Written questions by Vickers.

What steps she is taking to support carers who are in part-time work.

The Government keeps all aspects of Carer’s Allowance under review to see if it is meeting its objectives. It is not means-tested but is subject to a weekly earnings limit. This was increased by a record amount in April 2025, which will benefit at least 60,000 unpaid carers between 2025/26 and 2029/30. The Government is also considering the possibility of introducing an earnings taper in the longer term. Many carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance and doing some work will also be receiving Universal Credit. For those receiving Universal Credit, the 55% taper rate and any applicable work allowance will help to ensure that people are better off in work. Supporting carers who want to work alongside managing their caring responsibilities is an important element of our plans to modernise the world of work, ensuring that there are good jobs for carers, and a skilled workforce for employers. The Carer’s Leave Act 2023, taken forward by the Department for Business and Trade, gave employees a right to time off to care for someone who is disabled or has a long-term health condition for the first time. We are reviewing implementation of Carer’s Leave and looking at where any improvements may be needed. This will include, but is not limited to, examining the benefits of paid leave, while being mindful of the impacts on businesses. The Employment Rights Bill includes provisions which will support all employees to achieve a better work life balance, including changes that will make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. This stands to make a particular difference to people combining work with unpaid care.

What recent discussions she has had with local authorities on tackling in-work poverty.

We know that working full-time substantially reduces the risk of being in poverty. Working age adults living in households where no adults are in work were around 6 times more likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs than working age adults in households where all adults work. This is why supporting people into good work will always be the foundation of our approach to delivering lasting change.Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Local Authorities, including quarterly meetings with both Mayors and Local Government Association representatives to discuss progress with our Get Britain Working initiatives. These proposals, backed by an initial £240 million investment in 25/26, will deliver the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation to help more people to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.Alongside this, our plan to Make Work will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards including by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 an hour, boosting the pay of 3 million workers.We have also commenced reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have begun this work by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit and announcing the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced.

What support her Department provides to help single parents in Teesside access (a) training and (b) employment.

The Government is committed to reducing child poverty. Evidence suggests that if parents work, including second earners and lone parents, this substantially reduces the risk of child poverty; and that growing up in poverty is a strong predictor of children’s education and future earnings. Parents claiming Universal Credit have support from Work Coaches, who provide individual, tailored help to all customers across the country. This includes supporting the development of skills needed to look for and obtain sustained employment and advice to parents on childcare support. There is also funding available through the Flexible Support Fund to remove immediate barriers to employment, including support for upfront childcare costs, travel costs, work wear, tools and equipment. The number of hours a parent who has childcare responsibilities is expected to work or search for work can be reduced to allow the parent to combine work and care. We are also considering how we can improve our support to help parents into work as part of our Child Poverty Strategy.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Universal Credit in supporting working families.

As promised in our election manifesto, we are currently reviewing Universal Credit, including its support for working families, to ensure it makes work pay and tackles poverty. Universal Credit is designed so that people who can, are able to secure and progress in work, and to provide a vital safety net for those who cannot work. The Universal Credit Bill has now passed all remaining stages and will receive Royal Assent this month. This bill legislates for the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of households.

What steps she is taking to improve take-up of Pension Credit in areas where rates of claim are low.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why since autumn 2024 we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign. The latest Pension Credit applications and awards statistics show that DWP received over 320,000 Pension Credit claims between July 2024 and July 2025 – with nearly 60,000 extra awards compared to the same period the previous year. The statistics also show more households getting Pension Credit than at any time since November 2021. Maximising the take-up of Pension Credit is a priority with new promotional activity due to start this month and DWP linking up with partners and stakeholders to promote Pension Credit as widely as possible.

What recent estimate she has made of the length of Personal Independence Payment processing times in Stockton-on-Tees.

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner and always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence For PIP new claims the current average clearance time is approximately 14 weeks, which includes the period allowed for customers to complete and return their questionnaire.

What proportion of pensioners (a) have no private (i) pension and (ii) savings and (b) rely solely on the state pension.

In financial year ending 2024, 30% of UK pensioners received no private pension income. This includes income from occupational pension income and personal pension income. In financial year ending 2024, 10% of UK pensioners had no savings. In financial year ending 2024, the percentage of UK pensioners receiving just the State Pension as their income was estimated to be 5%. Sources: Pensioners’ Incomes (PI) series 2023/24; Households below average income (HBAI) statistics 2023/24.

What support her Department provides to employers in Stockton West constituency to increase disability confidence in recruitment.

Nationally, in our Get Britain Working White Paper, published November 2024, we committed support for employers to recruit, retain, and develop staff. As part of that, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead ‘Keep Britain Working’, an independent review to consider how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie Mayfield will deliver a final report with recommendations in the autumn. In addition, in January this year, we launched an expert academic panel to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel will consider the reasons why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate, making their recommendations later this autumn. The Disability Confident (DC) Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. It provides employers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face. At my request, officials have been discussing with stakeholders options for making the DC scheme criteria more robust. The Government is working towards announcing next steps for improving the scheme later this autumn. DWP also has a digital information service for employers, (www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk), which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees to remain in work. This includes guidance on health disclosures and having conversations about health, plus guidance on legal obligations, including statutory sick pay and making reasonable adjustments. Access to Work aims to support the recruitment and retention of disabled people into employment. It is a personalised discretionary grant that provides support with workplace adjustments beyond an employer’s obligation as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. As part of our Plan for Change, and as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published in March, we are consulting on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the programme to help more disabled people into work and support employers ensuring value for money for taxpayers. We will review all aspects of Access to Work after evaluating the findings of the Pathways to Work consultation. In the area of Stockton DWP talks to employers about the diverse range of customers available for work, which includes those with a disability. The benefits of being a DC employer is promoted, including referencing Stockton Borough Council as a DC leader. Employers are signposted to the DC website and follow up conversations are held to offer support in becoming a DC employer. DWP has also contacted employers who have received an award for being dementia friendly to consider being DC. To support jobseekers who have disabilities DWP actively seeks placements with DC employers to aid them in their journey back into work. Work is about to start with Sainsburys, which is a DC employer, on recruitment for a new store in the area and will involve supporting customers with disabilities to consider and apply for roles.

What recent assessment she has made of employment support services for over-50s in the North East.

DWP currently offers employment support for eligible customers of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. We provide tailored support for those older jobseekers affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications. Through Midlife MOTs, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK, and online, we support older people to assess their health, finances and skills. The Government is reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new jobs and careers service that will enable everyone, including the over-50s, to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in their careers. This includes an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. As part of the national jobcentre work, in the North East, Employer and Partnership Teams work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers. Economic Inactivity Trailblazer areas have received a share of £80 million of funding in 2025/26 to design and test new interventions to support economically inactive people into the labour market. Across their interventions, the North East Combined Authority Economic Inactivity Trailblazer aims to support over a 1000 residents, including specific testing to support people over the age of 50.

What steps she is taking to improve access to face-to-face Jobcentre services in rural areas.

The majority of our current service provided by Jobcentres is through face-to-face appointments through a network of more than 630 jobcentres, spread across England, Scotland and Wales. As part of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are testing changes to Jobcentre Plus, including alternative delivery of our services. This includes Jobcentre Vans which are testing new ways of supporting people, providing advice and support for all customers, not just those claiming benefits. Vans are currently being tested in three communities in both rural (Northeast Scotland and North and Mid Wales) and urban settings (Bolton, Greater Manchester), delivering some Jobcentre services via locations within the community, selected to best meet customer needs. As part of our test and learn approach to create the new Jobs and Careers Service, we will incorporate the learnings from these tests into the design of the new service and will continue to work closely with key partners to deliver solutions based on local needs.

What proportion of benefit claimants in the North East have been subject to sanctions in the last 12 months.

The Department regularly publishes monthly Universal Credit sanction rate statistics for Great Britain as part of the benefit sanction statistics. The latest statistics to May 2025 are available in table 2.1 of the latest benefit sanction statistics tables. Users can use the UC Sanction Rates dataset on Stat-Xplore to produce the same information for lower-level geographical breakdowns. After selecting the required geographies, firstly produce a table containing the monthly statistics for the total number of UC claimants in conditionality regimes where sanctions can be applied, i.e. "searching for work", "planning for work" and "preparing for work", and include those people with unknown conditionality regime too. Then produce a separate table containing the monthly statistics for the number of Universal Credit (UC) claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction using the sanction indicator. Note, the second table should be produced for all people, regardless of conditionality regime. After retrieving these separate tables from Stat-Xplore, calculate the sanction rate, which is the number of people on UC with a sanction, as a proportion of all people on UC in conditionality regimes where sanctions can be applied, both counted at the same point in time. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment on vulnerable groups in Wales.

The Government wants to expand eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments, recognising the goals of supporting these pensioners, meeting need and of sustainable public finances. Any change will be announced to Parliament in the normal way.

What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of youth unemployment since 2010.

Youth unemployment in 2010 was high following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. The unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds for Jul-Sep 2024 is 14.8% (4.5 percentage points lower than in Jul-Sep 2010). In recent quarters the youth unemployment rate has been increasing. It has increased by 2.8 percentage points on the year. To address this 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 to reduce the number of young people not earning or learning. We are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers areas to test new ways of supporting young people into employment or training, by bringing together and enhancing existing programmes in partnership with local areas. We expect the trailblazers to launch from Spring 2025. The White Paper also sets out a range of measures to prevent youth inactivity before 18 – including an expansion of work experience and careers advice, action to tackle school attendance and steps to improve access to mental health services for young people Recent unemployment estimates are subject to heightened volatility due to ongoing data quality problems with the ONS Labour Force Survey. This is particularly the case for the 16 to 24-year-old group, which as a smaller population group has wider margins of error than whole population estimates. Additionally, data prior to Jun-Aug 2011 has not been re-weighted by the ONS causing a discontinuity.

What steps her Department is taking to use technology to improve its productivity.

As part of the Department’s ongoing transformation, we are increasing our use of automation, improving our underlying technology, and increasing the number of citizen self-service opportunities where it is appropriate to do so, meaning that, despite increased demand on our services, more of our time can be deployed onto the activities that support our customers at the point of demand.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of women in employment since 2010.

The Government is committed to tackling the challenges women face in the labour market and takes seriously the challenges they face in balancing work with other life events. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public authorities to consider impacts on those with protected characteristics, including sex, when exercising their functions, like making decisions. Female participation in the labour market grew substantially over the 2010s, predominantly driven by changes to the female State Pension Age. In recent years, participation has stalled and has only grown by 0.9 percentage points in the last 5 years, and the employment rate for women aged 16-64 currently stands at 72.1%. (Source: Labour Force Survey, Jul-Sep 2024). As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, too many women who care for their families still experience challenges staying and progressing in work. This is reflected in the higher rates of female inactivity and unpaid carers, and contributes to the gender pay gap. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out how it will take a system-wide approach to reducing barriers to work, including measures to make it easier to access affordable childcare and manage caring responsibilities alongside work.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the employment rate.

The Secretary of State, and ministers, regularly meet with Cabinet and ministerial colleagues, regarding a range of matters. Our ambitions are to reverse the trend of inactivity, and to raise both productivity and living standards whilst improving the quality of work. To help achieve this, we have set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate, demonstrating our commitment to bringing those furthest away from the labour market into it, increasing local labour supply. Achieving our ambitions requires a cross-government approach, which is why the Employment Rights Bill will make work more secure, boost wages, and help people thrive by supporting them into and to get on in work.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Pension Credit awareness campaign.

Our campaign has seen DWP receive around 150,000 Pension Credit applications in the 16 weeks since the Winter Fuel Payment announcement compared to around 61,300 Pension Credit applications in the preceding 16 weeks. This represents a 145% increase in applications. The latest figures also show that 42,500 Pension Credit awards were made since the 29 July.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment on trends in the level of pensioners living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty.

On 19 November, Secretary of State wrote to the Work and Pensions Select Committee to share internal government modelling produced by the Department outlining estimates of the number of pensioners estimated to move into poverty as a result of the policy change. This letter is available here Winter Fuel Payments eligibility change - Letter from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The latest modelling shows that compared to the numbers that would have been in poverty without this policy, it is estimated that: (a) there will be an additional 50,000 pensioners in relative poverty after housing costs in 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2027/28 and an additional 100,000 pensioners in relative poverty after housing costs in 2026/27, 2028/29 and 2029/30. (b) for all other measures of poverty, it is estimated that there will be an additional 50,000 pensioners in poverty each year from 2024/25 to 2029/30. The poverty impacts represent the change in the numbers in poverty as a result of the policy change only. They are not an estimate of the change in overall poverty each year or over time and should not be added together or interpreted as cumulative data. It's important to note that this modelling is subject to a range of uncertainties meaning the poverty impacts are rounded to the nearest 50,000 individuals and the nearest 0.1 percentage point which should be taken into account when interpreting the results. This means that small variations in the underlying numbers impacted can lead to much larger changes in the rounded headline numbers. The modelling does not account for any other measures announced at the Autumn Budget. The modelling also does not include any impacts on Pension Credit take-up as a result of the changes to Winter Fuel Payment eligibility. The Prime Minister has been clear that means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment is not a decision that the Government wanted to take but given the £22 billion black hole in the economy, tough choices had to be made to fix the foundations and restore economic stability to make everyone better off in the long term.Last year Winter Fuel Payments cost around £2 billion and were paid to pensioners regardless of their income. Given the dire state of the public finances the Government has inherited, it’s right that the Government targets support to those who need it most while the Government continues our work to stabilise the economy. But the Government will continue to stand behind vulnerable households this winter, including through delivering the £150 Warm Home Discount for low-income households from October and extending the Household Support Fund with £421 million to ensure local authorities can support vulnerable people and families. The Government will also ensure around 1.3 million households in England and Wales will continue to receive up to £300 in Winter Fuel Payments, and the new state pension will increase by around £470 next year, which will significantly outstrip any loss for pensioners of the winter fuel payments. In addition, the Government and industry have worked together to deliver a £500m Winter Support Commitment for customers, which will help customers most in need by providing credit on bills, enhanced debt write-off schemes, and increased funding for charity partners to target hard to reach customers. The Government continues to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to Pension Credit to check now, as all eligible claims can be backdated, and anyone who makes a successful claim will receive their payment. Over a million pensioners will still receive the Winter Fuel Payment and our drive to boost Pension Credit take up has already seen a 145% increase in claims. Anyone who makes a successful claim for Pension Credit before 21 December and meets the eligibility criteria will receive both Pension Credit and a Winter Fuel Payment, and the Government has deployed more than 500 additional staff to process the increase in Pension Credit claims.