Written questions by Anderson.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce backlogs in the recovery from estate department.

Awaiting answer.

What recent assessment he has made regarding turnaround times for investigations in the recovery from estate department.

Awaiting answer.

What target times are set for investigations in the recovery from estate department.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce benefits fraud.

The Department has strong controls in place to tackle fraud and deliver savings. Since the Autumn Budget 2024 we have committed to delivering gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030 – 31 from fraud, error and debt activity. Our activities include i...

What information his Department holds on the number of people found guilty of benefits fraud in each of the last five years.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has prosecuted cases of benefit fraud since 2012. DWP will refer cases where there is evidence that a claimant has deliberately claimed benefits they are not entitled to or provided false information. The decision to pr...

What steps he is taking to help support care leavers find employment.

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation behind. We are investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Ski...

What steps he is taking to support people with the cost of adult training courses.

We are investing in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), spending £1.4 billion in the 2025/26 academic year. The ASF fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to ...

What steps he is taking to tackle the causes of youth unemployment.

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guara...

What steps his Department is taking to get young people into (a) training and (b) employment.

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guara...

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of unemployment on young people.

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guara...

What steps he is taking to help support autistic people to find employment.

The Government is committed to supporting all neurodivergent people, including autistic people, into and at work. This is part of our wider commitment to drive healthy and inclusive workplaces for all. Our employment support for neurodivergent people is led by DWP’s £1 billion, voluntary, locally-led Supported Employment programme, Connect to Work. It covers all of England and Wales, with the exception of Greater Manchester which is using their Connect to Work funding to pilot their Prevention Demonstrator, through their Integrated Settlement. Connect to Work will support around 300,000 disabled people, people with health conditions and individuals with complex barriers to employment by the end of the decade. It offers intensive, personalised employment support to help people move into and stay in paid employment, and is built around two internationally recognised evidence-based Supported Employment frameworks: Individual Placement and Support, and the Supported Employment Quality Framework. The latter has been specifically designed to support neurodivergent people and those with learning disabilities into sustainable jobs. Crucially, Connect to Work supports both participants and employers, helping to ensure that individuals are given the best chance to succeed once in work. We recognise that supporting employers to understand the needs of neurodivergent employees is also key to our efforts. This year we funded free-of-charge neurodiversity masterclasses, delivered by ACAS, to help small and medium sized businesses build their understanding of neurodivergence and improve workplace support. Over 1800 representatives of small and medium sized businesses attended these masterclasses. As announced early this year, we are reforming our Disability Confident scheme by strengthening its criteria and expectations to drive meaningful change across its approximately 19,000 employer members and the estimated 11.5 million employees working in their organisations. The reforms will provide clearer, more robust guidance on inclusive recruitment and retention, including for autistic people; and these reforms are being closely aligned with the work of the Keep Britain Working Review. As part of the vanguard phase of the Keep Britain Working Review, we are working directly with employers to identify what “good” looks like in inclusive workplace practice, including for neurodivergent employees. This vanguard phase includes over 150 volunteer employers and 10 regions and will, over the next three years, work with government to test employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in and return to work. Finally, last year, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and lived experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel considered the reasons why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate. DWP has now received a final version of the Panel’s report and is considering its findings.

What steps the Government are taking to help increase employment opportunities for people with autism.

The Government is committed to supporting all neurodivergent people, including autistic people, into and at work. This is part of our wider commitment to drive healthy and inclusive workplaces for all. Our employment support for neurodivergent people is led by DWP’s £1 billion, voluntary, locally-led Supported Employment programme, Connect to Work. It covers all of England and Wales, with the exception of Greater Manchester which is using their Connect to Work funding to pilot their Prevention Demonstrator, through their Integrated Settlement. Connect to Work will support around 300,000 disabled people, people with health conditions and individuals with complex barriers to employment by the end of the decade. It offers intensive, personalised employment support to help people move into and stay in paid employment, and is built around two internationally recognised evidence-based Supported Employment frameworks: Individual Placement and Support, and the Supported Employment Quality Framework. The latter has been specifically designed to support neurodivergent people and those with learning disabilities into sustainable jobs. Crucially, Connect to Work supports both participants and employers, helping to ensure that individuals are given the best chance to succeed once in work. We recognise that supporting employers to understand the needs of neurodivergent employees is also key to our efforts. This year we funded free-of-charge neurodiversity masterclasses, delivered by ACAS, to help small and medium sized businesses build their understanding of neurodivergence and improve workplace support. Over 1800 representatives of small and medium sized businesses attended these masterclasses. As announced early this year, we are reforming our Disability Confident scheme by strengthening its criteria and expectations to drive meaningful change across its approximately 19,000 employer members and the estimated 11.5 million employees working in their organisations. The reforms will provide clearer, more robust guidance on inclusive recruitment and retention, including for autistic people; and these reforms are being closely aligned with the work of the Keep Britain Working Review. As part of the vanguard phase of the Keep Britain Working Review, we are working directly with employers to identify what “good” looks like in inclusive workplace practice, including for neurodivergent employees. This vanguard phase includes over 150 volunteer employers and 10 regions and will, over the next three years, work with government to test employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in and return to work. Finally, last year, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and lived experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel considered the reasons why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate. DWP has now received a final version of the Panel’s report and is considering its findings.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 118868 on Personal Independence Payment, when he expects additional health professionals to be recruited.

The department continues to work closely with its Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment suppliers to ensure that sufficient capacity is in place to meet operational demand. Recruitment of health professionals is a continuous activity undertaken by suppliers in line with contractual requirements and the need to maintain appropriate levels of trained staff.Staffing levels are managed continuously by suppliers to respond to regional demand and ensure service quality.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for the medical assessment stage of Personal Independence Payment claims in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) the East Midlands.

The department is committed to ensuring that Personal Independence Payment claimants receive timely assessments and continues to work closely with its suppliers to improve customer experience across all geographical areas, including Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands. We have introduced a range of measures to increase assessment capacity and reduce waiting times. These include ongoing recruitment and training of additional health professionals and a series of process improvements to streamline the assessment journey. Waiting times can vary by region due to local demand and operational factors. Assessment suppliers actively monitor regional performance to ensure resources are deployed where they are most needed, and additional capacity will be directed where appropriate.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve the availability of (a) apprenticeships and (b) training courses in the electronic device repair industry.

The Level 3 Digital Device Repair Technician apprenticeship standard is available to support the electronic device repair industry, and other occupational standards are available to facilitate engineering and manufacturing skills more widely. To improve the availability of apprenticeships, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training costs for eligible people aged under 25 at non-levy paying employers. The department currently pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21 at non-levy paying employers and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. From October 2026, non-levy paying employers will also receive a £2,000 incentive payment when they take on, as new employees, apprentices under the aged of 25, to help them meet the additional costs of supporting a young person at the beginning of their career. This is in addition to the £1,000 that the Government already pays to both employers (of all sizes) and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for foundation apprenticeships and employers are not 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).

How many and what proportion of PIP claims were not assessed within the Department's target wait times in the last 12 months.

We have interpreted the questions as relating specifically to the assessment stage of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims.The department does not set or publish target wait times for the completion of PIP assessments. We therefore do not hold figures on how many, or what proportion, of assessments were completed outside such target times.However, the department does publish information on average assessment clearance times as part of its official PIP statistical releases, which can be found here.The department continues to take steps to improve the timeliness of PIP assessments, including increasing operational capacity and recruiting additional health professionals to help manage current demand levels.

What steps he is taking to ensure PIP claims are assessed within the Department's target wait times.

We have interpreted the questions as relating specifically to the assessment stage of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims.The department does not set or publish target wait times for the completion of PIP assessments. We therefore do not hold figures on how many, or what proportion, of assessments were completed outside such target times.However, the department does publish information on average assessment clearance times as part of its official PIP statistical releases, which can be found here.The department continues to take steps to improve the timeliness of PIP assessments, including increasing operational capacity and recruiting additional health professionals to help manage current demand levels.

What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of waiting time for PIP claim decisions.

We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.

What data his Department holds on the total cost to the public purse of universal credit payments for foreign nationals in the last 5 years.

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

If he has considered the potential merits of preventing foreign nationals from being able to claim universal credit.

Most migrants with temporary visas cannot access public fund benefits such as Universal Credit. Access is usually at the point of settlement, which for most people will be after they have lived in the UK legally for five years, and the Home Office plans to increase this to ten years. The Home Office is also consulting on changing the default position to maintain No Recourse to Public Funds at settlement and lifting this only at the point of British citizenship. This year the Government also plans to consult on whether the residence tests in taxpayer funded benefits should be changed to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK. The consultation will look at how the benefit rules apply to those coming or returning to the UK.