Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much Child Maintenance Service payment was reduced to receiving parents because of “special expenses” relating to travel to visit family in (1) 2020–21, (2) 2021–22, (3) 2022–23, and (4) 2023–24.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Special expense variations allow the Child Maintenance Service to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A parent may apply for a variation at any time during the life of their case. If we accept a variation and it subsequently succeeds, we adjust the maintenance calculation accordingly.
Special expense variations are:
The Child Maintenance Service holds collective data for all special expense variation categories but we do not hold specific data for each individual category. As data is not readily available, to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total annual administrative cost was of implementing the 25p weekly age addition to the state pension for recipients over 80; and whether this cost exceeds the total amount paid out in such additions.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Age Addition is designed to be simple to administer. Payments are made automatically as part of the person's ongoing State Pension entitlement. The administration costs are therefore negligible.
In 2024, 474,239 letters were issued to inform people that they were now entitled to the Age Addition, costing £278,030 in printing and postage. In 24/25, the annual cost of the 25p Age Addition to the State Pension for those eligible 80+ is estimated to be £50.8m. Administrative costs therefore do not exceed the total amount paid.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support vulnerable people into work in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper set out the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation to support our ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate.
The Department for Work and Pensions will shift from being a department for employment support and welfare to being a department for work. This means a new, locally led system of work and health support being available for those who are unemployed, bringing together existing locally delivered employment support as a single coherent offer that is part of areas’ local growth plans.
Our Jobcentre teams work closely with the Local Authority as well as employers, local colleges and providers in Harpenden and Berkhamsted to promote employment opportunities for our customers, including those who are vulnerable. Jobcentres also have a range of specialist roles to work with vulnerable customers. These roles include Disability Employment Advisers, Prison Work Coaches, Supporting Families Employment Advisers, Visiting Officers and more.
There is a range of employability support options such as face to face or group sessions, job fairs and career events to help engage with vulnerable customers in a setting to suit their needs. There is also Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP) and Mentoring Circles where our Jobcentre teams work closely with employers and providers to give customers the skills they need to enter employment. An example is that we are currently running a Care Sector SWAP for full and part time roles which can be completed at home to support lone parents and those with health conditions to participate.
The Jobcentre teams also have a range of contracted support which is available to our vulnerable customers to help them move closer and in to work. This includes Restart, Work and Health Programme, CV help from NCS, Disability Forums and Jobclubs.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claims for Disability Living Allowance were processed within the 50 working day target between April 2024 and April 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The most recent information on processing times for Disability Living Allowance for children was published in the DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (ARA) on 22nd July 2024. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 3.5% of Disability Living Allowance for children claims within the planned 40 working day timescale. The next publication of the ARA will include the percentage of claims processed in the Financial Year 2024 to 2025, which is due for publication in the summer.
Although, DWP has seen improvements in processing times across many service lines during 2023-24, continued high demand has meant that the Department’s ability to process claims consistently in a timely manner across all its services has come under considerable pressure, with performance remaining below standard in some areas including in Child DLA where demand has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes. During 2020-21 DWP deferred reviewing existing cases to focus on processing new claims. Since then, the high volumes of both new claims and the deferred renewal work has resulted in longer processing times. Additional resources have been deployed and cases are being cleared in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Asked by: Luke Myer (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help improve support for people in former industrial communities who have been diagnosed with (a) mesothelioma and (b) other asbestos-related diseases.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides a range of specific support for people with asbestos-related conditions.
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) provides a non-contributory, “no-fault”, weekly benefit for disablement because of an accident at work, or because of one of over 70 prescribed diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs. DWP also provides one-off lump-sum compensation payments under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 (the ‘1979 Act scheme’) to individuals who suffer from one of the dust-related diseases covered by the scheme, subject to the wider eligibility criteria being satisfied. This scheme is designed to cover people who are unable to claim damages from any relevant employers because they have gone out of business.
Asbestos-related diseases covered by IIDB and the 1979 Act scheme include pneumoconiosis (including asbestosis), diffuse mesothelioma, unilateral or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening and asbestos-related primary carcinoma of the lung.
Eligible individuals with diffuse mesothelioma who are not entitled under the 1979 Act scheme, for example those whose exposure was not work-related, may instead be entitled to a one-off lump-sum compensation payment under Part 4 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 (“the 2008 Act Scheme”).
The value of weekly IIDB awards were uprated by 1.7 per cent from April this year. Awards under the 1979 and 2008 Act Schemes were also uprated by 1.7 per cent and new rates apply to those who first become entitled to a payment on or after 1 April 2025. The Department recognises the importance of providing support to customers with asbestos-related conditions and we continue to work with stakeholders to identify improvements where possible.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 46071 on Personal Independence Payments: Veterans, whether her Department has invited specific organisations to participate in its Green Paper consultation; and where her Department has advertised that consultation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As outlined in my answer to Question 46071, we strongly welcome the thoughts of veterans and representative organisations.
The Pathways to Work consultation invites people to share their views on our proposals, and we hope that a wide range of voices will respond before it closes on the 30 June 2025. Our schedule of virtual and in-person public consultation events across the country will further facilitate input and help us to hear from disabled people and stakeholder organisations directly. Full details of how to respond to the consultation and join the events can be found via this link: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Coffey (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people and how many full-time equivalent posts work in the Child Maintenance Service (1) as civil servants, and (2) as contractors.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 30th March 2025, the number of employees working for the Child Maintenance Service is 5,055. This equates to the full-time equivalent (FTE) of 4449.65
The breakdown for (1) civil servants, and (2) contractors are as follow:
| Number of Employees | FTE |
DWP Civil Servants (GB) | 4,078 | 3502.73 |
DfCNI Civil Servants (NI) | 651 | 620.92 |
Contractors (Recruitment Agency NI) | 326 | 326 |
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of her proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people with (a) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and (b) other fluctuating illnesses.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In January 2025, there were around 25,000 working age claimants in England and Wales that have their main disability recorded as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, excluding those treated under Special Rules for End of Life. Around 12,000 received less than 4 points across all daily living descriptors. The primary health conditions recorded on the PIP computer system are not classified according to whether they are fluctuating or not, therefore information can only be given for specified conditions.
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment looks at how a long-term health condition or disability impacts on daily life across 12 activities, taking into account fluctuations over a 12-month period. The activities are grouped into two components, daily living and mobility, and within each activity a descriptor must be chosen to score an individual depending on whether an individual can complete the activity, the manner in which they do it, and whether they can complete each activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period.
The assessment is designed to reflect the impact of variations in an individual's needs for all health conditions, not only those which more typically fluctuate. Health conditions may be physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive, or any combination of these, and the assessment is designed to take a comprehensive approach to disability, reflecting the needs arising from the full range of impairments.
Health professionals are expected to be mindful of the fact that many conditions fluctuate, producing symptoms that vary in intensity from mild to severe, and are instructed not to base their opinion solely on the situation as observed at the assessment. Health Professionals also have access to Condition Insight Reports (CIRs)/EBM Protocols which are developed specifically to enable them to gain further insight into clinical and functional information, relating to specific conditions.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people that will not fall into long term economic inactivity due to funding announced in the Spring Statement 2025.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will be developing more detailed assessments of the potential impacts of the employment measures proposed in the Green Paper as these are developed in detail. The Office for Budget Responsibility has also stated that it intends to assess the labour supply impacts of the Green Paper measures in their Autumn forecast.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Office for National Statistics' data entitled The night-time economy, UK: 2022, published on 24 January 2023, what recent steps her Department has taken to support the health and safety of the 76,300 workers in Lambeth identified as working at night.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. This applies to all employers in Great Britain.
Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, Health and Safety Executive has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256]). Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.
The Government recognises that night working can increase stress levels and can have an impact on both physical and mental health. In Great Britain, working hours, including working at night, are governed by the Working Time Regulations (WTR). These provide protections to night time workers including by establishing the maximum working hours and minimum rest breaks that workers are entitled to.
Before someone starts working at night, they must be offered a free health assessment to see if they are fit to work nights before they become a night worker and on a regular basis after that. The frequency of the health assessment should be guided by an assessment of the specific risks to each individual worker.
A record of the health assessments and the dates when assessments were offered must be kept by the employer. If a worker suffers from health problems that are caused or made worse by night work, employers must offer suitable other work where possible.