Written questions by Shannon.

If she will make an estimate of the number of unpaid carers over the State Pension age that have an entitlement to but are not claiming (a) a Carer Addition and (b) Pension Credit.

Estimated numbers of unpaid carers are provided by survey data such as the Family Resources survey. The sample size for unpaid carers over State Pension Age is too small to estimate the number that have an entitlement but are not claiming Carer’s Addition and Pension Credit, and therefore the department does not hold this information.

What steps she is taking to encourage people on long-term sickness back to work.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also support disabled people to live independently. It is also vital to ensure that the system is financially sustainable in the long term. We are working to develop proposals for reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year.Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live.Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of the uptake of Universal Credit in under 21s in the last 12 months.

Monthly statistics for the number of Starts to Universal Credit in Great Britain by age, are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore, and are currently available to October 2024, with statistics to January 2025 due to be published on Tuesday 18th February 2025. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide. The Department’s Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are claiming Universal Credit. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the financial compensation available to those that have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides specific support for people with asbestos-related conditions via a range of schemes. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) provides non-contributory, “no-fault” benefit for disablement because of an accident at work, or because of one of over 70 prescribed diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs. IIDB is a weekly award that can be worth up to £11,500* per year and has been consistently uprated in line with inflation. The department also provides one-off lump-sum compensation payments under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (the ‘1979 Act scheme’) to individuals who suffer from one of the dust-related diseases covered by the scheme, subject to the wider eligibility criteria being satisfied. This scheme is designed to cover people who are unable to claim damages from any relevant employers because they have gone out of business. Asbestos-related diseases covered by IIDB and the 1979 Act scheme include pneumoconiosis (including asbestosis), diffuse mesothelioma, unilateral or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening and asbestos-related primary carcinoma of the lung. Subject to Parliamentary approval, both IIDB and the 1979 Act scheme are due to be uprated by 1.7 per cent from April this year. In addition to these schemes someone suffering from long-term disabling affects due to an asbestos-related condition may be eligible for further financial support via Personal Independence Payment, or through Universal Credit and New Style Employment and Support Allowance for those with a health condition that limits their ability to work. Those who have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace may pursue a civil compensation claim against an employer. Where their employer no longer exists or their employer’s insurer cannot be traced, individuals diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma may also be eligible for an award under the 2014 Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme if there is evidence that their exposure was due to employer negligence. *Figure rounded to the nearest hundred.

What steps she is taking to make workplaces more accessible for disabled people.

We are committed to boosting opportunity and championing the rights of disabled people. We will work closely with disabled people and their representative organisations to ensure that their needs and voices are at the heart of everything we do. Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Under the Equality Act 2010, there is a duty on employers to, on request, make reasonable adjustments for both job applicants and employees who meet the Act's definition of disability. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme. The Disability Confident scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. Employers participating in the scheme must agree to several commitments, many of which relate to making the workplace more accessible. These include ensuring the recruitment process is inclusive and accessible, communicating and promoting vacancies through accessible channels, and anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required. Disability Confident is a voluntary scheme, developed by disabled people, employers and disability organisations representing disabled people. I plan to consider ways to make the scheme criteria and requirements more robust. Disabled People can also access support through the Access to Work Scheme. The Access to Work Scheme provides grant funding to disabled people, as well as those with a health condition. The grant supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010. The grant provides personalised support and workplace assessments, travel to work, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment. The Scheme also includes the Mental Health Support Service (MHSS) which provides up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while in employment. In 23/24 the Access to Work Scheme supported 67,000 people with a workplace adjustment to move into or stay in work. The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for disabled people, including disability pay gap reporting for large employers. We will support disabled people to access flexible working, breaking down barriers to opportunity. This work will be relevant to all those who meet the definition of disability set out in the Equality Act 2010, and we will be engaging with a range of stakeholders to understand their lived experiences. In addition to existing support, as part of the Get Britain Working plans set out in the recent white paper, the Government has launched Keep Britain Working, an independent review into the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, led by the former Chair of John Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield.

What steps she is taking to support newly recognised refugees into employment in the agricultural sector.

DWP provides a wide range of support in Great Britain to help refugees into work. Employment support in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. DWP Support for refugees includes access to Restart, Sector Based Work Academies, work experience and help with English language skills where appropriate. We also work with national employers, trade associations and partners across a wide range of labour market sectors, including those from the agricultural sector, encouraging local Jobcentre link ups and the use of Find a Job to support people into work. To support agricultural recruitment specifically, DWP is working with Defra and key Trade Associations to develop and deliver their long-term strategy designed to build and develop a skilled workforce for both seasonal and long-term roles in the agriculture sector.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage people with physical illnesses to work from home.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. As part of the Get Britain Working plans the Government is launching Keep Britain Working, an independent review into the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people and people with health conditions have the opportunity to work and save for as long as they wish and are able to. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. Through the Employment Rights Bill we are taking steps to improve the Right to Request Flexible Working so that an application is only refused if it is not reasonably feasible. Flexible working can include home working. Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, and the Disability Confident scheme. We also have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

What estimate she has made of how many people have been absent from work because of long term sickness over the last six months.

The latest available data for long-term sickness absence covers the period from July 2023 to June 2024. In July 2023 to June 2024, 1.55 million people in the UK had been absent from work because of long-term sickness. This statistic can be found in the employment of disabled people 2024 table SAB001.

If she will take steps to make the application process for Universal Credit more accessible for people (a) who are not able to go online and (b) with learning difficulties.

DWP provides alternative channels to make a claim to UC for those who are unable to use the digital channel, this includes telephone or Jobcentre attendance. A home visit may also be considered if additional support is required. A range of support is available to support customers asked to move to UC. This includes information on gov.uk and support from the Help to Claim service provided by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland. Help to Claim offers independent support to customers making a claim to UC, right up until their first full correct payment. Those individuals who are unable to access support via these channels, can go to their local jobcentre where staff will identify the right support to meet their needs to make and/or manage their Universal Credit claim.

When the most recent review of the frozen pensions policy was.

There has been no recent review of the policy. The policy on the uprating of UK State Pensions paid overseas is a longstanding one of successive Governments, which has been in place for over 70 years. UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. Up-rating is based on levels of earnings growth and price inflation in the UK which has no direct relevance where the pensioner is resident overseas. Over many years, priority is given to those living in the United Kingdom when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that people who emigrate to (a) Canada and (b) Australia are aware that their state pensions will be frozen.

For a number of years, advice has been provided to the public that the UK State Pension is not uprated overseas except where there is a legal requirement to do so - for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that allows for uprating. Information on moving or retiring abroad is available on GOV.UK and this includes advice on how State pension is affected. Advice can also be obtained by calling the International Pension Centre on 0191 218 777 or from the Pension Service on 0800 731 7898

With reference to the Gingerbread report entitled Fix the Child Maintenance Service, published on 25 November 2024, what assessment she has made of the impact of non-receipt of child maintenance on chil

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to encouraging parents to meet their responsibilities to provide their children with the financial support they need to get a good start in life. Child Maintenance payments from both CMS and family-based ar...

What steps her Department is taking to (a) identify and (b) address barriers to separated families setting up maintenance arrangements through the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) supports separated parents to work together in the interests of their children and to set up a child maintenance arrangement that is right for them.Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance is an online service that provides...

How many women are on long term sick leave due to menopausal symptoms.

Although the government does not collect this data, we have proposed a wide-ranging set of generational reforms to boost protections for workers, including women experiencing menopause symptoms at work. The Government has also committed to publishing guid...

What steps she is taking with the devolved Administrations to help increase awareness among pensioners of benefits they may be entitled to.

This Government remains completely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. DWP uses a wide range of channels including information on Gov.uk, in letters, leaflets and via telephone to communi...

What steps she is taking to ensure the accessibility of PIP assessment centres for people with disabilities.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes its responsibility to ensure all individuals have access to our services without disadvantage very seriously. We have a range of provisions in place to ensure assessments are accessible to all individuals, ...

If she will make an estimate of the number of pension credit claims received between January and November (a) 2024 and (b) 2023.

In 2024 we have received approx. 206,000 claims up to and including week commencing 16 Sept 2024, this figure includes data published by the Department on the 27 of Sept 2024. The Department has announced it will publish updated Pension Credit application...

What the earnings threshold was for (a) Carer’s Allowance and (b) Invalid Care Allowance in each of the last 30 years.

Carer’s Allowance, formerly known as Invalid Care Allowance, was introduced in 1976. The following table provides details of all increases to the earnings limit, from 1976 to the present day. Date fromDate toEarnings limit05.07.7611.11.82£612.11.8208.04.9...

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of raising the Carer Addition in Pension Credit on low-income pensioner carers.

The Government appreciates how much society relies on unpaid carers and the vital contribution made by carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends. We recognise the challenges they are facing, and we are ...

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits extending the eligibility for the winter fuel payment to pensioners in receipt of Attendance Allowance who suffer with medical conditions.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone...