Victoria Collins MP: written questions
4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026
How these years work
Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
28 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Jobcentre PlusDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 9443More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Jobcentre Plus offices share information across their region and nationally on the effectiveness of employment support programmes commissioned through
Answer: The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is used to procure Flexible Support Fund (FSF) provision to support claimants into employment, increase earnings, or move closer to the labour market. DPS contracts are managed at District level, with regular performanc...
Answered 24 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordApprentices: Small BusinessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 951More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to encourage small businesses to offer apprenticeships for young people in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy in England, backed by £1 billion of additional investment, which will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships and give employers, including in Harpend...
Answered 22 May 2026
Original Parliament recordCarer's Allowance: StudentsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the eligibility rules for Carer’s Allowance on unpaid carers seeking to access higher and further education.
Answer: The department works very closely with the Department for Education and Department for Health and Social Care, and stakeholders such as Carers Trust and the Learning and Work Institute, to help ensure young carers get the help and support they need and de...
Answered 22 May 2026
Original Parliament recordCarer's Allowance: StudentsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 May 2026AnsweredUIN 949More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers have lost entitlement to Carer’s Allowance as a result of exceeding the 21-hour study limit in each of the last five years.
Answer: The department works very closely with the Department for Education and Department for Health and Social Care, and stakeholders such as Carers Trust and the Learning and Work Institute, to help ensure young carers get the help and support they need and de...
Answered 22 May 2026
Original Parliament recordEmployment: DisabilityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 14 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 127375More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support disabled people into work in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: In the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, we 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. Existing measures include support from Work...
Answered 22 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 14 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 127374More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Government carefully considered the findings of the Ombudsman’s report on the communication of changes to women’s State Pension age, and a detailed response including an Equality Analysis has been deposited in the House library.
Answered 22 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordAccess to Work Programme: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 14 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 127340More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reform access to work in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme. We also considered the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistiv...
Answered 27 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordUnemployment: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119659More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his department is taking to reduce levels of youth unemployment in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Government is committed to transform young people’s prospects by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn and learn through the Youth Guarantee.On 16th March, the Government announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, resulting...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordUnemployment: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119658More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of levels in youth unemployment in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Government is committed to transform young people’s prospects by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn and learn through the Youth Guarantee.On 16th March, the Government announced a further £1 billion investment in young people, resulting...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordEmployment: EndometriosisDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 23 Feb 2026WithdrawnUIN 115197More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support people with endometriosis in the workplace in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordEndometriosis: EmploymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112288More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help support people with endometriosis in the workplace in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to ta...
Answered 18 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordEmployment: DisabilityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110205More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle barriers to work for disabled people in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to ta...
Answered 9 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPoverty: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110204More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to publish an equalities impact assessment of the Child Poverty Strategy, including its impact on groups at highest risk of poverty.
Answer: A full summary Equalities Analysis was published alongside the Strategy and is available at: Child Poverty Strategy: Summary Equalities Analysis - GOV.UK.The impacts of policies contributing to the Child Poverty Strategy will be kept under review and moni...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110203More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of State Pension age changes for 1950s-born women living in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCarer's Allowance: OverpaymentsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109366More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of pausing deductions being taken from Carer's Allowance payments as a result of earnings-related overpayments while the Department reassesses t
Answer: We have been clear that the Sayce review into earnings related Carer’s Allowance overpayments was not a substitute for legal proceedings. The report’s findings do not prejudice business-as-usual activity by DWP. The department must balance fairness for un...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAccess to Work Programme: FinanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106375More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for the Access to Work scheme; and whether he plans to increase that funding.
Answer: In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclu...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordEngineering: Apprentices and TrainingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103586More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to expand apprenticeship and training programmes for engineering roles supporting digital and energy infrastructure development.
Answer: This Government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, backed by £725 million of additional investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy.In August 2...
Answered 14 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAge AdditionDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 27 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 95181More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department are taking to review the state pension addition for individuals aged 80 and over; and whether the Department plans to adjust that addition in line with inflation to ensure it p
Answer: The 25 pence a week Age Addition is part of the old State Pension, for those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, and is paid with their State Pension, when they reach the age of 80. The Age Addition is not part of the new State Pension, but...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 18 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 92427More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress his Department has made on working with expert stakeholders to review the impact of four-weekly employer pay cycles on Universal Credit payments.
Answer: We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit, to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. As part of the review we have considered the impact that fluctuating incomes including those paid on a four-weekly cycle h...
Answered 24 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordConstruction: ApprenticesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 89154More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to increase the number of approved apprenticeship providers for (a) stone masonry, (b) quarrying (c) and heritage restoration skills.
Answer: As of 15 October 2025, there are 1450 active providers on the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). New training providers can enter the apprenticeship training market under one of the three entry routes in place. These are either where ...
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordConstruction: ApprenticesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 89153More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help support the development of (a) specialist training and (b) apprenticeship pathways in the (i) natural stone and (ii) heritage construction sectors, including
Answer: As announced in the Spending Review, the Government is investing over £1.2 billion annually in skills by 2028-29 to support technical routes and work-based training. Employers and learners in the sector can benefit from a range of apprenticeship standards...
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: Terminal IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80312More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care’s report entitled Inquiry into the fina
Answer: The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment o...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: Terminal IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80311More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help improve the financial security of people with a terminal diagnosis.
Answer: This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it. The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). Th...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: Terminal IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80310More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government intends to review the effectiveness of the special rules for end of life.
Answer: The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: Terminal IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80309More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will ask the Pensions Commission to consider the potential merits of allowing people of working age living with a terminal illness to claim state pension.
Answer: The government recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals who are terminally ill are treated with compassion and dignity. The Terms of Reference for the Pensions Commission, which set out the scope for the Commission, were published on the 21s...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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