Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of children in poverty.

Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty in the UK are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, the latest available being  Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK. The table showing the percentage of children in relative poverty over time is published as “table 4.1tr” of “children-trends-hbai-1994-95-2023-24-tables”. Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty on a before housing costs basis at local level are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication, the latest available being Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2024 - GOV.UK. The latest statistics published on 27 March 2025 are up to and including 2023/24. The latest available data can also be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use it can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/User-Guide.html. In 2023/24 there were 900,000 more children in relative poverty after housing costs in the UK than in 2010/11. Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government. The Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy looking at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, including considering social security reforms, 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 Government. The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and ensuring the voices of families and children with experience of poverty are brought into policy thinking and decision making as part of the development of the Child Poverty Strategy. This includes three key stands of work – a Parents and Carers Forum, engagement with the Changing Realities Project and research with children and young people. 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.

If she will ensure that autism is included in the Youth Employment Strategy.

As a Government, we want to support all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace, and we are looking to build on the findings of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment by gathering expert evidence in line with this expanded focus. As part of plan to Get Britain Working, we will launch a Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Our Youth Guarantee will meet the needs of those facing disadvantages relating to mental or physical health. Collaborating closely with stakeholders from a range of sectors will be integral to improving opportunities for young people. And that is why we have launched eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers to test and learn before further roll out of the Youth Guarantee. These Trailblazers are testing joining-up locally and nationally delivered work, health and skills approach. Autism creates employment barriers that can affect young people's daily lives and mental health. As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers. Jobcentre Plus already offers extensive assistance to young disabled people and those with health conditions, focusing on individual needs and collaborating with local partners for appropriate support. In addition, work coaches in Youth Hubs and Youth Employability Coaches, provide targeted interventions to build skills, confidence, and employment opportunities.

What discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on protected funding for the child poverty strategy.

We are working across government to develop the Child Poverty Strategy and are committed to exploring all available levers to reduce child poverty. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a part of the Child Poverty Taskforce and the Secretary of State has regular discussions on child poverty with HM Treasury Ministers. Officials in the Child Poverty Unit are also working closely with policy and analytical experts across departments, such as HM Treasury.

Whether she plans to remove the two-child benefit limit.

This government has been clear that all our policies are costed and fully funded, and we will only make commitments we know we can keep. Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.

What steps she is taking to help long-term unemployed back into work.

The Get Britain Working White Paper set out the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation to support our ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate. The Department for Work and Pensions will shift from being a department for employment support and welfare to being a department for work. This means a new, locally led system of work and health support being available for those who are unemployed, bringing together existing locally delivered employment support as a single coherent offer that is part of areas’ local growth plans. In the Autumn 2024 Budget, £240 million funding for the White Paper measures was announced. This funding is helping us deliver and build on labour market reforms to Get Britain Working. The funding included: £55m funding for both the digital development of the new public employment and careers service and the tests and trials for its development. £170m for 16 trailblazers, 8 testing delivery of the Youth Guarantee in areas across England and 8 to tackle economic inactivity through increased engagement and tailored approaches in England and Wales.An additional £15m to support trailblazers and development of local GBW plans.These measures complement contracted employment support for the long-term unemployed.

When she plans to publish the details of the transitional arrangements for people who will be adversely affected by the proposals in the Green Paper: Pathways to Work.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a broad package of changes to health and disability benefits and employment support. We will always work to ensure that the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are protected and carefully consider how best we can support people as we develop our detailed proposals for change. We are very mindful of the impacts of PIP eligibility changes and that is why we are consulting on how best to support those who may lose entitlement, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. Additionally, as we make changes to the health element of Universal Credit, we will protect existing claims by holding the health top up steady in cash terms, while they will also benefit from the new higher standard allowance.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance on other areas of public expenditure.

The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex, they interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. We do however work closely with other departments, including MHCLG, to ensure the impacts of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) on homelessness are considered. This included consideration in last year’s Autumn Budget not to increase LHA rates for 2025/26. Rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, the fact that rates were increased in April 2024, and the wider fiscal context were all considered. The April 2024 one-year LHA increase cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25 and approximately £7bn over 5 years. We continue to work across Government on the development of the Homelessness and Rough-sleeping strategy. Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the fiscal context. For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. On other areas of public expenditure, we have announced the government will invest £2bn in social and affordable housing in 2026-27, to deliver up to 18,000 new homes. This will immediately allow housing associations and local councils to bring bids forward for new affordable housing developments in every part of the country.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the measures set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025 on people claiming Disability Living Allowance who are being migrated to PIP.

The impact in each case will depend on an individual’s circumstances. For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance. More information on the impacts and equality analysis for these changes published on 26 March can be found here: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK.People in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) aged 16 to 64 on 8 April 2013, or who reach age 16 after that date, are being invited to claim PIP and will be assessed against the PIP criteria. People in receipt of DLA who are in scope of PIP, but have yet to be invited to claim, can do so at any point.

What discussions she has had with (a) professional bodies, (b) disability organisations and (c) experts on changes to the PIP (i) descriptor points reallocation and (ii) scoring change.

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026. We are also consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement to Personal Independence Payment due to the reforms, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. Seperately we have also announced plans to launch a review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead. To make sure we get this right, we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

What assessment she has made on the potential impact of the measure set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025 on PIP claimants of retirement age.

Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment (PIP), in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. In keeping with existing policy, people over State Pension Age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by the proposed changes.

What steps she is taking to (a) increase in-person assessments and (b) uphold claimants' rights to (i) fair treatment and (ii) reasonable adjustments.

As announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we will be carrying out more face-to-face assessments while continuing to ensure we meet the needs of those who may require a different method of assessment because, for example, a reasonable adjustment is appropriate for them. We are also consulting on a new DWP safeguarding approach, to make it clear what the department and its staff are expected to do to in order to safeguard the public.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the measure set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025 on levels of (a) food insecurity and (b) foodbank usage.

No assessment has been made on this basis.Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘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 are committed to tackling food poverty and ending mass dependence of emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food poverty landscape. We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need, and are extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food.We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Our plan to Make Work Pay, will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards, including by increasing the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers. It is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.

With reference to her Department's consultation Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, updated 7 April 2025, how would the proposals set out in the green paper interact with the provisions on bank accounts in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

The reforms in the Green Paper are still the subject of consultation and will undergo further development once responses have been considered.

How many people with multiple sclerosis who receive a Personal Independence Payment daily living award do not score more than four points in any of the daily living activities.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘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.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis who receive Universal Credit do not also receive Personal Independence Payment.

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

What discussions her Department has had with (a) deaf and (b) disabled people’s organisations on the potential impact of proposed disability benefit changes.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 20 March to PQ 37556 A full suite of accessible versions is now available, and the consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation. We are also running a programme of accessible virtual and face to face events on the consultation, to hear from members of the public directly, including disabled people and their representatives. More information about these events and registration is available on GOV.UK.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis receive Universal Credit.

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Whether she plans to provide additional support to (a) deaf and (b) disabled people’s organisations.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 20 March to PQ 37556 A full suite of accessible versions is now available, and the consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation. We are also running a programme of accessible virtual and face to face events on the consultation, to hear from members of the public directly, including disabled people and their representatives. More information about these events and registration is available on GOV.UK.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis who receive income-based Employment and Support Allowance do not also receive Personal Independence Payment.

In August 2024 there were 6,480* people in receipt of Income-related ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis. 1,490* of those in receipt of Income-related ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis were not in receipt of PIP, the remaining 5,000* were. * Rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis get contributions-based Employment and Support Allowance.

In August 2024 there were 14,620* people in receipt of contributions-based ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis. * Rounded to the nearest ten.