Steve Darling MP: written questions
4 Jul 2026–16 Oct 2026 · year in progress
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Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
9 published records · newest first.
Written questions
PovertyDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 22331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he has assessed how far back in time it is possible to produce an adjusted poverty estimate of Households Below Average Income (HBAI); and if his Department will commit to going back as far as they c
Answer: The latest Households Below Average Income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2025 release, published in March 2026, used an improved approach that uses linked administrative data in place of survey responses for the major state benefits and tax credits....
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordShared Housing: Young PeopleDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 22326More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Shared Housing Rate on the ability of under 35s to secure homes.
Answer: The Secretary of State reviewed Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, including the shared accommodation rate, at the 2025 Autumn Budget and announced that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. A range of factors, including rent le...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Housing Allowance: UpratingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 22325More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he was made of the potential impact of the decision not to uprate Local Housing Allowance in the Autumn 2025 Budget on (a) families, (b) older renters, and (c) people with disabilities.
Answer: The Secretary of State reviewed Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, including the shared accommodation rate, at the 2025 Autumn Budget and announced that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. A range of factors, including rent le...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Housing Allowance: UpratingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 22324More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of not uprating Local Housing Allowance in-line with inflation at the Autumn 2025 Budget on levels of homelessness among Universal Credit claimants in
Answer: The Secretary of State reviewed Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, including the shared accommodation rate, at the 2025 Autumn Budget and announced that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. A range of factors, including rent le...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Housing AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 22323More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of Local Housing Allowance on the use of temporary accommodation in England.
Answer: The Secretary of State reviewed Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, including the shared accommodation rate, at the 2025 Autumn Budget and announced that rates would be maintained at their current levels for 2026/27. A range of factors, including rent le...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordWork Capability AssessmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 22322More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide an update on his Department's work to abolish the Work Capability Assessment as outlined in the 'Pathways to Work' Green Paper 2025.
Answer: The Pathways to Work Green Paper outlined our plan to end the link between capacity to work and additional financial support and the binary categorisation of claimants as “can or can’t work” by abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Instead, any...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 14 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18765More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress his Department has made in the completion of the Universal Credit split payment impact assessment; and whether they plan to use split payments as the default mechanism for all joint
Answer: The Department is currently considering the policy design specification provided by the Scottish Government for its proposal to make split payments the default option for Universal Credit customers in Scotland. The Department has no plans to make split pa...
Answered 22 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordAccess to Elected Office for Disabled People FundDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18205More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide an update on the Access to Elected Office Fund; and when it is likely that applications for support will open.
Answer: It is this government’s ambition to see more disabled people in public office. We have been clear that we will champion disabled people’s rights and work closely with them so that disabled people’s views and voices are at the heart of decision-making. We ...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: UpratingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17828More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration has he given to broadening the scope of countries where the UK state pension receives an annual increase.
Answer: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality and are only uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating. This approach has...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2026–16 Oct 2026. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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