A top DWP minister spoke about an upcoming review of the state pension

Pat McFadden criticised the welfare system set up by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, and claimed the flaws within the system were not a bug, 'but a feature'

'Too many young people are struggling to take that first step from education to work', Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden write

The Early Careers Jobs Alliance will bring together government, employers, trade unions and young people, and look at how AI is impacting entry level roles and offer support

Lord Peter Mandelson was sacked as UK ambassador to the US in September 2025 after leaked emails showed the peer had sent supportive messages to Jeffrey Epstein even as he faced jail for sex offences

The call follows last week’s sobering report by former Blair-era Cabinet minister Alan Milburn into the over one million young people not in employment, education or training (Neets)

Ministers are considering easing the financial pressure on families who lose money when their children leave education at the age of 16 or 17 to take up a role

The new financial year is seeing changes

The full rate of the new state pension will increase from £230.25 to £241.30 a week, and the full basic state pension will shoot up from £176.45 to £184.90 a week

'This government will always protect our pensioners, and that's why we are raising the full rate of new State Pension by £575 this coming year', the Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden writes

Freezing temperatures early this year saw £35 million worth of cold weather payments made to households across England and Wales - but one million pensioners are still missing out

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the reforms - coming into force in April - will tackle 'perverse incentives'

Changes for apprenticeships include a faster approval process to update apprenticeships and develop short courses to tackle the need for skilled workers in major projects