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Andrew Western

Andrew Western

Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

LabourMP for Stretford and Urmston

What Andrew said recently

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“The Government are committed to improving data sharing with local authorities, as part of our endeavours to improve services. We are taking forward work with local authorities on the “identifying local vulnerability” project, and that work …”

Written statement

DWP Workplace Transformation

“Today the department announced plans to consolidate some Service and Support Centres as part of the continued transformation of DWP's office estate across England, Scotland and Wales. This sits alongside wider activity to modernise how serv…”

Legislation

Pension Schemes Bill

“I beg to move, That this House insists on its disagreement with the Lords in their Amendments 15 to 24, 27, 30 to 34, 36, 38 to 42, 83 and 88, insists on its amendments 88A, 88C and 88E to 88P to the words restored to the Bill by that disag…”

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“Our annual report and accounts 2024-25 states that, in that year, we answered some 43 million calls—up from 37 million in the previous year. Our call-answering rate increased to 86%, and the average answering time improved by one minute and…”

Debate

Student Loans

“Let me begin by stating the obvious: the issues with plan 2 loans are a legacy of the previous Government. Plan 2 borrowers in England are undergraduate students who began their courses between 2012 and 2023. The loans were designed, implem…”

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“Universal credit is primarily reserved for people settled in the UK. With regard to trends, overall the proportion of universal credit claimants in this country who are foreign nationals has fallen from 17% in January 2025 to 15.5% in the l…”

Debate

Youth Unemployment

“If only the Conservatives had had 14 years to do much of what the shadow Minister just outlined. It seems as though they never tire of pulling apart their own abysmal record. Today they have chosen to focus on the crisis of opportunity that…”

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“My honourable Friend will be pleased to know that we have already taken action. We published the skills White Paper in October, and we are investing £1 billion in skills packages in sectors that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs ove…”

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“Skills England is playing a central role in delivering the Government’s plan for change and industrial strategy. It is the authoritative voice on skills needs and is informing the post-16 education and skills White Paper; supporting the del…”

Debate

Welfare Spending

“The reason why we are having this debate is straightforward: the welfare system is broken. We have begun the job of fixing it, but the fact is that the system was broken by the Conservatives. They oversaw 14 years of failure on welfare unti…”

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“My right honourable Friend the Secretary of State co-chairs the ministerial child poverty taskforce, which is leading our work across Government to develop the UK-wide child poverty strategy, which will be published later this year. We are …”

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“The Government have committed to significant measures to counter welfare fraud, error and debt. This is the biggest package of such measures in recent history, and the Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that it will deliver an a…”

Debate

Welfare Spending

“Before I turn to some of the rawer politics as the debate demands, I thank all honourable Members who have taken part in this important debate. Like other honourable Members, I am appalled by the level of child poverty in this country. Runn…”

Legislation

Pension Schemes Bill

“At the outset, I take the opportunity to declare my own interest. Unlike the honourable Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith), I was elected prior to Lord Cameron ejecting councillors from the local government pension scheme. As a for…”

Questions

Oral questions: Work and Pensions

“The Department works collaboratively across Government and law enforcement agencies to investigate welfare fraud perpetrated by organised criminal gangs. This type of criminality is complex and far-reaching, and a collaborative approach is …”

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