Written questions by Darling.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of raising the standard rate of Universal Credit on the number of people claiming incapacity benefits.

Universal Credit awards include a standard allowance, which is the core component of any award and is paid according to age and household unit. The purpose of the standard allowance is to provide towards basic living costs. Additional amounts are added to provide for individual needs such as housing, children, disability, and childcare costs. On 18 March 2025 we announced the first permanent above-inflation rise in the Standard Allowance, benefitting millions of people. That is an increase of up to £775 annually in cash terms by 2029/30 for single households on UC aged over 25. This avoids people having to choose between employment or adequate financial support, and addresses the current issue where people on the health element receive over double the rate of the standard allowance, creating an incentive for people to prove they are unfit to work to claim the health element and access greater financial support. The government will publish the OBR-certified costings of individual measures on the day of the Spring Statement on 26 March and we will be publishing estimated impacts on claimants, including for changes to the Standard Rate of Universal Credit, on the same day.

What steps his Department is taking to help support hospital radio stations.

Hospital radio can provide National Health Service patients and visitors with a positive experience at a time when they are feeling vulnerable. NHS trusts work locally with volunteers and organisations to provide this service. Decisions about supporting the service are made most appropriately at a local level.

When she plans to respond to the letter of 3 February 2025 on (a) mental health support for school staff and (b) automated external defibrillators governance and compliance from the Hon. Member for Torbay.

I can confirm that a response to the correspondence dated 3 February 2025 from the hon. Member for Torbay was sent on 26 February 2025.

What guidance his Department has issued to NHS trusts on the provision of support for long COVID (a) clinics and (b) patients.

Commissioning of post-COVID services transitioned from the long COVID national programme to local integrated care boards (ICBs) at the end of March 2024. Funding for post-COVID services in 2024/25 was expected to be allocated based on the 2023/24 distribution, to minimise disruption to funding flows and to maintain services.NHS England has recently completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) stocktake, aimed to provide a nationwide overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity and outcomes. It was agreed that long COVID and ME/CFS services are rightly commissioned by ICBs, which have responsibility for ensuring coverage for their population.To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England has worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to develop a new Clinical Post-COVID Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by long COVID.NHS England has published commissioning guidance for post-COVID services which sets out the commissioning, service requirements and oversight of post-COVID services by ICBs in England for adults, and children and young people. It outlines the elements that post-COVID services should comprise of and the principles of care for long COVID. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-guidance-for-post-covid-services-for-adults-children-and-young-people/There is specific advice for general practitioners to manage long COVID. Patients should be managed according to current clinical guidance such as that published and updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; this is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG188

What steps his Department is taking to support NHS long Covid clinics.

Commissioning of post-COVID services transitioned from the long COVID national programme to local integrated care boards (ICBs) at the end of March 2024. Funding for post-COVID services in 2024/25 was expected to be allocated based on the 2023/24 distribution, to minimise disruption to funding flows and to maintain services.NHS England has recently completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) stocktake, aimed to provide a nationwide overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity and outcomes. It was agreed that long COVID and ME/CFS services are rightly commissioned by ICBs, which have responsibility for ensuring coverage for their population.To support clinical leadership in this area, NHS England has worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to develop a new Clinical Post-COVID Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by long COVID.NHS England has published commissioning guidance for post-COVID services which sets out the commissioning, service requirements and oversight of post-COVID services by ICBs in England for adults, and children and young people. It outlines the elements that post-COVID services should comprise of and the principles of care for long COVID. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-guidance-for-post-covid-services-for-adults-children-and-young-people/There is specific advice for general practitioners to manage long COVID. Patients should be managed according to current clinical guidance such as that published and updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; this is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG188

Whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the removal of the additional Limited Capability for Work payment in 2017 on the likelihood of claimants applying for the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity payment.

The removal of the Work-Related Activity Component in the 2017 change made the financial distinction between those found to have Limited Capability for Work (LCW) and those with Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) sharper. The Department has not made an assessment of whether this led to rising LCWRA claims. Although, in their “Welfare trends” report for October 2024, the Office for Budget Responsibility did mention this issue. Specifically, the OBR noted an increase of people’s claims to incapacity benefits being approved from 2018-19 to 2022-23, nearly entirely in the more severe incapacity group. They say that this might be in part explained by the reduced generosity of the 2017 policy for the less severe incapacity group creating higher incentives to be placed in the more severe group, as well as a reflection in claimants having more serious health conditions than in the past.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the introduction of Universal Credit on the ease of applying for (a) the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element and (b) other incapacity benefits.

We are always looking to make improvements to the service we provide to customers, including how they apply for benefits As a modern digital service Universal Credit is iterated all the time. It is developed taking into consideration the users of the service. Before and after any changes are made Universal Credit undertakes user research with claimants, including those with health conditions, to gain feedback on their experience and suggestions for improvements.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Simplification update – January 2024, published 16 January 2024, when she plans to implement changes to National Insurance credits for parents who did not claim Child Benefit.

I can confirm that the new National Insurance (NI) credit for parents who did not claim child benefit due to the High-Income Child Benefit Charge will be implemented as planned from April 2026 to ensure that affected parents and carers do not miss out on building entitlement to the State Pension.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the competition for the UK City of Culture enables all participants to enhance their cultural offer.

The Government’s approach to a future City of Culture competition will be announced in due course.The current application guidance for the UK City of Culture competition already allows towns to enter. We keep under review our competition criteria feeding in lessons from previous rounds to provide the best support to each bidding place.Towns have great potential to benefit from culture driven development.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive on the provision of waste disposal bins in male toilets for people experiencing incontinence due to (a) prostate cancer treatment and (b) other medical conditions.

Officials are working across the Government to deal with this important issue. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reviewing the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 regarding provision of disposal facilities in workplace toilets. This work is included within the Government’s wider plans under Make Work Pay, and HSE will hold appropriate consultation in due course.

Media and Sport, if her Department will consider changing the terms of reference for the UK City of Culture competition to allow towns to participate.

The Government’s approach to a future City of Culture competition will be announced in due course.The current application guidance for the UK City of Culture competition already allows towns to enter. We keep under review our competition criteria feeding in lessons from previous rounds to provide the best support to each bidding place.Towns have great potential to benefit from culture driven development.

Media and Sport, when she plans to launch the next Cities of Culture prospectus.

The Government’s approach to a future City of Culture competition will be announced in due course.The current application guidance for the UK City of Culture competition already allows towns to enter. We keep under review our competition criteria feeding in lessons from previous rounds to provide the best support to each bidding place.Towns have great potential to benefit from culture driven development.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to increase funding support for towns and coastal communities.

The Government will set out a refreshed approach to local growth funding at the multi-year Spending Review in the Spring. An approach that includes more integrated settlements, over longer term, with less central direction and more local choice.

What plans her Department has to enhance arts and culture in the national curriculum.

The department has announced a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. The National Centre will promote arts education, including signposting to careers guidance and opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school. It will drive excellent arts teaching through a new continuing professional development offer to schools and support partnerships between schools and cultural providers. To complement the curriculum, the department will also work with experts to develop an Enrichment Framework to be published before the end of the year. This will identify the range of different enrichment activity that pupils should access and reflect best practice in supporting schools to plan a high-quality enrichment offer. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that equips young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to thrive in life and work. The Review Group has now published its interim findings and set out the next phase of work. The interim report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report. The government will respond to the Review’s final recommendations in the autumn.

Which Minister has oversight of the Getting It Right First Time programme.

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is a national NHS England programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through an in-depth review of services and benchmarking, and by presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change. This key Government priority sits within my departmental portfolio.The GIRFT team is working with systems and regions to help the National Health Service embed best practice in elective care, to reduce waiting times, improve patient outcomes and, ultimately, to support delivery of the commitment that 92% of all patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral-to-treatment by March 2029.Responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding of healthcare services ultimately rests with the appropriate NHS commissioning body. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. All substantial planned service change is subject to a full public consultation and must meet the Government and NHS England’s ‘tests’ to ensure good decision making.

What steps should be taken prior to a test for change on a healthcare offer.

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is a national NHS England programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through an in-depth review of services and benchmarking, and by presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change. This key Government priority sits within my departmental portfolio.The GIRFT team is working with systems and regions to help the National Health Service embed best practice in elective care, to reduce waiting times, improve patient outcomes and, ultimately, to support delivery of the commitment that 92% of all patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral-to-treatment by March 2029.Responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding of healthcare services ultimately rests with the appropriate NHS commissioning body. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. All substantial planned service change is subject to a full public consultation and must meet the Government and NHS England’s ‘tests’ to ensure good decision making.

Which services GIRFT have been reviewing as part of the healthcare system that impacts on Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in the last two years.

The Getting It Right First Time team has been supporting the One Devon Programme with a particular focus on orthopaedics, spinal surgery, cardiology, gynaecology and ophthalmology services.

Communities and Local Government, if she will meet with the hon. Member for Torbay to discuss the Afghan Resettlement Programme.

Please write to ministers to outline your area of interest for discussion on the Afghan Resettlement Programme. As this is a cross-government programme your area of interests will determine which department is best to respond.

What the (a) average wait time and (b) number of calls received were for the Winter Fuel Payment helpline in each winter since 2015.

We have provided a response from 2017 only as we do not hold the required data for the years prior. The tables in the response show Total Calls Offered (Volume) and Average Speed of Answer (in an hh:mm:ss format) for each month within each business year for the period Apr 17 to Mar 25. The most current table for business year 2024/2025 is to date only, up to and including 02/03/2025. To note, the business year 2017/2018 data for the month of Nov 17 is unavailable.Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2024Winter Fuel Payments4,45900:04:18May-2024Winter Fuel Payments2,42000:02:08Jun-2024Winter Fuel Payments1,70900:01:36Jul-2024Winter Fuel Payments2,05900:00:45Aug-2024Winter Fuel Payments3,41900:00:59Sep-2024Winter Fuel Payments4,87200:01:12Oct-2024Winter Fuel Payments32,69800:04:53Nov-2024Winter Fuel Payments35,75600:01:50Dec-2024Winter Fuel Payments19,89400:03:58Jan-2025Winter Fuel Payments22,64200:07:32Feb-2025Winter Fuel Payments13,19000:02:51Total 143,11800:03:462024/2025 Business Year is to date only, up to and including 02/03/2025Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2023Winter Fuel Payments5,30500:03:30May-2023Winter Fuel Payments4,04300:01:50Jun-2023Winter Fuel Payments2,29300:01:14Jul-2023Winter Fuel Payments1,85400:01:07Aug-2023Winter Fuel Payments2,18500:01:17Sep-2023Winter Fuel Payments4,28400:02:04Oct-2023Winter Fuel Payments68,99900:04:07Nov-2023Winter Fuel Payments101,23100:02:27Dec-2023Winter Fuel Payments50,25100:04:03Jan-2024Winter Fuel Payments44,37300:04:22Feb-2024Winter Fuel Payments18,89100:03:55Mar-2024Winter Fuel Payments8,49200:06:04Total 312,20100:03:30 Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2022Winter Fuel Payments4,32300:02:34May-2022Winter Fuel Payments4,24100:02:20Jun-2022Winter Fuel Payments3,88200:02:00Jul-2022Winter Fuel Payments3,39400:01:46Aug-2022Winter Fuel Payments7,50200:07:26Sep-2022Winter Fuel Payments9,97200:06:19Oct-2022Winter Fuel Payments66,05700:00:52Nov-2022Winter Fuel Payments124,82600:02:36Dec-2022Winter Fuel Payments65,84700:08:38Jan-2023Winter Fuel Payments61,96900:04:38Feb-2023Winter Fuel Payments20,09500:01:54Mar-2023Winter Fuel Payments14,47900:03:19Total 386,58700:03:37 Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2021Winter Fuel Payments12,05800:18:39May-2021Winter Fuel Payments4,47100:06:12Jun-2021Winter Fuel Payments2,98300:02:57Jul-2021Winter Fuel Payments2,92100:02:39Aug-2021Winter Fuel Payments3,78000:03:46Sep-2021Winter Fuel Payments6,93100:04:11Oct-2021Winter Fuel Payments87,69000:06:24Nov-2021Winter Fuel Payments118,40200:03:10Dec-2021Winter Fuel Payments30,36900:01:10Jan-2022Winter Fuel Payments47,90300:03:32Feb-2022Winter Fuel Payments18,10200:01:38Mar-2022Winter Fuel Payments9,77000:03:06Total 345,38000:04:04 Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2020Winter Fuel Payments49000:00:12May-2020Winter Fuel Payments47500:00:14Jun-2020Winter Fuel Payments49400:00:10Jul-2020Winter Fuel Payments51800:00:19Aug-2020Winter Fuel Payments2,41800:00:36Sep-2020Winter Fuel Payments4,85100:00:53Oct-2020Winter Fuel Payments50,46000:08:55Nov-2020Winter Fuel Payments154,83100:19:51Dec-2020Winter Fuel Payments142,77900:13:31Jan-2021Winter Fuel Payments83,95200:15:21Feb-2021Winter Fuel Payments28,37700:03:09Mar-2021Winter Fuel Payments22,05000:09:37Total 491,69500:13:38 Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2019Winter Fuel Payments1,70300:00:31May-2019Winter Fuel Payments1,09600:00:18Jun-2019Winter Fuel Payments92400:00:23Jul-2019Winter Fuel Payments96700:00:11Aug-2019Winter Fuel Payments1,02500:00:09Sep-2019Winter Fuel Payments3,20900:01:06Oct-2019Winter Fuel Payments10,93500:01:08Nov-2019Winter Fuel Payments84,69700:03:48Dec-2019Winter Fuel Payments45,55700:01:01Jan-2020Winter Fuel Payments37,42500:03:15Feb-2020Winter Fuel Payments7,49600:00:45Mar-2020Winter Fuel Payments1,32800:00:39Total 196,36200:02:32 Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2018Winter Fuel Payments3,19300:00:56May-2018Winter Fuel Payments15,29000:01:12Jun-2018Winter Fuel Payments22,62400:01:59Jul-2018Winter Fuel Payments19,13000:01:27Aug-2018Winter Fuel Payments16,39300:01:39Sep-2018Winter Fuel Payments8,41800:01:07Oct-2018Winter Fuel Payments18,59000:01:05Nov-2018Winter Fuel Payments112,84600:04:53Dec-2018Winter Fuel Payments57,27500:03:08Jan-2019Winter Fuel Payments39,45000:01:36Feb-2019Winter Fuel Payments14,06400:01:04Mar-2019Winter Fuel Payments4,76100:01:29Total 332,03400:02:47 Month YearTelephony Service LineCalls OfferedAverage Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Apr-2017Winter Fuel Payments5,26600:00:34May-2017Winter Fuel Payments3,97800:00:27Jun-2017Winter Fuel Payments5,14700:00:38Jul-2017Winter Fuel Payments33,87300:00:39Aug-2017Winter Fuel Payments38,33400:00:49Sep-2017Winter Fuel Payments23,02800:00:30Oct-2017Winter Fuel Payments21,80400:00:50Nov-2017Winter Fuel Payments*Data Unavailable*Data UnavailableDec-2017Winter Fuel Payments64,38600:01:03Jan-2018Winter Fuel Payments48,79300:01:18Feb-2018Winter Fuel Payments17,91900:01:12Mar-2018Winter Fuel Payments11,20800:02:17Total 273,73600:00:59*No data is available for Nov 17 due to inconsistencies with the HMI Data downloads DISCLAIMERPlease note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to reports that around 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported or transferred into Russia or Russian-held territories, what steps his Department is taking to help Ukraine reunite children with their families.

The UK continues to track Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children. Our efforts focus on communications, sanctions, and accountability. We have raised this issue at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the UN and the Human Rights Council. The UK participated in the most recent meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in October 2024 and continues to work closely with the Ukrainian government. In November 2024, we announced a third round of sanctions targeting those attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children. We were pleased to see another group of children returned via Qatari mediation in September 2024, and are grateful for Qatar's continued engagement.