Written questions by Jarvis.

What steps his Department is taking to improve collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations in supporting young people into sustained employment.

The Department is strengthening collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations to support young people into sustained employment. Through the development of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are embedding a more locally responsive model of employment support. This includes working in partnership with Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, employers and the voluntary and community sector to design and test different elements of the service that reflect local labour markets. We are also undertaking a structured programme of engagement with 8,000 employers to better meet their recruitment needs, ensuring that support is tailored to local employers and local labour markets. This includes growing the Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in priority sectors, where Jobcentres are working with local training providers to deliver employer-led placements combining sector-focused employability training, a work experience placement and guaranteed job interview. We are also exploring how we can bring our services into the heart of communities to reach more people, including through our mobile Jobcentre services, where support is being provided in local community settings such as leisure centres and supermarkets. In addition, for young people the government’s Youth Guarantee aims to ensure every young person has the opportunity to earn or learn, including those outside of the benefits system. As part of this we are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations across Great Britain, so that all young people can access high-quality, holistic support in their local area. Youth Hubs strengthen collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations by bringing partners together in local areas to deliver joined up support. Hubs align employment support with mental health, housing, skills provision and local employer links to help young people access co-ordinated support into sustained employment. We have also launched eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, backed by £90 million of funding, to test innovative, locally led approaches to supporting young people, particularly those outside of the benefits system. The Trailblazers are bringing together national entitlements with locally tailored provision, strengthening local leadership and coordination, and working with partners including the voluntary sector, employers and colleges to reach and support young people who need additional help. Learning from these Trailblazers will inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls out across the rest of Great Britain. Taken together, these steps are improving collaboration at local level by aligning employment support more closely with employers and community partners, and by delivering joined‑up, place‑based support to help young people move into sustained employment.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of minimum qualification requirements on access to apprenticeships for young people not in education, employment or training; and what steps she is taking to ensure that access to apprenticeships is expanded to young people (a) with barriers to attainment and (b) who have not met minimum qualification requirements.

Young people are not required to hold GCSE qualifications in English and/or maths before starting an apprenticeship. Apprentices under the age of 19 are funded to achieve up to a level 2 qualification in English and/or maths (where they do not already hold one) before the end of their apprenticeship, putting them in the best position to progress in their life and career. This can be a GCSE or functional skills qualification. Further flexibility is in place for apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability, where there is evidence this is likely to be a barrier to them completing their apprenticeship. In these cases, they are able to achieve an entry level 3 functional skills qualification to complete. Since August 2024, this flexibility has been available to apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability but without an Education Health and Care Plan. Although apprenticeships are jobs with training, and employers set their own entry requirements, we encourage them to consider a wide group of applicants. To support removing barriers to entry for young people, we are clear to employers that we will fund apprentices without English and maths GCSEs to achieve these qualifications.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to employability programmes for neurodivergent young people; and whether he has considered further adjustments to support their participation.

The Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee, as we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper. Specific additional support for young disabled people and young people with health conditions will be available through Pathways to Work. We have already launched 8 Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET. As part of their place-based approach, MSAs have developed their approaches with consideration to young people in their locality who need more support and several are offering targeted support for young people with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities. We have also launched an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities. As part of the Youth Guarantee, we are breaking the cycle of unemployment by guaranteeing paid work for every eligible 18–21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months. The Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment, for 25 hours a week, at the relevant minimum wage, with the government covering 100% of employment costs. It will also provide wraparound support for young people to further develop the required skills and experience needed for the move into sustained employment. Appropriate safeguards will be built into the scheme to ensure that opportunities are high quality, fair and deliver the intended outcomes for young people. Alongside this, in Pathways to Work we are building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions, regardless of age, on out of work benefits. This guarantee will be backed by £1 billion a year of funding by the end of the decade.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision for the early diagnosis of liver disease by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board; and what steps his Department is taking to support that Integrated Care Board to improve early identification and treatment.

Locally, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) is implementing the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitments on earlier diagnosis of liver diseases. This includes expanding access to non-invasive testing in primary care and community diagnostic centres delivering liver function tests and fibroscans in community environments. The ICB is also promoting consistent use of risk stratification tools, improving care navigation into specialist hepatology services via advice and guidance, and strengthening data infrastructure so systems can better target those at highest risk.Nationally, NHS England has commenced a programme of work on the transformation of liver services led by the Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Clinical Reference Group (HPB CRG). The HPB CRG is working with partners to co-produce resources to raise public knowledge and awareness of all forms of liver disease.The HPB CRG is also aiming to improve the early diagnosis and intervention through developing evidence-based best-practice pathways for both primary care and referral to secondary care services.

What is planned timetable is for a decision on the inclusion of woodland and peatland carbon codes within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

The Government is working to integrate greenhouse gas removals into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and is considering whether this should include high integrity woodland, such as Woodland Carbon Units under the Woodland Carbon Code. The UK ETS Authority consulted in May 2024, and in July 2025 set out further evidence on the potential impacts of including woodland. The Authority will make a decision on woodland inclusion in due course. As set out in July 2025, the Authority is not considering peatland restoration for inclusion in the UK ETS.

What plans he has for the continuation or expansion of the WorkWell programme beyond the current three-year funding period; whether he plans to expand the programme to support more than 250,000 people; whether he plans to expand eligibility for the programme; and what criteria his Department is using to determine whether the programme will be expanded beyond its current rollout.

WorkWell is a health and employment support service providing integrated holistic early help for people with disabilities and/or health conditions to address their health-related barriers to work. The WorkWell pilot phase launched in October 2024 in 15 areas in England and so far has supported approximately 25,000 people to stay in and re-enter work. In January 2026 we announced that following the pilot, WorkWell will continue to be delivered in existing sites and expand across all of England. The expansion is backed by up to £259 million investment over three years and could support up to 250,000 people. WorkWell is a voluntary service with broad eligibility criteria; participants do not need to be claiming any Government benefits to be eligible and can access WorkWell through multiple routes including employer referrals, GP referrals, Jobcentre Plus, local services, or self-referral.An evaluation of the pilot is underway to measure the ongoing effectiveness of WorkWell and will include an independent consortium of evaluators using surveys, interviews and econometric measures of success. The evaluation will consider several variables, including reported health conditions (both physical and mental health) and earnings. Outcomes for participants are monitored across the length of the pilot, and for a further 2 years. A final report in Autumn 2028 will aim to give full assessment of impact of the pilot, including potential sustainment of employment impacts. A similar evaluation will be commissioned for the national rollout of WorkWell. The learnings from these evaluations will inform any future expansion decisions.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK-based firms are able to participate in competitive procurement processes for NHS contracts.

The Government is committed to ensuring that public procurement delivers economic growth, supports small businesses, champions innovation and creates high quality jobs across the United Kingdom.In February 2025, the Government published the National Procurement Policy Statement, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-procurement-policy-statementThe statement sets out clear priorities to maximise the impact of public spending. This came into effect alongside the commencement of the Procurement Act 2023, which modernises the procurement regime to make it simpler, more transparent, and more supportive of UK-based suppliers. The Government has also consulted on further reforms to improve domestic competitiveness and support British business. More information about the consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/public-procurement-growing-british-industry-jobs-and-skills-consultation-on-further-reforms-to-public-procurementThe Social Value Model is a legal requirement on public bodies to consider broader economic, social, and environmental benefits, not just cost, in procurement exercises. All procurements exercises are required to apply a minimum of 10% weighting in the bid evaluation, including those in the National Health Service. This approach aligns with Government policy to support UK growth, jobs, skills pathways, and workforce wellbeing.NHS England is also committed to improving engagement with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and helping to make it easier for them to do business with the NHS. To help ensure SMEs have a voice within the NHS, NHS England have established an SME Advisory Group, which has worked with NHS England to improve the opportunities for SMEs to engage with and compete for NHS business. In February 2024, NHS England published an SME Action Plan that outlines how the NHS will better engage, communicate with and learn from the SME community, improve visibility of NHS opportunities and encourage SME participation in commercial activity. The action plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/small-and-medium-enterprises-action-plan/

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of changes in UK funding to the World Food Programme since 2024 on efforts to tackle global hunger and food insecurity.

The UK is a longstanding partner of the World Food Programme (WFP) and we are in regular dialogue to monitor the landscape as global funding shifts. As a member of the Global Network Against Food Crises, the UK is also working with WFP to support analysis and reporting to help inform international responses. On levels of UK funding to WFP, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 December 2025 in response to Question HL12148.

What steps his Department is taking to prevent economic abuse of women occurring through child maintenance; what safeguards the Child Maintenance Service has in place to identify and respond to such cases; whether he plans to introduce further measures; and what the timetable is for implementing measures to strengthen protections for affected women and children.

The CMS has access to resources which help caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations that support victims and survivors of domestic abuse. All CMS caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process and domestic abuse plan which includes steps to support and recognise domestic abuse, including economic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour. The Government’s focus is to deliver a policy that meaningfully protects parents who are victims of domestic abuse. We believe the best way to achieve that is through the removal of the Direct Pay service. Under the reformed service, all cases will be managed in a single service where the CMS monitors and transfers all payments. Reforms to the CMS will provide a safer service for victims and survivors by preventing unwanted contact with the other parent and removing opportunities for abuse that currently exist in Direct Pay, including the need for receiving parents to report non-compliance. Our intention remains to remove Direct Pay, and we will do so as soon as parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, we are strengthening our support for victims/survivors, for example by making it easier for parents to switch to the Collect and Pay service and being clearer in our communication about what support is available for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and how to access it.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the student loan repayment system, including interest accrual, on borrowers who take extended periods out of the labour market due to caring responsibilities; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential differential impact of this system on women.

Interest accrues on loan balances until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled, but interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.Borrowers on Plan 5 student loans only accrue interest at Retail Price Index (RPI) (currently 3.2%) meaning graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold, or when out of the labour market, such as with caring responsibilities, ensuring that the loan’s debt value will not grow in real terms. Additionally, borrowers, regardless of their plan, earning under the repayment threshold are not required to make repayments.Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the earnings threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. If a graduate becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest may be written off.For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of barriers to entry on UK small and medium-sized enterprises in competitive public procurement processes.

The Government is determined to ensure the £400 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually delivers economic growth and supports British businesses, especially SMEs. The Procurement Act (PA23) sets, for the first time, a duty for contracting authorities to have regard to the particular barriers facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to consider what can be done to reduce or remove them. Initial trends show that the proportion of PA23 tender lots with a planning, tender, transparency or dynamic markets notice tagged as suitable for SMEs has increased to around two thirds of all requirements. To continue to build on this positive trend, this Government has also published a new, more ambitious, National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), which requires contracting authorities to consider ways to increase procurement spend with SMEs and Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).We have also introduced changes allowing local councils to reserve over one billion pounds worth of lower value contracts to suppliers based locally or within the UK which has recently become law, a step strongly supported by SMEs.We will set out further reforms, including the response to the recent public procurement consultation, in due course. These reforms will further support British SMEs to bid for contracts.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to funding for leadership and management apprenticeships on progression opportunities in the retail sector.

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy. We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on levels of pensioner poverty among mixed-age couples of the requirement that both members of a couple must have reached State Pension age in order to be eligible for Pension Credit or pension-age Housing Benefit.

Ensuring that individuals can get into, progress and stay in work is important in helping them to continue saving for their own retirement and contribute to the wider economy. The requirement for mixed age couples to seek financial support from the working-age social security system until both members of the couple reach State Pension Age ensures that, once in receipt of Universal Credit, the younger partner can access the same employment support that is available for customers below State Pension Age including dedicated employment support for customers over the age of 50. The pension-age partner is placed in the no-work related requirements group. The Government recognises the critical role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay and is taking important steps to support people with their living costs. For the first time ever, we have introduced a sustained above inflation increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance for all claimants. From April 2026, this will see the standard allowance uprated by 3.8%, followed by a further 2.3%.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of distribution of Best Start Family Hubs across local authorities; and how much funding is expected to be allocated to Eastleigh.

The department has set a clear ambition for 70% of hubs to be in the 30% most disadvantaged areas. From April we will be rolling out hubs nationally meaning that they will be in every single local authority by 2028. We are setting a clear expectation that support to families and neighbourhoods under the greatest pressure should be prioritised. Councils know their communities best, and we will work closely with them to make sure this happens. Provisional funding allocations were shared with Hampshire County Council for the programme during the 2026/29 financial years on 7 November 2025. Payments are subject to local authorities meeting the expectations of the programme.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 72871, on Water Charges, what cost-benefit analysis her Department carried out when choosing not to introduce a national social tariff for water bills in the policy paper entitled A new vision for water: white paper published on 20 January 2026.

The Government is working with industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported. We are working with water companies to ensure vulnerable customers across the country receive support. This includes improving the guidance for companies to design the best social tariffs for their customers. We expect all water companies to put appropriate support in place for customers struggling to pay their bills and to proactively engage with their customers to ensure they know what support schemes are available and how to use them. Over the next five years, water companies will have more than doubled the number of customers that will receive help with their bills through social tariffs from 4% in 2025 to 9% in 2030. We expect companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end water poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure appropriate measures are taken to this end.

What assessment her Department has made of the (a) number and (b) rate of train cancellations since the nationalisation of South Western Railway.

The average rate of cancellations on SWR has increased from 3.5 per cent just before entering public ownership to 3.8 per cent in the most recent period. SWR inherited significant traincrew shortages from the previous private operator, which has contributed to higher levels of cancellations, alongside training drivers to drive the new Arterio train fleet. Under public ownership, driver recruitment has been accelerated, with SWR now training up to 12 new drivers per period to reduce the risk of traincrew‑related cancellations. Under private ownership, South Western Railway’s (SWR’s) new Arterio fleet were due to be delivered between 2019-2021. The trains were delayed under the previous operator due to issues initially caused by manufacturing and software issues and then by issues including driver training and platform infrastructure readiness. The publicly owned SWR is now finally introducing the new trains to offer increased capacity and comfort to passengers. SWR now have 38 Arterios in service in comparison to the 7 Arterios pre-public ownership. The average rate of cancellations has increased slightly which is in line with regular variation during the introduction of major fleet upgrades. Technical issues affecting train reliability are expected to improve over time as teething issues are resolved. Overall, operators currently in public ownership remain more reliable on average than those in private ownership.

Whether her Department has undertaken analysis of how student loan repayment arrangements affect (1) borrowers’ disposable income and (2) their ability to access mortgages.

Student loan repayments are taken into account as part of affordability assessments for mortgage applications, but student loans are very different from a mortgage or credit card debt as repayments are determined by income, not the amount borrowed. For example, a Plan 2 graduate earning £30,000 will repay only around £4 a month in FY2026–27. The most sustainable long-term method to improve housing affordability and help people into homeownership is to increase the supply of housing. This Government has recommitted to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament. The government is committed to making home ownership more accessible by supporting first-time buyers, and welcomes clarifications from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which should allow customers to borrow around 10% more on the same income.

What assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) clarity of the information provided to prospective students about the terms of Plan 2 student loans at the point of application.

Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Prospective students had access to a wide range of information across a range of platforms before they submit their loan application.Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the regulations that govern the loans. Students sign these terms and conditions before any money is paid to them.The student finance system is designed to function differently to a commercial loan. Repayments are calculated solely on earnings, not on amount borrowed or the rate of interest applied. Crucially, Plan 2 student loans are cancelled after 30 years, regardless of outstanding balances.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of (a) oversight, (b) accountability and (c) redress mechanisms with home energy efficiency schemes; what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of errors; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of processes for households to (i) challenge and (ii) seek review of decisions.

The Government recognises that the system of quality assurance and consumer redress that we inherited needs reform. We have improved the quality assurance and consumer protection systems since identifying the issues with solid wall insulation under ECO4 and GBIS, including but not limited to enhanced checks by energy suppliers and greater oversight of TrustMark and certification body operations. We are committed to reforming the consumer protection system, as set out in the Warm Homes Plan, to one that can command public confidence.

What recent assessment her Department has made of (a) levels and trends in household and public sector indebtedness, (b) levels of corporate indebtedness, including debt associated with investment in artificial intelligence, (c) risks arising from asset-price inflation relative to trends in productivity and wages; and what assessment she has made of (i) the potential impact of those trends on the UK's financial stability and (ii)) the adequacy of contingency planning for a financial market downturn.

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for identifying, monitoring and taking action to remove or reduce systemic risks to the UK financial system. The FPC’s most recent (December 2025) Financial Stability Report notes that risks to financial stability increased during 2025, with key sources of risk including geopolitical tensions, fragmentation of trade and financial markets, and pressures on sovereign debt markets. The FPC also judged that many risky assets valuations remain stretched, particularly for technology companies focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and that this heightens the risk of a sharp correction. The report also notes that indebtedness measures indicate that UK households and corporates remain resilient in aggregate, but that the increasing role of debt financing in the AI sector could increase financial stability risks. Overall, the FPC judges that the banking system is well capitalised, and strong enough to support households and businesses even in a period of stress. HM Treasury, alongside the UK financial regulators, closely monitors markets conditions, as well as potential risks to UK financial stability. In the case of any disruption, the UK financial authorities have established mature coordination mechanisms to coordinate an appropriate response; and have a range of powers available to respond.