Written questions by Morton.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that apprenticeship funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 reaches high-demand sectors in the West Midlands.

At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion over the Spending Review period for investment in employment and skills support, supporting more opportunities for young people and SMEs across England, including in the West Midlands. This includes an additional £725 million to help support apprenticeships for young people, including a change to fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25. This investment will also fund an £140 million pilot of new approaches to better connect young people aged 16-24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.These are important steps in the government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, which will also be supported by expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people.In addition, we provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England, including the West Midlands, through nine regional networks which provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of skills funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on the adequacy of engineering, advanced manufacturing, logistics, construction and health and social care skills in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, Walsall and the West Midlands; and whether his Department plans to publish regional allocations for those programmes.

The budget announced over £1.5 billion of investment in employment and skills sup-port to fund the Youth Guarantee and reform the Growth and Skills Levy over the Spending Review period. The Youth Guarantee means every young person can access support to earn or learn. The Growth and Skills offer will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy. As part of the offer, new foundation apprentice-ships for young people were introduced in August 2025 alongside the ability to under-take shorter duration apprenticeships. These flexibilities will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country, including in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, Walsall and the West Midlands. Further, providers nationwide are already funded to develop training aligned with local needs. In 2025/26, 67% of the £1.44 billion Adult Skills Fund was devolved to 13 Strategic Authorities for locally tailored provision, for example to support the delivery of Sector-Based Work Academies to meet the skilled workforce requirements of a wide range of sectors. As set out in the Skills White Paper we are investing over £1 billion to support tens of thousands of jobs, in construction, defence, digital, engineering through skills pack-ages in key areas identified in the Industrial Strategy. This will help equip the work-force with the skills needed to drive innovation, fill industry shortages, and strengthen the UK’s economic and national resilience. These measures will help to support provision in areas such as engineering, advanced manufacturing, logistics, construction and health and social care skills across the country.

What progress he has made on the review of the Personal Independence Payment assessment.

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.On 30 October, I announced that I will co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November.The Review will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for final decisions in autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of unemployment in the West Midlands.

The ONS publish headline indicators for the West Midlands here: HI05 Regional labour market: headline indicators for the West Midlands - Office for National Statistics

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.

The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. These statistics can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-9-october-2025.

What estimate he has made of the level of spending on health and disability benefits in 2030.

Forecast spending on disability and incapacity benefits in 2029-30 can be found in Table 4 of DWP’s Spring Statement 2025 Benefit Expenditure and Caseload publication. Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2025 - GOV.UK

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 83834, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) short and (b) medium term impact of this policy on the number of nurses in training between 2026 and 2030; whether an equality impact assessment has been undertaken.

The department continues to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), to support apprenticeships and skills provision. The DHSC has confirmed that it will fund the ongoing provision of level 7 apprenticeships in five professions including Specialist community public health nurse, District nurse and Advanced clinical practitioner. The department continues to fund level 7 apprenticeships for young people under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. The government completed an equality impact assessment ahead of making its decision on the changes to level 7 apprenticeship funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 83834, what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care on the potential impact on NHS workforce (a) recruitment and (b) retention; and how many (i) current and (ii) planned Level 7 nursing apprenticeships are expected to be affected by the withdrawal of funding.

The department continues to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), to support apprenticeships and skills provision. The DHSC has confirmed that it will fund the ongoing provision of level 7 apprenticeships in five professions including Specialist community public health nurse, District nurse and Advanced clinical practitioner. The department continues to fund level 7 apprenticeships for young people under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. The government completed an equality impact assessment ahead of making its decision on the changes to level 7 apprenticeship funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 83834, with reference to his Department’s decision to withdraw funding for Level 7 apprenticeships from January 2026, what evidence from Skills England informed the conclusion that there would be no significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills; whether that evidence will be published.

The government's decision on defunding Level 7 apprenticeships, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan, including a summary of the evidence that informed that decision, is published here: Written Statements - Hansard - UK Parliament. This includes Skills England’s engagement with over 700 stakeholders including representatives from various sectors, employer representative bodies, and young people.

What discussions he has had with the West Midlands Combined Authority on increasing the availability of apprenticeships in the West Midlands.

Officials meet regularly with combined authorities to discuss post-16 skills including apprenticeships. Recent discussions with West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) skills leads have included the newly introduced foundation apprenticeships and led to a subsequent session with training providers in the WMCA to explain foundation apprenticeships and their potential benefits for local young learners. Similarly, Skills England meets Mayoral Combined Authorities, including the WMCA, on a regular basis to discuss how to address a wide range of skills challenges, the promotion of growth, and simplifying access to skills opportunities. The government also facilitates the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network of employers and apprentices which works closely in all regions, including the WMCA area, to promote apprenticeships across the region.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of reducing levels of funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on the number of nurses in training.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Apprenticeship starts by young people under 25 fell by almost 40% over the last decade. The government therefore wants to ensure that public funding is prioritised towards those at the start of their working lives, rather than those already in work with higher levels of prior learning and qualifications. That is why from January 2026 the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level – except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including analysis by Skills England of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including other government departments such as the Department of Health and Social Care. Skills England evidence also suggested that there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding. The department also continues to work across government to tackle the skills needs of different sectors, including addressing the skills gaps in the health and social care industry which were identified in Skills England’s first report on driving growth and widening opportunities. There is a complete apprentice pathway for nursing, from entry level to postgraduate advanced clinical practice. A person can join the NHS as an entry level Healthcare Assistant apprentice with a view to eventually qualifying as a Registered Nurse. In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care will be funding ongoing provision of Level 7 apprenticeships in five professions, including Specialist community public health nurse (SCPHN) and District nurse (Community Specialist Practice Qualification).

If she will make an assessment of the number of people who are providing unpaid care for a relative or loved one in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.

The DWP does not hold data on the number of people who are providing unpaid care for a relative or loved ones in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of Winter Fuel Payments on older residents in (a) urban, (b) rural, (c) northern and (d) southern areas.

Winter Fuel Payment statistics are published annually, for the previous winter, and cover parliamentary constituencies, Local Authority areas, regional breakdowns, and international payments, amongst other things. The next release of annual Winter Fuel Payment statistics covering winter 2024 to 2025 will be published on 16 September 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43065 on Pension Credit, if she will make an assessment of the accuracy of her Department’s impact assessment on the decision to remove the winter fuel payment.

In line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, an Equality Analysis was produced and considered as part of the ministerial decision-making process. This was published on 13 September and is available online: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK . The Department will continue to monitor outcomes for pensioners.

If she will make an assessment of the accuracy of her Department’s impact assessment on the decision to remove the winter fuel payment.

In line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, an Equality Analysis was produced and considered as part of the ministerial decision-making process. This was published on 13 September and is available online: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK. The Department will continue to monitor outcomes for pensioners.

How many and what proportion of Pension Credit applications that were received in the period between 1 October 2024 and 31 December 2024 were ineligible.

On 27 February 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025. This also includes information on Pension Credit claims that have been cleared but not awarded benefit. Pension Credit Applications and Awards - February 2025. The Department does not hold this information at constituency level.The next update of the Pension Credit applications and awards data is due to be published on 29th May 2025.Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.

How many and what proportion of Pension Credit applications received in the period between 1 October 2024 and 31 December 2024 were deemed ineligible in (a) Aldridge-Brownhills constituency and (b) the UK.

On 27 February 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025. This also includes information on Pension Credit claims that have been cleared but not awarded benefit. Pension Credit Applications and Awards - February 2025. The Department does not hold this information at constituency level.The next update of the Pension Credit applications and awards data is due to be published on 29th May 2025.Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the uptake of Pension Credit among (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled pensioners.

The latest estimates of Pension Credit take-up cover the financial year 2022/23: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK. The take-up does not provide a break down of rates of take-up amongst disabled and non-disabled pensioners.

Whether she plans to review the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit.

The Government has no current plans to review the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit.

How many single pensioners there are who earn less than £20,000 a year and more than the threshold required for pension credit.

The income threshold for eligibility for Pension Credit is dependent on personal circumstances, and not all forms of income are taken into account when determining eligibility. Therefore it is not possible to produce a robust estimate of how many single pensioners exceed this threshold due to earned income.