Written questions by Brackenridge.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of taper rates on young people living in supported accommodation who take on paid work; and if he will bring forward proposals to ensure that those young people are better off when they increase their hours of work.

It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment. We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for working age customers (including young people) residing in supported and temporary accommodation. Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups. We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.

What steps her Department is taking to support economically inactive young people with seeking (a) education and (b) employment opportunities in Wolverhampton.

Our plan to get Britain working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The West Midlands Combined Authority, of which Wolverhampton is a part, is one of the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England set to receive grant funding to deliver the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, as announced in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper from Spring 2025. We will use the learning from the Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls-out across the rest of England. DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside our partners. For example, in Wolverhampton we’ve partnered with Wolves Foundation to set up a programme called “Mindshift” which takes place at Molineux football ground and supports young people with health conditions, in particular mental health conditions, into employment.

What protections exist for pensioners in the case of scheme buyouts.

Insurance buyout is a long-established way of defined benefit pension schemes securing members’ full pensions. Members are guaranteed to receive their full pension from an insurer, backed by a rigorous capital adequacy regime and underpinned by 100 per cent compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.Trustees have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the members and must be satisfied that transferring the liabilities of the scheme to an insurer is in the best interests of the members before the transfer can take place.