Every parliamentary written question tabled by Marsha De Cordova this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–19 of 19 · Department for Work and Pensions
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory disability pay gap reporting for companies with over fifty employees.
We recently held a public consultation on introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting. Our consultation closed on June 10th and we are now considering those responses, including views on which employers should be in scope of the requirements, and we will report back to Parliament in due course.
What information her Department holds on the completion rate for the Universal Credit optional equality questions on the (a) ethnic sub-group, (b) whether the respondent meets the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 and (c) whether the respondent has (i) health conditions and (ii) illnesses which affect them in specified ways, in the latest period for which data is available.
Since March 2025, the weekly completion rate for the Universal Credit (UC) equality questionnaire was between 75% and 80%. This is the proportion of people who complete the questionnaire when prompted to do so. To complete the questionnaire, claimants must respond to all questions, however, they may select "prefer not to say" as a valid response. Claimants are prompted to complete the questionnaire when they make an initial claim or a reclaim. They have 40 days to complete it before it is removed from their UC To-Do List. The coverage rate, i.e. the proportion of the UC caseload for whom we have a valid response, for the ethnicity questions, including for ethnic sub-groups, has reached over 70% and the Universal Credit statistics have been published with those breakdowns, with the latest statistics to June 2025 published on 15 July 2025. The health and disability questions were only introduced in December 2023, and it will take time for a sufficient proportion of the total UC caseload to respond, before any meaningful analysis is possible. Consequently, the department is currently unable to provide reliable figures on responses to the health and disability questions gathered through the equality questionnaire.
If she will publish Universal Credit sanction statistics broken down by (a) ethnic sub-group, (b) whether a respondent meets the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010, (c) whether the respondent has (i) health conditions or (ii) illnesses which affect them in specified ways and (d) family type.
The Department currently publishes the Universal Credit sanction statistics by ethnicity, with the latest statistics to February 2025 published on 24 June 2025.
What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce child poverty in Battersea constituency.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish its strategy as soon as possible. We are exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. The strategy will look across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in devolved governments. The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment in the her Department's Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025, on levels of poverty among carers in Battersea.
No assessment has been made on this basis. The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.This government is committed to supporting unpaid carers, who provide invaluable support to elderly or disabled people. As the Green Paper sets out, we will consider any impacts our reforms might have on benefits for unpaid carers as part of our wider consideration of responses to the consultation and 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 everyone’s health and care needs are met. We are taking other action to improve Carer’s Allowance separate to the Green Paper. We have pegged the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit to 16 hours’ work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels, and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit increased to be £196 a week net earnings on 7 April 2025, compared to £151 in 24/25. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing sight loss training for (a) Access to Work advisors and (b) Jobcentre Plus staff.
As part of staff on-boarding and induction into DWP, staff complete learning for customers with sight loss. The learning provides the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010, and an overview of the support available to customers including the challenges that individuals with sight loss may face. Work coaches in Jobcentres also have a point of needs learning products, allowing them to support blind and visually impaired customers. Access to Work support workers undergo learning which provides details of the funding that is available to support customers with sight loss. This includes the funding of lenses, colour tests and tinted glasses for health conditions, such as Irlens Syndrome (not for general sight loss) when a prescription is given from an optometrist for corrective vision.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of helping blind and partially sighted people by extending the Access to Work scheme to formal volunteering placements.
Access to Work is a demand-led, personalised discretionary grant which supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people in paid employment. We recognise the important role that volunteering, and other programmes can play in securing employment, and DWP provides support for individuals participating in supported internships and applicable apprenticeships and traineeships. There are no plans to extend Access to Work to those on formal volunteering placements. In March 2025, we published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to consult on the future of Access to Work. We are considering the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces, as well as the future of assistive technology.
What estimate her Department has made of the number of Disability Confident scheme employers employing at least one disabled person.
Employers at level 2 and level 3 of the Disability Confident scheme are asked if they employ disabled people at the point of applying for or renewing their membership at these levels. Organisations applying for or renewing at level 2 have only been asked whether they employ disabled people since the 20th of February 2024. Organisations applying for or renewing at level 1 are not asked to provide this information.As of the 1st April 2025, the data collected shows that, of all employers asked this question (2,454 employers in total), the majority (91%) reported they do employ disabled people. Less than one percent of employers said they do not employ disabled people, and 9 percent did not respond or did not know. Due to the specific and self-reported nature of the management information collected, it may not provide an accurate reflection of the employment of disabled people across all Disability Confident members and should therefore be treated with caution.In 2022, the Department commissioned a survey of Disability Confident members. Respondents included employers who were members at level 1, 2 and 3 of the scheme. The survey found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of employers reported having recruited at least one disabled employee or an employee who had a long-term health condition, since joining the Disability Confident scheme. More detail on this question can be accessed in the survey report on gov.uk using the following link: Disability Confident: survey of participating employers, May 2022 - GOV.UK
What discussions she has had with the RNIB on its report entitled Access to Work - Cost benefit analysis, published on 5 September 2015, in the context of her Department's consultation on its Green Paper on Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 26 March 2025.
Since 2015, the style, scope and cost of support that disabled people require has changed significantly, as has the labour market, yet Access to Work has stayed broadly the same. We believe there is a strong case for looking at the future role and purpose of Access to Work, given the significant operational challenges it faces, its limited reach (it only supports around 1% of the working disabled population) and rising costs. We want to improve accessibility and support more disabled people into work and think Access to Work has a significant role in this. In March 2025, the Pathways to Work Green paper launched a consultation on the future of Access to Work, and we are keen to hear the views and voices of disabled people and representative organisations, such as RNIB. We will consider all evidence during the review of Access to Work.
With reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what estimate she has made of the number of people who will enter the workforce in the (a) 2026-27, (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29 financial years as a result of the reforms set out in that paper.
Information on the impacts of the “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper” will be published in due course, with some information already published alongside the Spring Statement. 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 continue to work with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to estimate the potential labour market impacts of these proposals.
What information her Department holds on the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants who were (a) overpaid and (b) underpaid due to (i) claimant error and (ii) government error in 2024.
The last time the Department reviewed fraud and error levels in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) was in 2022/23, which is reported here: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2022 to 2023 estimates - GOV.UK. Table 11 demonstrates that 10.1% of the caseload was overpaid and 7.0% was underpaid. We did not review ESA in our fraud and error measurement exercise in 2023/24, but have assumed that those same rates will have continued.
Whether her Department plans to consult organisations led by disabled people on the reforms set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper.
The Government is committed to working in partnership with disabled people and the organisations that represent them. Following on from the publication of the Get Britain Working White Paper, we will establish a disability panel to ensure that disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of the design and delivery of our employment reforms. We will carry out in-depth consultations to seek input and expertise from a wide range of stakeholders including disabled people, community groups and employers.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Personal Independence Payments at supporting disabled claimants with the additional costs of disability.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution to the extra costs that may arise from a disability or health condition. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of PIP should be, as 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 on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand more, DWP is now undertaking a new a survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has an advisory group of experts including representatives of the disability charity Scope and academic experts. PIP is a non-contributory, non-means-tested, additional cost benefit and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use the 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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of the health element of Universal Credit in providing support to people with the cost of disability, in the context of Scope's report entitled Disability Price Tag 2024: Living with the extra cost of disability, published in September 2024.
No such assessment has been made. We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit, to ensure it is doing the job we need it to.
With reference to the Scope report entitled Disability Price Tag 2024, what steps she is taking to support disabled households with extra costs.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution to the extra costs that may arise from a disability or health condition. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of PIP should be, as everyone has different requirements reflecting their own circumstances and priorities. PIP is a non-contributory, non-means-tested, additional cost benefit and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use the 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. 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 on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand more, DWP is now undertaking a new a survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has an advisory group of experts including representatives of the disability charity Scope, academic experts, and Disability Rights UK.
With reference to the Scope report entitled Disability Price Tag 2024, published in September 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of extra costs incurred by disabled people.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution to the extra costs that may arise from a disability or health condition. There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of PIP should be, as everyone has different requirements reflecting their own circumstances and priorities. PIP is a non-contributory, non-means-tested, additional cost benefit and can be worth over £9,500 a year, tax free. Individuals can choose how to use the 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. 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 on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand more, DWP is now undertaking a new a survey of Personal Independence Payment customers to understand more about their disability related needs. This project has an advisory group of experts including representatives of the disability charity Scope, academic experts, and Disability Rights UK.
What steps her Department is taking to collaborate with (a) disabled people and (b) disabled people's organisations to help improve disabled people's interactions with the benefits system.
This Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to the principle of working with them, so that their views and voices will be at the heart of all that we do. The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising health and disability benefit services to improve user experience and increase trust in these services. HTP service design has been informed by user research conducted with customers, operational staff and health care professionals, including one-to-one sessions with customers at each stage of their claim. The Department has also engaged with a significant number of stakeholder organisations, establishing positive relationships with representative groups by seeking their expertise before beginning to develop and test new processes. This collaborative approach will help the department to tailor services to customer needs.
Pursuant to the Answer of 2 August 2024 to Question 1798 on Work Capability Assessment, what steps she is taking to (a) reform or (b) replace the Work Capability Assessment.
The government is committed to reforming or replacing the Work Capability Assessment, alongside putting in place a proper plan to support disabled people into work. We will say more about this in due course. We will continue to engage with stakeholders to keep the views of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of what we do, as we consider our next steps.
What steps her Department is taking to improve employment support for disabled Universal Credit claimants.
As part of the get Britain working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve. Forthcoming White Papers will develop policy in this area.Good quality work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions have the opportunity to work and save for as long as they wish and are able to. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group who need access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time. We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including disabled Universal Credit claimants. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants and the Work and Health Programme, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care. Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.