Department for Work and Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department it administers the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers.



Secretary of State

 Portrait

Liz Kendall
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Shadow Ministers / Spokeperson
Liberal Democrat
Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD - Life peer)
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)
Steve Darling (LD - Torbay)
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)

Conservative
Helen Whately (Con - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Scottish National Party
Kirsty Blackman (SNP - Aberdeen North)
Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)
Junior Shadow Ministers / Deputy Spokesperson
Conservative
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con - Excepted Hereditary)
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con - Life peer)
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Danny Kruger (Con - East Wiltshire)
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Ministers of State
Stephen Timms (Lab - East Ham)
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead)
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Baroness Sherlock (Lab - Life peer)
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Andrew Western (Lab - Stretford and Urmston)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Torsten Bell (Lab - Swansea West)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no upcoming events identified
Debates
Wednesday 9th July 2025
Select Committee Inquiry
Thursday 3rd April 2025
Get Britain Working: Pathways to Work

The Work and Pensions Committee is undertaking a short inquiry into the impact of the Government’s proposals to reform the …

Written Answers
Friday 11th July 2025
Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit: Northern Ireland
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) Universal Credit and (b) PIP awards in Northern …
Secondary Legislation
Tuesday 1st July 2025
Social Security (Income and Capital Disregards) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025
Regulations 2 to 8 amend respectively the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. …
Bills
Wednesday 18th June 2025
Universal Credit Bill 2024-26
Make provision to alter the rates of the standard allowance, limited capability for work element and limited capability for work …
Dept. Publications
Friday 11th July 2025
16:42

Department for Work and Pensions Commons Appearances

Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs

Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:
  • Urgent Questions where the Speaker has selected a question to which a Minister must reply that day
  • Adjornment Debates a 30 minute debate attended by a Minister that concludes the day in Parliament.
  • Oral Statements informing the Commons of a significant development, where backbench MP's can then question the Minister making the statement.

Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue

Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category
Jun. 23
Oral Questions
May. 13
Urgent Questions
Jun. 30
Written Statements
Apr. 23
Adjournment Debate
View All Department for Work and Pensions Commons Contibutions

Bills currently before Parliament

Department for Work and Pensions does not have Bills currently before Parliament


Acts of Parliament created in the 2024 Parliament

Department for Work and Pensions has not passed any Acts during the 2024 Parliament

Department for Work and Pensions - Secondary Legislation

Regulations 2 to 8 amend respectively the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967), the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/207), the State Pension Credit Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1792), the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/213), the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/214), the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/794), and the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/376).
These Regulations modify paragraph 5(2) and (4) of Schedule 6 to the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/380). Paragraph 5(2) contains a list of provisions under which the Secretary of State may make deductions from Universal Credit. The modifications made by these Regulations to paragraph 5(2) and (4) have the effect that deductions for child maintenance have priority over the other deductions listed in paragraph 5(2).
View All Department for Work and Pensions Secondary Legislation

Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Trending Petitions
Petition Debates Contributed
161,790
Petition Closed
21 May 2025
closed 1 month, 3 weeks ago

We call on the Government to fairly compensate WASPI women affected by the increases to their State Pension age and the associated failings in DWP communications.

View All Department for Work and Pensions Petitions

Departmental Select Committee

Work and Pensions Committee

Commons Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.

At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries.

Select Committee findings are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee's recommendations.


11 Members of the Work and Pensions Committee
Debbie Abrahams Portrait
Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 11th September 2024
David Pinto-Duschinsky Portrait
David Pinto-Duschinsky (Labour - Hendon)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Amanda Hack Portrait
Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Gill German Portrait
Gill German (Labour - Clwyd North)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Damien Egan Portrait
Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Johanna Baxter Portrait
Johanna Baxter (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 21st October 2024
John Milne Portrait
John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Steve Darling Portrait
Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Peter Bedford Portrait
Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Frank McNally Portrait
Frank McNally (Labour - Coatbridge and Bellshill)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 16th December 2024
Danny Kruger Portrait
Danny Kruger (Conservative - East Wiltshire)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 17th March 2025
Work and Pensions Committee: Upcoming Events
Work and Pensions Committee - Oral evidence
The work of the Department for Work and Pensions
16 Jul 2025, 8:30 a.m.
At 9:30am: Oral evidence
The Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP - Secretary of State at Department for Work and Pensions
Sir Peter Schofield KCB - Permanent Secretary at Department for Work and Pensions

View calendar - Save to Calendar
Work and Pensions Committee: Previous Inquiries
Money and Pensions Service Pension stewardship and COP26 PIP and ESA Assessments DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak Work of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment Plan for Jobs and employment support The sale and acquisition of BHS inquiry DWP’s preparations for changes in the world of work Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams Progress with child maintenance reforms Update on auto-enrolment and a range of current pensions issues Fraud and error in the benefits system Employment and Support Allowance and Work Capability Assessments Progress with Personal Independence Payment implementation 2014 Employment support for disabled people: Access to Work One-off evidence session on pension reforms Benefit delivery inquiry Welfare to work inquiry Pension freedom guidance and advice inquiry Tax credit reforms inquiry Local welfare safety net inquiry In-work progression in Universal Credit inquiry Understanding the new State Pension inquiry Bereavement benefits inquiry Pre-appointment hearing for the Pensions Ombudsman Progress with automatic enrolment and pension reforms Financial scrutiny of the Department for Work and Pensions Benefit sanctions policy beyond the Oakley review Progress with disability and incapacity benefit reforms Universal Credit Work Programme: the experience of different user groups Youth unemployment and the Government’s Youth Contract EU Pensions Policy White Paper on Universal Credit Automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and National Employment Savings Trust Governance and best practice in workplace pensions Role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system Support for housing costs in the reformed welfare system School holiday poverty inquiry The work of The Pensions Regulator inquiry Executive pensions inquiry Spending Review inquiry Support for the bereaved Universal Credit and Survival Sex: sex in exchange for meeting survival needs inquiry No DSS: discrimination against benefit claimants in the housing sector inquiry Benefit freeze Overpayments of Carer's Allowance Ongoing work on DWP priorities and performance inquiry Charging for pension transfer advice inquiry Pension auto-enrolment: update inquiry Universal Credit Project Assessment Reviews inquiry Carillion joint inquiry Assistive technology inquiry Pre-appointment scrutiny of the Chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee Defined benefit pensions white paper inquiry The future of the European Social Fund inquiry Two-child benefit limit inquiry Welfare safety net inquiry Benefit cap inquiry Pension costs and transparency inquiry Disability employment inquiry Concentrix and tax credits inquiry Child Maintenance Service inquiry Employment opportunities for young people inquiry Intergenerational fairness inquiry Pensions automatic enrolment inquiry Early drawing of state pension inquiry Recent pensions policy developments The Future of Jobcentre Plus inquiry Support for ex-offenders inquiry Disability employment gap inquiry Pension Protection Fund and Pensions Regulator inquiry Personal Independence Payment inquiry Citizen's income inquiry Victims of modern slavery inquiry DWP Annual Report and Accounts inquiry Self-employment and the gig economy inquiry Benefit cap inquiry Brexit and labour market policy inquiry Universal Credit update inquiry Universal Credit inquiry PIP and ESA Assessments inquiry Pension freedom and choice inquiry Defined benefit pension schemes Access to work cap on support grants inquiry Collective defined contribution pension schemes inquiry Support for carers inquiry The cost of living Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service Defined benefit pensions with liability driven investments Benefit levels in the UK Defined benefit pension schemes Cost of living support payments Disability employment gap Health and Safety Executive Safeguarding vulnerable claimants Norton pension schemes and the Fraud Compensation Fund Statutory Sick Pay Disability employment Devolution of employment support Pensioner poverty – challenges and mitigations Get Britain Working – Reforming Jobcentres Get Britain Working: Pathways to Work Children in poverty: Measurement and targets Welfare policy in Northern Ireland Assistive technology Benefit cap Benefit sanctions Collective defined contribution pension schemes Defined benefit pensions white paper inquiry Disability employment The future of the European Social Fund inquiry Executive pensions Universal Credit Universal Credit - In-work progression Pension costs and transparency Spending Review Welfare safety net Charging for pension transfer advice Overpayments of Carer's Allowance Pension auto-enrolment: update No DSS: discrimination against benefit claimants in the housing sector Benefit freeze Support for the bereaved The work of The Pensions Regulator Motability Ongoing work on DWP priorities and performance Pension freedom and choice PIP and ESA Assessments School holiday poverty Support for carers Two-child benefit limit Universal Credit and Survival Sex

50 most recent Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department

8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she mas made of the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication entitled Government response to PHSO’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age, published on 17 December 2024.

The Department has made no assessment.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she mas made of the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication entitled Government response to PHSO’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age, published on 17 December 2024.

The Department has made no assessment.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of disregarding military compensation as income across the social security system.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 8 July 2025 to question UIN 63814

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of freezing the health element of Universal Credit for new claimants from April 2026 on (a) poverty rates, (b) the cost of living and (c) workforce participation in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Upper Bann constituency.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) are administered in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities (DfC). DfC is responsible for producing analysis on how proposed reforms would impact claimants in Northern Ireland.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to (a) PIP and (b) Universal Credit on (i) community cohesion and (ii) equitable access to benefits in Northern Ireland.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) are administered in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities (DfC). DfC is responsible for producing analysis on how proposed reforms would impact claimants in Northern Ireland.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the review by the Minister for Social Security and Disability on PIP eligibility will incorporate (a) regional data and (b) stakeholder views from (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Upper Bann constituency.

We have launched a review of the PIP assessment to make sure it is fair and fit for the future in a changing world and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence.

We have published the Terms of Reference for this review and we will engage widely over the summer to design the process for its work. We are committed to co-producing the review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders, to ensure that a wide range of views and voices are heard.

We will of course engage with the Devolved Governments as part of this process, recognising their interest in the review and potential implications for the benefits and services they administer.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effectiveness of (a) the Get Set Progress scheme and (b) paid internship programmes for disabled people; and what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues to (i) increase internships for disabled people and (ii) diversify the sources from which departments recruit.

Ministers have been encouraged by the briefing they have received on the ‘Get Set Progress’ scheme, but no assessment has been carried out by this department.

Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. All government departments and employers must consider the Equality Act when providing internships.

Civil Service internships are a matter for Government Skills, part of the Cabinet Office and supported internships are a matter for the Department for Education.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to establish an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women.

We have no such plans.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to establish an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women.

We have no such plans.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to establish an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women.

We have no such plans.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of autistic adults who are in full-time work.

The Annual Population Survey (2023/24) estimates that there were 788,000 people - 1.9% of the UK working-age (16 to 64) population - who self-reported autism as a main or secondary long-term health condition. Of which, 281,000 (36%) were in employment, including 163,000 (21%) in full time employment.

Source: Annual Population Survey - unpublished

Baroness Sherlock
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the uplift to the basic standard allowance of Universal Credit on the incomes of low income households in Bournemouth East constituency.

The department does not have constituency level estimates of the forecasts available.

The latest published data on UC, in November 2024, shows that, in Bournemouth East, there were approximately 10,225 households on UC that were not subject to the benefit cap.

The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill was introduced to Parliament on 18 June 2025 and, subject to parliamentary approval, it will increase the Universal Credit Standard Allowance above inflation every year from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Based on current forecasts, the increase to the Standard Allowance in Universal Credit is estimated to be worth £725 a year by 2029/30 in cash terms for a single person aged 25 or over, which is around £250 more a year than if it were only uprated by inflation.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

DWP has no employees who are temporarily working outside the UK.

The DWP policy does not permit overseas homeworking as per our Contractual Homeworking Policy.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to introduce legislation to implement the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025.

Primary legislation is required to make the change to remove Direct Pay and reform the collection fee structure, meaning these changes will be subject to detailed parliamentary scrutiny. Our intention is to implement these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she is taking to prevent non-compliant paying parents from exploiting exemptions to the 20% non-compliance fee.

By replacing Direct Pay, we will tackle non-compliance, reduce opportunities for domestic abuse and lift children out of poverty.

As part of this, we will require all those parents who are non-compliant to pay a 20% collection fee. We do not envisage there being any exceptions to the fee for parents who refuse to pay what they owe.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she plans to take to ensure compliance from paying parents in receipt of benefits who are exempt from the 20 per cent non-compliance fee.

The CMS believes that all parents have an obligation to support their children regardless of their financial situation. The CMS is able to deduct £8.40 a week towards ongoing maintenance or arrears from certain prescribed benefits.

When a paying parent is in receipt of benefits, CMS will send a request to set up a Deduction from Benefit (DfB) to collect ongoing maintenance. This means that where benefit levels allow, maintenance will be paid.

The overall cap for Universal Credit (UC) deductions was reduced from the current 25% of the standard allowance to 15% from April 2025. Alongside this, child maintenance deductions moved higher up the priority order.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Child Maintenance Service’s approach to domestic abuse on the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls.

DWP is engaged in cross-government work to support the Home Office led Safer Streets Mission, which includes the ambition to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) within the next decade. DWP has a key role to play in halving VAWG.

We are committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the help and support they need to use the CMS safely and have outlined in the consultation work the department is undertaking to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse to use the service safely.

The CMS have updated and refreshed DA learning, taking views and feedback from a roundtable held with external stakeholders in November 2023.

All caseworkers have received upskilling to help identify abuse and can provide signposting to support. A Domestic Abuse Plan is in place to support caseworkers having these conversations.

All colleagues (apart from those who joined and received Domestic Abuse Learning since April 2024) are undertaking refresher training. This is due to complete in summer 2025.

It is acknowledged that the current system can create opportunities for maintenance payments to be used as a tool of coercive behaviour and domestic abuse.

The changes to replace Direct Pay will represent a significant improvement to victims and survivors of domestic abuse using the CMS, by reducing contact with the other parent and reducing the paying parent’s ability to financially control the receiving parent by paying too little or too late, as is currently the case on Direct Pay.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to promote timebanking in job centres.

Our Get Britain Working plan aims to reduce economic inactivity levels and take the first steps to delivering our long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate. We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive, to succeed and flourish. Support includes identifying skills gaps and referral to skills training, careers advice, job search support, and volunteering opportunities. Work Coaches will work with customer to identify transferable skills relevant to the opportunities available. Our Employer and Partnership Teams work with employers and partners to bring vacancies and provisions closer to our customers.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the annual saving to the public purse from not fully disregarding (a) War Pensions and (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments in the assessment of Pension Credit in the previous financial year.

No formal assessment has been made on the annual saving to the public purse on not fully disregarding these payments.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
7th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58269 on Winter Fuel Payment: Rutland and Stamford, how many people will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment following the proposed changes in Rutland and Stamford constituency.

It is not possible to provide an estimate of such figures at a constituency level.

I refer the member back to the answer of 16 June to Question 58269 for further detail on the national impact of the changes to the eligibility criteria.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support pensioners who have (a) become disabled after reaching State Pension age and (b) require (i) adapted vehicles and (ii) mobility assistance.

Attendance Allowance (AA) is a weekly benefit for those over State Pension age who require care or supervision as a result of a physical or mental disability. AA is paid at two rates. A higher rate of £110.40 a week for claimants who need help or supervision for both day and night or who are terminally ill. And a lower rate of £73.90 for claimants who need frequent help or supervision during the day or night.

AA provides financial support towards the extra costs faced by disabled people. It is neither means-tested, nor based on National Insurance contributions paid and recipients can choose how they wish to spend it. Receipt of AA can provide a passport to additional amounts in means-tested benefits (notably Pension Credit and Housing Benefit) for those on low incomes and to Carer’s Allowance for the person providing care for them.

AA has never included a mobility component and so cannot be used in payment for a leased Motability Scheme vehicle. Government mobility support is focused on people who are disabled earlier in life.

There is no constraint on what an award of Attendance Allowance can be spent on, and a recipient may choose to use this benefit to fund mobility aids.

There are no plans to review the Scheme’s qualifying benefits.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility criteria for the Motability Scheme to include Attendance Allowance claimants.

Attendance Allowance (AA) is a weekly benefit for those over State Pension age who require care or supervision as a result of a physical or mental disability. AA is paid at two rates. A higher rate of £110.40 a week for claimants who need help or supervision for both day and night or who are terminally ill. And a lower rate of £73.90 for claimants who need frequent help or supervision during the day or night.

AA provides financial support towards the extra costs faced by disabled people. It is neither means-tested, nor based on National Insurance contributions paid and recipients can choose how they wish to spend it. Receipt of AA can provide a passport to additional amounts in means-tested benefits (notably Pension Credit and Housing Benefit) for those on low incomes and to Carer’s Allowance for the person providing care for them.

AA has never included a mobility component and so cannot be used in payment for a leased Motability Scheme vehicle. Government mobility support is focused on people who are disabled earlier in life.

There is no constraint on what an award of Attendance Allowance can be spent on, and a recipient may choose to use this benefit to fund mobility aids.

There are no plans to review the Scheme’s qualifying benefits.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing the Universal Credit health element on claimants under the age of 22.

As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, the Government invited views on the proposal to raise the minimum age for accessing the Universal Credit (UC) health element to 22. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now considering responses.

No final decisions have been made.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people impacted by the changes to PIP proposed in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill she estimates will (a) lose eligibility to PIP entirely, (b) be eligible for the UC health element under the current system and (c) be eligible for the UC health element under her Department’s proposals to replace the Work Capability Assessment with the PIP passporting mechanism.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out the Government’s intention to abolish the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). This reform will move away from categorising individuals into binary groups of ‘can work’ or ‘can’t work’. Instead, eligibility for additional financial support in Universal Credit (UC) due to health conditions will be determined through a single assessment - the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment - focused on the impact of disability on daily living, rather than on capacity to work.

This change will decouple entitlement to the UC health element from employment status, giving people confidence that taking steps towards or into work will not put their benefit entitlement at risk.

Any changes to PIP eligibility will follow a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading. This review is being co-produced with disabled people, representative organisations, clinicians, experts, MPs, and other stakeholders to ensure a wide range of voices are heard. Its aim is to ensure the PIP assessment is fair, robust, and fit for the future and the review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

As the review is ongoing, the Department has not yet developed estimates of how many people will (a) lose eligibility to PIP, (b) be eligible for the UC health element under the current system, or (c) be eligible under the proposed PIP-based system. These figures will be made available in due course, alongside supporting analysis.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to remove the two-child benefit cap as part of the Tackling Child Poverty strategy.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy which we will publish in the autumn. We are considering all available levers to give every child the best start in life as part of our strategy.

In the meantime, we are pressing ahead with action.

As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year including Barnett impact, investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the five-week wait for Universal Credit on (a) debt and (b) poverty levels.

We are reviewing Universal Credit, to make sure it is doing the job we want it to. We are committed to considering how we can support people during the Initial Assessment Period, often referred to as the 5-week wait, before they receive their first payment as part of the review and will provide an update in due course.

Published research on debt whilst on UC can be found here: Impacts of external debt for indebted Universal Credit claimants - GOV.UK; DWP ad hoc research - GOV.UK and the latest Universal Credit deductions statistics are published here Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 10 April 2025 - GOV.UK

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with mental health conditions are not disproportionately disadvantaged by the proposed reforms to PIP.

As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, the Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House about the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.

In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that clause 5 would be removed from the Bill in Committee.

(Hansard, 1 July, col 219)

Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I shall lead, co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63482 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations and with reference to her letter of 26 June 2025 on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, whether the announced exemption from reassessment for existing Personal Independence Payment claimants will also apply to the All Review claimants whose award is subject to a scheduled review or reassessment process at the time the exemption comes into force.

The Government is committed to providing security and dignity for those who will never be able to work, and removing unnecessary stress, anxiety and uncertainty from the Social Security System. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill legislates to formally protect those with the most severe, lifelong health conditions, who meet the Severe Conditions Criteria, from being called for reassessments for their Universal Credit Health Element award. The Severe Conditions Criteria applies to customers in receipt of Universal Credit rather than those in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the impact assessment on the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, published on 30 June 2025, how many of those moved into relative or absolute poverty are due solely to changes of the Universal Credit Health Element.

No assessment has been made on this basis. The Poverty Impact assessment published ahead of the Bill Committee Stage shows a 50,000 reduction in the number of people below the poverty line.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Carer’s Allowance overpayments on individuals in receipt of the benefit; and what steps her Department is taking to support carers in receipt of overpayments.

This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by unpaid carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends with disabilities.

When we came into government, it became clear that there were far too many cases where hard-working carers had been left with large overpayments to be repaid, sometimes worth thousands of pounds. As a result, we commissioned an independent review of earnings-related overpayments of Carer’s Allowance to understand exactly what has gone wrong and make the necessary improvements needed. We expect to receive the report from the Independent Review shortly. We will then publish the report, and our initial response, as soon as is practicable thereafter. The review is not a substitute for legal proceedings, and the existence of the review does not prejudice any business-as-usual activity by DWP.

The government has not been treading water while waiting for the review. We have already taken steps to address the problem carers have been experiencing. For example, we have introduced the largest increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976. The earnings limit is now 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels and over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive Carer’s Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30.

We carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer to recover overpayments with safeguards in place to manage repayments fairly. Carers have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award. Support remains in place with DWP’s Debt Management Service who are available to speak to anyone who has had an overpayment about the terms of their repayment.

To help prevent overpayments building up in the first place, we want to make it as easy as possible for carers to tell us when something has changed in their life which could affect their Carer's Allowance. That is why we will continue to review and improve communications, including some trials during 2025, so customers are more aware of what changes they need to report and are regularly reminded to do so and in a way that suits them.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed welfare reforms on people with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) other fluctuating conditions.

As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, the Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House about the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.

In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that clause 5 would be removed from the Bill in Committee.

(Hansard, 1 July, col 219)

Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit which I shall lead, co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish an equalities impact assessment of the proposed Personal Independence Payment reforms with specific reference to people with progressive neurological conditions.

As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, the Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House about the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.

In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that clause 5 would be removed from the Bill in Committee.

(Hansard, 1 July, col 219)

Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit which I shall lead, co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Personal Independence Payment claimants with a primary condition of arthritis.

There were 471,358 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants with a primary medical condition of arthritis in April 2025. This information can be found on Stat Xplore in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ table. You can use the ‘Disability’ filter to select ‘osteoarthiritis’ and ‘inflammatory arthritis’ categories and the ‘Geography’ filter to select ‘DWP policy ownership’.

You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 56485 on Children: Maintenance, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of aligning the child maintenance responsibilities of those who receive the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit and people who receive comparable incomes through employment.

The child maintenance calculation is designed to be fair and proportionate and broadly represent an amount that the paying parent would spend on the child as if they were still living with them. The calculation takes the paying parent’s gross income into account – regardless of whether that income comes from earnings or benefits. Where a paying parent earns under £100 per week, or receives certain benefits including Universal Credit, they pay a flat rate of £7 per week. In those few instances where someone is eligible for the flat rate but has other income, that can be captured by means of a variation.

The Department has recently conducted a programme of strategic work to review the child maintenance calculation. The focus of the review is to explore options to update the calculation to reflect modern societal and economic changes, with the aim of making it fair, affordable and responsive to parents’ circumstances, but importantly, to avoid introducing complexities to the system. A consultation on proposed changes is planned for late 2025.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle child poverty.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap.

These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she is taking to improve enforcement of non-payment via Collect and Pay.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring separated parents support their children financially, taking robust enforcement action against those who do not.

The CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children including deducting directly from earnings, bank accounts and forcing the sale of a property.

The Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 proposed regulations to support the introduction of administrative liability orders (ALOs), removing the requirement to obtain a court issued liability order. Introducing this process should enable the CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and get money to children more quickly. We are working with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to establish a process for implementing ALOs and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament by the end of this year.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she plans to take to ensure that forms of income not disclosed by paying parents are captured outside the proposed HMRC data-sharing pathways for automatic child maintenance calculations.

Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest tax year available. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately. Any income subject to income tax including bonuses and overtime received by an employed paying parent, is included within their gross weekly income when calculating a child maintenance liability.

The Government has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review will also consider the treatment of unearned income and assets within the automatic calculation. A consultation on the calculation will be published before the end of this year.

Unearned income and assets can still be captured through the current variation process up until changes are introduced.

Cases involving complex income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit. This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions (such as banks, investment companies and mortgage companies) to check the accuracy of information that the CMS is given. If any discrepancies are found, then they can implement a correct maintenance liability that is supported by CMS legislation.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of working with economic abuse organisations to (a) develop and (b) deliver specialist training for Child Maintenance Service staff responsible for (i) identifying and (ii) supporting parents experiencing economic abuse.

This government is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of abuse get the help and support they need to use the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) safely. In our response to the consultation, we explained how the CMS has updated and refreshed domestic abuse training over the past 18 months to include economic abuse. We developed our training with customer representation groups, drawing on their expertise and experience, and will maintain an open dialogue as we plan our transition to the new service.

Our response also outlined our plans to remove Direct Pay. This will benefit victims and survivors of domestic abuse in a number of ways, such as by preventing unwanted contact between parents and removing an opportunity for perpetrators of economic control and coercion to use those behaviours in the context of the service. It also removes the need for the receiving parent to report non-compliance as is currently the case on Direct Pay, which some parents may not feel comfortable doing because of the risk of provoking retaliation.

The CMS has access to a list of resources which helps caseworkers provide signposting to supporting organisations, and a Domestic Abuse plan which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. The list of resources and Domestic Abuse Plan is regularly reviewed.

The CMS has a specialist team in place who deliver targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging and complex abuse.

The CMS reviews its domestic abuse training regularly with input from external stakeholders to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government’s response to the consultation entitled Child Maintenance: Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, published on 23 June 2025, what the eligibility criteria will be for the most complex domestic abuse cases under the specialist domestic abuse named caseworker service; and how she will assess the impact of those eligibility criteria on victim-survivors requiring access to that service.

The Government is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the help and support they need to use the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) safely.

The CMS has a Specialist Case team delivering targeted support to parents subject to the most challenging or complex domestic abuse. All caseworkers are trained to identify and refer appropriate cases within the Collect and Pay service to the team.

Customers who are potential victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be identified, and referred to the Specialist Case team in the following ways:

  • If a customer is already under the care of the Department for Work and Pensions Advanced Customer Support due to a domestic abuse issue, or if either the CMS or the customer has involved the police because of a domestic abuse concern, a referral should be made.
  • If a caseworker has spoken with a customer who mentions or seeks assistance related to any actual or threatened physical violence, coercive control, or financial control, and
  • If the caseworker has concerns for the customer's safety that have not been resolved by the conversation or signposting, and
  • If the caseworker believes there is a significant threat or risk to the customer, then they should refer the case to the Specialist Case Team.
  • All cases in enforcement, where the most intensive contact between the CMS and customers is needed, have a single person managing the enforcement action on their case, with other action on the case completed by the ‘named caseworker’.

These steps ensure the safety and well-being of customers, addressing any indications of domestic abuse effectively. Eligibility criteria will be reviewed as intake increases and following awareness sessions due to take place over the next few months.

Cases remain with the Specialist Case team until closure. In cases where the victim-survivor advises that there is no longer ongoing domestic abuse, the case can be referred for removal with the guiding principle is that if there is any doubt about a customer’s safety, the case must remain in the Specialist Case team.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an estimate of the proportion of UK pension scheme assets invested in fossil fuel-related holdings; and what plans she has to (a) encourage phased divestment from fossil fuels and (b) promote greater investment in climate solutions through the Pension Schemes Bill.

While the Department does not hold data on the proportion of UK pension scheme assets invested in fossil fuels, our largest pension schemes are mandated to conduct climate scenario analysis and report on their climate-related financial risks, including those related to fossil fuels. This is done under the framework of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published guidance on climate-related reporting, reviewed how schemes are addressing climate risks, and provided feedback to the industry on areas for improvement. TPR reports that the UK pension sector is increasingly playing a role in tackling climate change, with many schemes setting net-zero targets and actively engaging with companies to reduce emissions.

This government is however not complacent and is determined to make the UK a clean energy superpower and meet our net zero goals. The government is currently consulting on the development of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and our Transition Plans manifesto commitment. These measures aim to improve transparency and accountability across the economy, helping investors—including pension schemes—understand how climate and nature-related issues affect their portfolios. To support this, the Department for Work and Pensions is to undertake a review of the effectiveness of the climate reporting requirements this year considering feedback from stakeholders.

The reforms outlined in the Pensions Scheme Bill do not include a general requirement for pension schemes to divest from certain assets or industries. The larger, more consolidated system, for which we will legislate, will however be better equipped to manage systemic risks, as well as invest more in projects and businesses that support the shift towards a more sustainable and lower-carbon future.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
4th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62940 on Occupational Money Purchase Schemes, what steps she is taking to encourage awareness of collective defined contribution schemes by (a) employers and (b) employees.

My officials and I have been engaging extensively with a range of stakeholders to produce the legislative framework needed to accommodate whole-life CDC schemes with multiple unconnected employers, including with numerous employers. Regulations to implement this will be brought forward in the autumn.

We have ensured that the Money and Pensions Service’s MoneyHelper guidance, which is available to any member of the public, provides information on CDC schemes.

The Government has also published ‘Workplace pensions: a roadmap’ which sets out plans to support the growth of CDC provision.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) reduce pensioner poverty and (b) increase pension benefit uptake.

The Government is committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the financial security and dignity they deserve. The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people and together with the private and workplace pensions system provides for security in retirement. That’s why we have made a commitment to the Triple Lock for the entirety of this Parliament which will see the forecast annual spend on people’s State Pensions rise by around £31 billion.

In April this year, the basic and new State Pensions increased by 4.1%, benefitting 12 million pensioners by up to £470 this year. That’s up to £275 more than if pensions had been up rated by inflation. The standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit, which provides a vital safety net for around 1.4m pensioners on the lowest incomes, also increased by 4.1%. Pension Credit can passport pensioners to a range of extra support including help with rent, council tax reduction, fuel bills (via the Warm Home Discount scheme and Cold Weather Payments) and a free TV licence for those over 75. We have been running the biggest Pension Credit campaign since Autumn 2024. Our drive to maximise Pension Credit take-up has seen the Department receive around 285,600 claims from July 2024 to May 2025 with almost 60,000 extra awards on the comparable period the previous year. Further promotional activity is planned from this Autumn through to the end of the financial year with the campaign aimed at eligible pensioners, their friends and their family.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of simplifying the eligibility criteria for the Funeral Expenses Payment on (a) application processing times and (b) the administrative costs of processing applications.

The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers, while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.

We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience, processing times and administrative costs.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the eligibility criteria for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment in line with the Scottish Government’s Funeral Support Payment.

The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers, while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.

We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience, processing times and administrative costs.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to assess the adequacy of the clarity of the application process for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment for bereaved applicants.

The eligibility criteria for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers, while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs.

We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints. This includes the eligibility criteria, application process, customer experience, processing times and administrative costs.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57896 on Funeral Payments, how many applicants (a) responsible for funeral costs and (b) in receipt of a qualifying benefit did not receive a social fund funeral expenses payment because (i) there was an immediate family member or (ii) a close relative of the deceased who was not in receipt of a qualifying benefit, in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
1st Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help tackle child poverty in St Helens North constituency.

In St Helens North, there were 6,670 children in UC households in November 2024. There are 7,634 pupils (28.3%) known to be eligible for free school meals in St Helens. In 2023/24, there were 7,096 (33.8%) children in in relative low income after housing costs. Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is a priority for this Government. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty, including children in the St Helens North constituency.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

As a significant downpayment ahead of Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2 billion including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.

Our commitments at the 2025 Spending Review come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department has provided to help people with arthritis to (a) remain in and (b) return to work.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions, including arthritis, are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore 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. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual including through Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

Building on our WorkWell, Employment Advisers in Talking Therapies and Connect to Work programmes, we will ensure people with a health condition have access to the holistic support they need. In the Government’s Pathways to Work Green Paper, we further committed to developing a support guarantee, so that disabled people and those with a health condition get the work, health and skills support they need to access and thrive in employment.

And we are delivering the biggest investment in support for disabled people and people with health conditions in at least a generation. Our support guarantee announced as part of the Green Paper is backed up by £2.2bn over four years, including £200m in 2026/27 when our benefit changes begin to take effect and, as announced in the statement on Welfare Reform (30 June) by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, an additional £300m over the next 3 years. This brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament.

We will further pilot the integration of employment advisers and work coaches into the neighbourhood health service, so that working age people with long term health conditions have an integrated public service offer. A patient’s employment goals will be part of care plans, to support more joined up service provision The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024, will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. In recognition of the key role employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent review, considering how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie will deliver his final report in the autumn. Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking through the Get Britain Working White Paper to support people with multiple sclerosis (a) into and (b) to stay in work.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions, including multiple sclerosis, are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore 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. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

Building on our WorkWell, Employment Advisers in Talking Therapies and Connect to Work programmes, we will ensure people with a health condition have access to the holistic support they need. In the Government’s Pathways to Work Green Paper, we further committed to developing a support guarantee, so that disabled people and those with a health condition get the work, health and skills support they need to access and thrive in employment.

And we are delivering the biggest investment in support for disabled people and people with health conditions in at least a generation. Our support guarantee announced as part of the Green Paper is backed up by £2.2bn over four years, including £200m in 2026/27 when our benefit changes begin to take effect and, as announced in the statement on Welfare Reform (30 June) by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, an additional £300m over the next 3 years. This brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament.

We will further pilot the integration of employment advisers and work coaches into the neighbourhood health service, so that working age people with long term health conditions have an integrated public service offer. A patient’s employment goals will be part of care plans, to support more joined up service provision. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024, will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. In recognition of the key role employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent review, considering how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie will deliver his final report in the autumn. Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme. Guidance for businesses on supporting employee work-life balance through measures such as flexible working and parental leave can be found on gov.uk and the Help to Grow website.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)