Written questions by Burke.

What steps his Department is taking to expedite the resolution of complaints about decisions on benefits.

Awaiting answer.

What targets her Department has set for resolving complaints about decisions on benefits.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by Marie Curie, entitled Dying in Poverty, published in 2025.

The Government acknowledges the findings of Marie Curie’s Dying in Poverty report (2025), which highlights the financial insecurity experienced by individuals at the end of life. This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it including for those nearing the end of their life. For these claimants, the Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain welfare benefits without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

What assessment he has been made of how the Employment Rights Act will help reduce economic inactivity.

The Employment Rights Act will support a reduction in economic inactivity by improving job security, job quality and working conditions, particularly for those in lower paid and insecure roles, who are concentrated in more deprived areas of the UK. Over 18 million employees are expected to benefit in some way from the Act’s new protections, with the greatest gains for workers in sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail, where low pay and irregular hours are most prevalent. By strengthening protections for those at the margins of the labour market, the Act helps make work more stable, predictable and attractive. This is expected to encourage more people to enter or return to the labour market, supporting higher participation and reducing inactivity over time.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) ensure compliance with the Civil Service Code and (b) record breaches of that code.

The Department for Work and Pensions makes it a contractual term of employment that its employees comply with the Civil Service Code and report if ever they are required to act in any way which may be illegal, improper or unethical. Failure to meet this contractual duty could result in disciplinary action, for which the most severe penalty could be dismissal. The Department uses mandatory induction training and periodic communications to ensure its employees are aware of the standards prescribed by the Code and through its annual ‘People Survey’, employees are asked if they are aware of the Code and know how to report alleged breaches. Undertaking annual training in security and anti-fraud measures, relevant to the Code’s requirement for honesty, is also mandatory and monitored for compliance. Employees are required to declare apparent conflicts of interest and declarations are mandatory for the Senior Civil Service and for employees in particular circumstances. Day to day, line managers are responsible for ensuring the employees they manage comply with the Code, and for dealing promptly with alleged breaches. All employees can use either the grievance or whistleblowing procedures to request investigation of alleged breaches by colleagues and in the case of whistleblowing, they may also report concerns about breaches of the Code to the Civil Service Commission or National Audit Office. Confirmed breaches of the Code are recorded for whistleblowing but are also registered in disciplinary data according to the nature of the proven breach, e.g. fraud, theft, data misuse.

What steps her Department takes to monitor enforcement of the Civil Service Code.

The Department for Work and Pensions deploys a variety of methods for monitoring enforcement of rules of conduct that underpin but are not exclusively about the Civil Service Code. For example, the Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee monitors the effect of measures to prevent and detect dishonesty that takes the form of internal fraud and security breaches, and employees are appointed to roles in areas such as security, data management and fraud detection to assess risks, monitor compliance, implement improvements and undertake investigations. Other employees, such as human resources experts, support enforcement of the Civil Service Code by monitoring take up of mandatory training and ensure that concerns identified by misconduct, grievances and annual ‘People Survey’ are acted upon. It is not possible to state all of the ways of monitoring enforcement of rules that ensure compliance with the Civil Service Code’s wide-ranging standards for integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the previous Government's policies on life expectancy in Glasgow North East constituency.

No assessment has been made. This would be a matter for the Scottish Government and National Records of Scotland: Life Expectancy in Scotland 2021-2023 - National Records of Scotland (NRS)