Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Topical Questions

Monday 26 January 2026 · 12 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 6 Partly answered 5 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Baggy Shanker asked about supporting smaller businesses in taking on more apprentices, noting that 40% of apprenticeship starts are in small and medium-sized employers and they will benefit from 725 million in funding.
  • Helen Whately inquired about the rise in graduate unemployment and economic inactivity, with the Minister stating that economic inactivity is down by 450,000 since the last election.
  • Steve Darling questioned the Government's plan to write off the debts of 26,000 carers affected by the carers' allowance scandal, seeking clarity on the status of the remaining 60,000 carers.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Baggy Shanker Labour (Co-op) Derby South
Education Employment
Context

Concerns about the number of apprenticeships available for smaller businesses compared to larger companies like Kia, Alstom.

Question

Whether it is at Kia, Alstom or others, apprentices in Derby are thriving at our large manufacturing companies, but we also want our small and medium-sized businesses to take on more apprentices. Will the Government set out what is being done to help smaller businesses to take on more apprentices?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)

Around 40% of all apprenticeship starts are in small and medium-sized employers and they will benefit from the £725 million in funding that we announced at the Budget, which includes fully funding SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25. As he will be aware, employers are not required to pay anything towards employee national insurance for those apprenticeships.

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Q2 Helen Whately Con Faversham and Mid Kent
Economy Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

Concern about the number of young people on benefits, particularly graduates out of work and NEET numbers rising.

Question

Under this Labour Government the number of people on benefits is soaring, with nearly a million young people not in education, employment or training, and over 700,000 university graduates are now out of work and on benefits. Many young people are putting in hundreds of job applications and getting hundreds of rejections. This Government are killing their jobs and their dreams by taxing job-creating businesses into oblivion. What does the Secretary of State have to say to those young people?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)

What I have to say to those young people is that the rise in graduate inactivity happened under the last Government. Economic inactivity is down by 450,000 since the last election. There is a critical problem—the hon. Lady is right—in NEET numbers, which have been rising for four years. The difference is that we are doing something about that through the youth guarantee, which has £820 million behind it, and by changing her record on apprenticeships, which saw a 40% fall in youth apprenticeship starts over 10 years.

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Q3 Josh Newbury Lab Cannock Chase
Employment Mental Health
Context

A constituent's experience of battling with depression due to undiagnosed ADHD, leading to difficulties in getting treatment on the NHS and having to go back to work before she was ready.

Question

My constituent, Julie, a single mum of two, had a successful career in marketing, but had to quit after battling with depression, stemming from undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Julie has been stuck in a cycle of struggling to get treatment and diagnosis on the NHS and having to go back to work before she is ready—a story that is sadly echoed among many of my constituents who struggle with fragmented mental health services and a lack of employment support due to cuts made by the previous Government. Will the Minister update the House on the work that she is doing with her counterparts in the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure people struggling with mental ill health can recover and get back to work?

Answer from The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Dame Diana Johnson)

I meet my colleagues in the Health and Social Care Department regularly, particularly because of the important work that the joint work and health directorate is doing to get people into work and to support people with health conditions in work, including those with chronic mental health conditions. Our employment advisers in talking therapies specifically target people with mental health conditions.

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Q4 Steve Darling Lib Dem Torbay
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The Sayce review identified almost 87,000 carers affected by the carers’ allowance scandal.

Question

The Sayce review investigated the carers’ allowance scandal and identified that almost 87,000 carers were affected. The Government are planning to write off the debts of 26,000 carers, but does that mean that the Minister believes that 60,000 carers are guilty of fraud?

Answer from The Minister for Social Security and Disability (Sir Stephen Timms)

I think the hon. Gentleman would agree that Liz Sayce did a superb job. We commissioned her review straight after the general election, and we have accepted all but two of the recommendations that she made in her report. We are working through the detail of how to implement those recommendations, and we will set out the proposals and the details as soon as we are able to do so. We are also working with carer organisations on communications with the carers affected to ensure that they are right.

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Q5 Martin Rhodes Lab Glasgow North
Employment Scotland
Context

Inquiries about the commitment to delivering employment and opportunities for young people of all backgrounds.

Question

In the light of the Government’s commitment to delivering employment and opportunities for young people of all backgrounds, will the Secretary of State set out what recent progress has been made on establishing the youth guarantee scheme in Scotland?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)

The youth guarantee scheme will be delivered across Great Britain. That includes the jobs guarantee scheme, which I mentioned earlier. From the spring, we will provide more than 1,000 fully subsidised jobs in six areas across the UK, including central and east Scotland, ahead of the national roll-out, which will come later this year.

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Q6 Ian Roome Lib Dem North Devon
Benefits & Welfare Veterans
Context

A constituent's experience with incorrect payments, long delays to identity verification and a lack of help with accessibility during the migration to universal credit.

Question

One of my constituents is a disabled Royal Navy veteran. Their migration to universal credit has been a nightmare, involving incorrect payments, long delays to identity verification and a lack of help with accessibility. I have received no response to their case since 13 November last year. Does the Minister agree that that falls short of what people should expect from the DWP? Will he help me to get this matter resolved?

Answer from The Minister for Social Security and Disability (Sir Stephen Timms)

I am sorry to hear of the hon. Gentleman’s experience. We are in the most difficult part of the transition, as people who were previously on employment and support allowance move over to universal credit. We have introduced an enhanced support journey to try to simplify it, and I am keeping a very close eye on how it is going. If he sends me the details of that case, I will certainly look at them.

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Q7 Wendy Chamberlain Lib Dem North East Fife
NHS Benefits & Welfare
Context

Two constituents have been waiting for reassessments since July and September 2024, respectively. The question highlights the long wait times in the Department of Work and Pensions.

Question

I have two constituents who have been awaiting work capability reassessments since July and September 2024. That is more than a year that they have been stuck in limbo, rather than preparing to get back to work. Will the Minister confirm what my team has been told—that extreme waiting times are now normal in the Department? Will he set out what it is doing to break that backlog?

Answer from Stephen Timms

We are certainly addressing the backlog, but if the hon. Lady would like to send me the details of those two cases, I will certainly investigate.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Confirmation about normal wait times and specific actions being taken

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Q8 Tom Hayes Lab Bournemouth East
Benefits & Welfare
Context

A constituent with complex needs and learning difficulties lost financial support due to changes in universal credit. The question asks about involvement of people with similar needs in system design.

Question

My constituent Stephen Sherwood has complex needs and learning difficulties. He could not understand changes to universal credit, needed guidance that never came, and so lost financial support that he badly needed. Stephen and his mum, Nicola, rightly want to know whether the DWP involves people with complex needs and learning difficulties in the design of system changes, and whether the Government will do more to ensure that such people have these changes explained to them in ways that they can understand.

Answer from Stephen Timms

My hon. Friend raises a very good point. As I have said, the process of migration that we are going through is the most difficult part, as people move from employment and support allowance to universal credit. We have introduced an enhanced support journey to assist people such as my hon. Friend’s constituent who are going through this process, but I look forward to meeting him in a couple of weeks’ time to discuss lessons from this particular case.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Involvement of people with complex needs and learning difficulties in system design changes

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Q9 Mike Martin Lib Dem Tunbridge Wells
Employment Science & Technology
Context

Adzuna, a job search website founded by Mike Martin's constituent Andrew, has research showing that existing AI tools could improve the DWP’s service and create 250,000 more jobs per year. However, it is reported that these tools will not be included in the new rebuild.

Question

Can the Secretary of State give the House reassurance that we are going to incorporate those new tools into the rebuild of the service so that we get that employment boost?

Answer from Andrew Western

For commercial reasons, I cannot confirm if Adzuna’s specific tool will be part of our work forward. However, we are bringing forward a new AI tool in the coming months that includes ‘find a job’ options and CV support among other cutting-edge tools to aid people into employment.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Details about whether Adzuna's specific tool will be included

How: For Commercial Reasons

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Q10 Johanna Baxter Lab Paisley and Renfrewshire South
Employment Scotland
Context

The UK shared prosperity fund currently supports about 20% of Renfrewshire council’s employability budget, which is due to end.

Question

Can my right hon. Friend outline what steps he will take to support employability services in Renfrewshire going forward?

Answer from Pat McFadden

My hon. Friend, the youth guarantee will be a GB-wide scheme helping people in Scotland. She will agree that the Scottish Government have had the most generous financial settlement since devolution and should allocate some of this towards employability priorities.

Not addressed: Steps to support Renfrewshire's employability services specifically after UK shared prosperity fund ends

How: Will Agree, Should Use Generous Financial Settlement

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Q11 Ellie Chowns Green North Herefordshire
Benefits & Welfare
Context

A constituent has been trying for more than five months to get a response from the DWP about his Universal Credit claim, facing delays of 15 weeks.

Question

Can the Minister please say what action he is taking to ensure that the DWP responds to constituents and MPs within reasonable timescales?

Answer from Andrew Western

I recently met our newly appointed complaints lead and independent case examiner who is raising concerns about trends. We are putting in place a range of interventions to improve complaints handling process and will share more detail directly with the hon. Lady.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions taken to address delays within reasonable timescales

How: Range Of Interventions, Will Share

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Q12 Lisa Smart Lib Dem Hazel Grove
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

A constituent named Harry, who has a learning disability and holds two jobs, faces difficulty accessing his Access to Work paperwork online. His mother Helen, acting as an appointee, must print out 24 bits of paper and manually sign them before posting.

Question

Will the Minister undertake to look at Harry’s case and ensure that appointees such as Helen do not find it too hard to access Access to Work so that we can keep brilliant people like Harry in work?

Answer from Stephen Timms

The hon. Lady makes a good point, reforming Access to Work is needed; we consulted on this in the Green Paper last year and agree that less bureaucracy for access is required.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Concrete actions or timeline for addressing Harry's case specifically

How: Reforming Access To Work, Consultation

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