. Customers who have received an upfront childcare award can make a Universal Credit childcare claim for up to 85% of their childcare costs thereafter. The Universal Credit childcare claim is paid to the customer through their UC award, which they can use to pay for the next month's costs, thereby easing UC customers into the UC childcare costs payment cycle.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of preventing Job Centres from distributing food vouchers on levels of access to foodbanks.

Under the previous administration, the Government introduced a new food charity signposting slip to replace the one previously used, removing personal data to better comply with our departmental obligations, including our GDPR responsibilities, and to improve our signposting process. The new slip does not change our DWP policy, and our Jobcentres continue to provide customers with guidance to find additional support, including signposting to emergency food support when appropriate.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the claim career allowance eligibility rules on individuals already receiving existing benefits.

Carer’s Allowance cannot normally be paid with another income replacement benefit. It has been a long-held feature of the GB benefit system, under successive Governments, that where someone is entitled to two benefits for the same contingency, then whilst there may be entitlement to both benefits, only one will be paid to avoid duplication for the same need. This includes Carer’s Allowance and State Pension.Carer’s Allowance replaces income where the carer has given up the opportunity of full-time employment to care for a severely disabled person and is unable to undertake full time employment due to their caring responsibilities, while State Pension for example replaces income in retirement. For this reason, social security rules operate to prevent them being paid together, to avoid duplicate provision for the same need.Where Carer’s Allowance cannot be paid, the person will keep underlying entitlement to the benefit. In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively. Currently, the Universal Credit carer element is £198.31 per monthly assessment period. The additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is £45.60 a week.

What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of changes in the number of 18-24 year olds claiming jobseeker’s allowance in Newbury constituency; and what steps she plans to take to help young people find job opportunities.

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 employment support. This will sit alongside; a new public employment and careers service to help get more people into work, and the launch of Skills England to open new opportunities for young people. In August 2024, 686 young people aged 18-24 were claiming Universal Credit in the Newbury parliamentary constituency. The latest released statistics on Job Seeker’s Allowance suggest that 5 young people aged 18-24 were claiming this benefit in February 2024. Please note however, that these statistics are subject to small, randomised adjustments in order to prevent the accidental disclosure of personal information. The small number of young claimants of Job Seeker’s Allowance is particularly sensitive to the impact of these randomised adjustments. DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. Newbury Jobcentre has a dedicated youth Work Coach team, who work closely with the National Careers Service as well, encouraging all customers to take part in any training or Work experience activities that the Jobcentre organises such as Job Fairs, Sector-based Work Academy programmes, and movement to work opportunities.