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 improve the Child Maintenance Service's complaints procedure.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP introduced a single tier complaint model in 2020-2021 to ensure the process of making a complaint in DWP was simple and consistent for our customers. The single tier model put complaints handling back into specialist complaints teams, enabling the Department to build capability and improve its complaints handling.

We have also launched a new Complaints Quality Standards Framework, implementing quality assurance measures that align with the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO’s) complaints standards to embed consistency into our complaints handling.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the accuracy of the Child Maintenance Service system for assessing payments for (a) paying and (b) receiving parents.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

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.

For self-employed paying parents, the gross income used in a maintenance calculation is provided by HMRC in the first instance. HMRC will provide details of the gross taxable profit of the paying parent's business, for the most recent complete tax year.

The scheme relies on HMRC to provide accurate income information that aligns with tax legislation in order to make a child maintenance calculation, according to generally applicable rules.

In the event a receiving parent believes a paying parent’s earnings are not captured in the standard calculation using HMRC gross income data, they can apply for a variation, under which certain other categories of income can be considered.

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 Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is given. If any discrepancies are found, then they can implement a correct maintenance liability that is supported by CMS legislation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service adheres to its debt steer principles.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.

When a paying parent does not make maintenance payments on time or in full, the CMS will initially negotiate a payment that is feasible for the parent to pay, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case.

The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible, taking into account all relevant circumstances i.e. full arrears payment by one lump sum, partial lump sum payment and a schedule of on-going payments to recover any remaining arrears within a maximum of two years, and a schedule of on-going payments to recover the full arrears within two years.

After investigating the paying parent’s circumstances and financial situation, discretion can be applied to negotiate an arrangement that extends beyond a two-year period, providing it is a reliable and consistent plan for the recovery of arrears.

If this is unsuccessful and the paying parent is employed, the CMS can request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary by issuing what we call a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO). A DEO instructs an employer to make deductions from the paying parent’s earnings and pay the amounts to the CMS who will pass this onto the receiving parent. The CMS also has powers to deduct maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts including joint and business accounts.

If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures, including order for sale, where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removal of driving licences, disqualification of passports, and committal to prison.

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 ensure that paying parents do not conceal (a) earnings and (b) investments to evade child maintenance payments.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information about the paying parent's gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the most recent available full tax year. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately. Use of historic income ensures a stable calculation, which we know from customer feedback is valued as it enables parents to rely on maintenance for financial planning purposes.

In the event a receiving parent believes a paying parent’s earnings are not captured in the standard calculation using HMRC gross income data, they can apply for a variation, under which certain other categories of income can be considered.

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 Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is given. If any discrepancies are found, then they can implement a correct maintenance liability that is supported by CMS legislation.

The Department is currently reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This has included updating the underlying research and considering how we ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department made local-level equality impact assessments on the changes in Winter Fuel Payment eligibility.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

In line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, an Equality Analysis was produced and considered as part of the ministerial decision-making process. This was published on 13 September and is available online: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of mandating 60 per cent office-working by departmental staff by September 2025 on productivity within her Department.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Civil Service Heads of Departments across government have agreed that the Civil Service is best able to deliver for the people it serves by taking a consistent approach to in office working. Heads of Departments agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.

The approach allows teams and departments to maximise the benefits of hybrid working and to get the best from being together. This also reflects the view of Civil Service leaders that there remain clear benefits to spending time working together face-to-face as the government delivers on the Missions commitments. The Civil Service approach is comparable to other large private and public sector employers.

Whilst this decision was not directly linked to productivity, the Department closely monitors performance and will continue to do so following implementation of the change. In DWP, around 35% of colleagues spend 100% of their time working in the office, delivering face-to-face services to customers. Other colleagues are able to work in a hybrid way, spending part of their time in the office and part of their time working from home.

Senior Civil Service colleagues are expected to work from the office (which includes face to face time with colleagues or partners on official business elsewhere) for more than 60% of their contracted hours, and the Department has now announced that colleagues at all other grades will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their contracted hours in the office from 1 September 2025.

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 increase (a) transparency and (b) control for consumers in the defined contribution pension transfer process, in relation to the inability of Independent Financial Advisers or pension holders to execute transfers based on a specified date or value.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department is working with regulatory bodies, the pensions industry and other stakeholders to identify and explore potential changes to pension transfer processes that will enable greater efficiency, whilst providing savers with effective consumer protection.

In December 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a discussion paper (DP24/3). The document sought views on how to ensure that consumers who ask to transfer or consolidate, do so on a well-informed basis. It also explores how pension providers can action these requests both diligently and efficiently.

The FCA is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions as it analyses the feedback received and determines next steps.

Additionally, DWP officials have conducted work with other government departments, pensions institutions, consumer organisations and the pensions industry to consider if the practical application of the Conditions for Pension Transfer regulations could be improved, whilst retaining appropriate levels of protection for pension scheme members.

We will look to share the outcome of these areas of work as soon as it is practical to do so.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) improve work coach support and (b) provide tailored employment support for jobseekers.

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

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work. In England, these reforms will include bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.

Our new service will move away from the current one size fits all approach, recognising people are individuals with different support needs and will provide better tailored support. Providing high-quality personalised support that helps people get into work, support training, and get on at work is a central tenet to the new service.

We will provide an update on our plans to Get Britain Working and the steps we are taking in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she had made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to Personal Independent Payments on people with mental disorders in Yeovil Constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors, which have been estimated for England and Wales, including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These are likely to differ across the country and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at parliamentary constituency level.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether existing Personal Independence Payment claimants of pension age who request a change of circumstances review from November 2026 will be required to score at least four points in one daily living activity in order to (a) maintain and (b) increase the daily living element of the benefit.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we will introduce a new eligibility requirement to ensure that only those who score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity will be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. This requirement will need to be met in addition to the existing PIP eligibility criteria.

Our intention is that the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

In keeping with existing policy, people of state pension age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by these changes.

All claimants are required to notify the Department of any change to their circumstance, be that an improvement or deterioration in their needs. Upon notification of a change, a Case Manager will consider what further action might be required to ensure the claimant is receiving the correct level of support.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether existing Personal Independence Payment claimants of pension age with a planned award review from November 2026 will be required to score at least four points in one daily living activity in order to maintain their award.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we will introduce a new eligibility requirement to ensure that only those who score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity will be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. This requirement will need to be met in addition to the existing PIP eligibility criteria.

Our intention is that the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

In keeping with existing policy, people of state pension age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by these changes.

All claimants are required to notify the Department of any change to their circumstance, be that an improvement or deterioration in their needs. Upon notification of a change, a Case Manager will consider what further action might be required to ensure the claimant is receiving the correct level of support.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish an impact assessment on the potential impact of the proposed changes to disability benefits on voluntary organisations before the legislation is introduced.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children live in households claiming (a) income-based employment and support allowance and (b) new style employment and support allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held.

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 proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people with severe disabilities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are taking action to focus PIP more on those with the greatest needs, by introducing a new eligibility requirement. The change to the PIP eligibility criteria will mean that people with a higher level of functional need – for example, people who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them – still receive PIP.

We are also taking action to get the basics right and improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits as set out in the Green Paper. This includes exploring ways to improve PIP assessments through digitalising transfer of medical information, using evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for people with very severe health conditions to undergo functional assessments and improving communication with people receiving awards who are expected to remain on disability benefits for life.

For those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Serco's performance against key performance indicators in the Restart Scheme contract.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Serco’s performance against the contracted Key Performance Indicators has been varied. As part of our established performance management intervention regime, the department has therefore implemented intensified support and heightened monitoring for the two Contract Package Areas in which Serco delivers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of households that claim Universal Credit and are affected by the two-child limit (a) were affected from the start of their claim and (b) were previously affected under a claim for Tax Credits.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Of the 380,000 Universal Credit (UC) households affected by the policy in April 2024, 236,000 (61%) were affected in their first assessment period on UC and the rest became affected in a subsequent assessment period. Using slightly different data to allow linking to Child Tax Credit (CTC) data, 106,000 (28%) of households affected on UC in April 2024 had a previous CTC claim at some point and 99,000 (27%) were affected by the two-child policy during their CTC claim.

Figures and percentages provided may not sum to the total due to rounding and use of different data sets.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure people with physical disabilities are able to access job opportunities in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

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

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with physical disabilities, and have a range of support available so individuals can stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. These include Additional Work Coach Support which provides disabled people and people with health conditions with increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work and access wider support including our employment programmes earlier. Support is now available in all Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales, informed by trialling in Jobcentres.

Employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. The Disability Confident Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. The Minister for Social Security and Disability has been discussing ideas for making the Disability Confident scheme criteria more robust with stakeholders and will be bringing forward proposals for this in due course.

To build on this, the government has commissioned “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025.

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 contribution of grassroots sports clubs to providing (a) training, (b) experience and (c) other employment related skills as part of the Youth Guarantee Scheme.

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

Sports, arts and culture play a vital role in our society and economy. They create hundreds of thousands of jobs, drive economic growth, and bring joy to millions. That is why we formed our initial Youth Guarantee partnerships with the Premier League, Channel 4, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Across the country, many national and local organisations already do inspiring work with disadvantaged young people – helping them to build skills, grow in confidence, and access meaningful experiences, qualifications, and employment. DWP already works with organisations such as the English Football League, Rugby Football League, CoachCore and SportsWorks.

We are now exploring opportunities to expand initial Youth Guarantee partnerships by bringing additional organisations from the sports, arts, and culture sectors into national partnerships. For example, in the North West there is a network of grassroots sports organisations that we refer young people to for holistic support through the platform of sport.

In the North West they have found that referring to organisations such as Street League gives our young people access to mentoring, career advice, daily sport and fitness activities, and the opportunity to acquire recognised sports qualifications to pursue careers in the industry.

We continue to build relationships with grassroots and league clubs across the country to expand our network of options. Following insight with young people, we continue to work with organisations to identify gaps in their existing offers and how we can tailor programmes to better suit their needs.

These partnerships will connect young people across the country and offer a wide range of development opportunities – such as apprenticeships, work experience, training courses, and employability programmes. By engaging young people in a shared effort to enter and progress in the workforce, we aim to set them on a path to long-term success.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department’s planned reforms to Personal Independence Payments on the mental health of people with disabilities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are taking action to address anxiety about the sustainability of the funding of PIP, focusing the benefit more on those with the greatest needs, by introducing a new eligibility requirement. The change to the PIP eligibility criteria will mean that people with a higher level of functional need – for example, people who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them – still receive PIP.

We are also taking action to get the basics right and improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits as set out in the Green Paper. This includes exploring ways to improve PIP assessments through digitalising transfer of medical information, using evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for people with very severe health conditions to undergo functional assessments and improving communication with people receiving awards who are expected to remain on disability benefits for life.

For those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing compensation relating to pre-1997 pensionable service for Pension Protection Fund members to be indexed.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We are committed to consider and reflect on what we have heard on the issue of Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme rules on the indexation of pre-1997 pension accruals.

Any change in this area has significant implications on public finances for both the taxpayer funded Financial Assistance Scheme and for the Pension Protection Fund which is levy-funded. These are complex matters requiring a balanced approach for those receiving compensation, levy payers and taxpayers. This is an important issue and one where we will continue to work with the Pension Protection Fund.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP has a statutory duty to provide language services to its customers in line with the Equality Act. The aim of the service is to provide spoken and written translation services for staff and customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or do not speak English as a first language in order to access DWP services. Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery. DWP has no plans to move away from this statutory duty.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the letter of 9 April 2025 from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North, reference ZA32718, case CMPT12025/33740.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We aim to investigate issues raised by complainants, and MPs on their behalf, within 15 working days, but where the case is complex, we may need to take longer.

We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 9th April 2025 and will provide a reply shortly.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Health and Safety Executive on the collection of data on (a) fatalities and (b) serious injuries caused by cattle.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department of Work and Pensions has had no recent discussions with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) about the collection of data on fatalities and serious injuries caused by cattle.

Data is collected and published by the HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) that require certain work-related injuries and fatalities, including those caused by cattle to members of the public, to be reported.

Guidance on reporting requirements is published by HSE on their website at https://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/.

Statistical data from these reports is published by HSE and is freely available to view on their website at https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/tables/index.htm.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing the number of PIP claimants on the cost of reasonable adjustments required for disabled employees in the public sector.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Whether or not an employer makes a reasonable adjustment for an employee, and how much that costs, is independent of the benefit status of an employee, so no assessment has been made.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of polling data on 11 April by Christians Against Poverty, The inequality of poverty, what steps they are taking to address the higher incidence of deficit household budgets among adults of ethnic minorities compared to white adults.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government is committed to tackling poverty and supporting people into good work will be the foundation of our approach. We are committed to creating a more equal society and supporting economic growth. Talent is widely distributed, and opportunity is not. We are tackling this through our Growth and Opportunity Missions and our £240 million Get Britan Working package to improve support for people who are economically inactive, unemployed or want to develop their careers. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out details of reforms to employment support to create an inclusive labour market in which everybody, regardless of their background, can participate and progress in work. Further measures addressing inequality are included within the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, and the Employment Rights Bill.

Alongside this, the Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Tackling poverty means helping those that need help most and these are often those with protected characteristics. In developing individual policies that contribute to the Strategy, departments do have regard to equalities impacts.

Our plan to Make Work Pay, including increases to the National Living Wage benefiting over three million workers, will help more people stay in work, make work more secure and family-friendly, and put more money in working people's pockets. Women, younger and older workers, workers with a disability, and workers from ethnic minority backgrounds are expected to benefit the most from the April 2025 increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025.

The Fair Repayment Rate will mean more than a million households retain more of their award to meet essential living costs. We will also improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase, announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of people.

To further support struggling households, we have provided funding of £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of polling data on 11 April by Christians Against Poverty, Child poverty in the UK, what action they are taking to support parents and carers experiencing financial distress.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government is committed to tackling poverty and supporting people into good work will be the foundation of our approach. We are committed to creating a more equal society and supporting economic growth. Talent is widely distributed, and opportunity is not. We are tackling this through our Growth and Opportunity Missions and our £240 million Get Britan Working package to improve support for people who are economically inactive, unemployed or want to develop their careers. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out details of reforms to employment support to create an inclusive labour market in which everybody, regardless of their background, can participate and progress in work. Further measures addressing inequality are included within the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, and the Employment Rights Bill.

Alongside this, the Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Tackling poverty means helping those that need help most and these are often those with protected characteristics. In developing individual policies that contribute to the Strategy, departments do have regard to equalities impacts.

Our plan to Make Work Pay, including increases to the National Living Wage benefiting over three million workers, will help more people stay in work, make work more secure and family-friendly, and put more money in working people's pockets. Women, younger and older workers, workers with a disability, and workers from ethnic minority backgrounds are expected to benefit the most from the April 2025 increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025.

The Fair Repayment Rate will mean more than a million households retain more of their award to meet essential living costs. We will also improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase, announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of people.

To further support struggling households, we have provided funding of £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of polling data on 11 April by Christians Against Poverty, Employment and financial difficulty, what steps they are taking to address the impact of rising costs of essentials on working households.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government is committed to tackling poverty and supporting people into good work will be the foundation of our approach. We are committed to creating a more equal society and supporting economic growth. Talent is widely distributed, and opportunity is not. We are tackling this through our Growth and Opportunity Missions and our £240 million Get Britan Working package to improve support for people who are economically inactive, unemployed or want to develop their careers. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out details of reforms to employment support to create an inclusive labour market in which everybody, regardless of their background, can participate and progress in work. Further measures addressing inequality are included within the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, and the Employment Rights Bill.

Alongside this, the Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Tackling poverty means helping those that need help most and these are often those with protected characteristics. In developing individual policies that contribute to the Strategy, departments do have regard to equalities impacts.

Our plan to Make Work Pay, including increases to the National Living Wage benefiting over three million workers, will help more people stay in work, make work more secure and family-friendly, and put more money in working people's pockets. Women, younger and older workers, workers with a disability, and workers from ethnic minority backgrounds are expected to benefit the most from the April 2025 increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025.

The Fair Repayment Rate will mean more than a million households retain more of their award to meet essential living costs. We will also improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase, announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of people.

To further support struggling households, we have provided funding of £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) number of (i) Carer’s Allowance and (ii) carer element recipients who will lose their eligibility in Wales by the 2029-30 financial year and (b) the cost to the public purse of these changes; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of eligibility changes on carers in poverty.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility of the impact of the proposed changes on carers was only made for England and Wales as a whole.

The impacts can be found in table A4 here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment standard daily living component were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities in the most recent period for which data is available.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment with the Standard Daily Living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities is readily available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.20.

(https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper).

Table 2.20 shows that, in January 2025, 87% of working aged claimants in England and Wales who were in receipt of the standard daily living component scored less than four points in all daily living activities and 13% of those claiming the enhanced rate.

After taking account of behavioural changes, OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

Notes:

• There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
• PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
• We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
• We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support young people in Slough into (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training.

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

As announced in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper, we are launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Youth Guarantee will build upon and enhance existing entitlements and provisions with the aim of tackling the rising number of young people who are not participating in education, employment or training.

DWP provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

At Slough Jobcentre, young people receive tailored support from dedicated youth work coaches. Those facing multiple barriers to employment are assisted by a Youth Employability Coach. Individuals unemployed for over six months attend bi-weekly job clubs to enhance their job search and application skills.

Opportunities for work experience are available through the Movement to Work programme. Slough Jobcentre also hosted youth-focused job fairs, job-matching events, and mentoring programmes designed to motivate and engage young people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the (a) potential implications for her policies of trends in and (b) adequacy of her Department's policies for tackling regional differences in worklessness.

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 and reduce regional disparities. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will shift from being a department for employment support and welfare to being a department for work. This means introducing reforms to achieve a new, locally led system of work and health support being available for those who are unemployed and economically inactive, no matter where they live.

To support this, we have asked every area in England to develop a local Get Britain Working plan. These plans will help to join up new support and enable local areas to develop a system wide approach to tackling their needs in partnership with key local stakeholders including Integrated Care Boards and Jobcentre Plus.

At a national level our policies will be assessed against our Get Britain Working outcomes which includes local variation in employment rates. DWP will provide an annual update outlining recent trends in these metrics, with the first update coming later this year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the number of job opportunities in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

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

As announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice.

In Fylde and Lancashire our Jobcentre teams are work closely with Blackpool Borough Council and Fylde Borough Council as well as a range of employers and providers to create numerous job opportunities. Our Employer and Partnership Team support events within the community, recently this has included the Northwest Apprenticeship & Careers Expo 2025 and the Fylde Coast 'Work this Way' Jobs Fair. The team also encourage the take up in initiatives such as Sector Based Work Academies, Mentoring Circles, Apprenticeships and Work Experience as these help our customers meet employers and partners and explore all the opportunities available to them.

We will provide an update on our plans to Get Britain Working and the steps we are taking in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause in the workplace.

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

On 18th October 2024 the Secretary of State for DWP appointed Mariella Frostrup as the new Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause and wider women’s health issues. The Menopause Employment Ambassador launched her Menopause Advisory Group on 24^th April who will provide her with expert knowledge from a wide range of sectors on how businesses can better support women experiencing menopause in the workplace by creating a more supportive environment that helps women to stay in work and progress.

The government has also proposed a wide-ranging set of generational reforms to boost protections for workers, including women experiencing menopause symptoms at work. The policy proposals in the Employment Rights Bill would require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans on how they will support employees through the menopause. Alongside this the government has also committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause in the workplace.

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

On 18th October 2024 the Secretary of State for DWP appointed Mariella Frostrup as the new Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause and wider women’s health issues. The Menopause Employment Ambassador launched her Menopause Advisory Group on 24^th April who will provide her with expert knowledge from a wide range of sectors on how businesses can better support women experiencing menopause in the workplace by creating a more supportive environment that helps women to stay in work and progress.

The government has also proposed a wide-ranging set of generational reforms to boost protections for workers, including women experiencing menopause symptoms at work. The policy proposals in the Employment Rights Bill would require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans on how they will support employees through the menopause. Alongside this the government has also committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that employers support women managing menopause in the workplace.

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

On 18th October 2024 the Secretary of State for DWP appointed Mariella Frostrup as the new Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause and wider women’s health issues. The Menopause Employment Ambassador launched her Menopause Advisory Group on 24^th April who will provide her with expert knowledge from a wide range of sectors on how businesses can better support women experiencing menopause in the workplace by creating a more supportive environment that helps women to stay in work and progress.

The government has also proposed a wide-ranging set of generational reforms to boost protections for workers, including women experiencing menopause symptoms at work. The policy proposals in the Employment Rights Bill would require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans on how they will support employees through the menopause. Alongside this the government has also committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason accessible versions of the Pathways to Work Green Paper were not published at the same time as the original version; and if she will take steps to ensure that accessible versions of documents are published simultaneously in the future.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the eligibility criteria for Universal Credit on (a) young adults under 25 and (b) young adults under 25 who are (i) living independently and (ii) without family support in Wiltshire.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There are currently no plans to make such an assessment.

To be eligible for Universal Credit a person is usually required to be at least 18 years old but there are circumstances where those aged 16 and 17 may be eligible to claim Universal Credit in their own right, including if they have no parent or cannot live with their parent(s). Young people under 25 who live independently may also be able to get help with their housing costs.

DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

All jobcentres deliver the Youth Offer and have Youth Employability Coaches in post to support young people aged 18-24 years old. Youth Hubs are currently being explored and are in the planning phase by both Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the eligibility for PIP on the number of people who qualify for (a) a Blue Badge, (b) Housing Benefit and (c) Carer’s Allowance in Wiltshire.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Changes to the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not have an impact on Blue Badge holders as no changes are being made to the mobility component of PIP.

The assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility of the impact of the proposed changes on carers was made for England and Wales as a whole.

The impacts can be found in table A4 here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

Notes:

• There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
• PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
• We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
• We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that financial reparations to LGBT veterans are not considered in assessments for benefit entitlement.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Financial recognition payments made to LGBT veterans as part of the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme are not taken into account in the assessment of DWP means-tested benefits. The Department has legislated to disregard these payments and issued guidance to our staff to advise them that these payments should be disregarded in calculating benefit entitlement.

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 lessons from (a) the JobsPlus and (b) other pilot programmes in informing the development of Local Get Britain Working plans.

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

The Jobs Plus pilot which began in summer 2024 is an exciting test of how housing and community-led employment support can help engage social housing communities. The first report, due this summer, will help us understand how Jobs Plus or similar models might help us achieve our objectives to Get Britain Working. Evaluation will be shared with a range of commissioners and stakeholders, including local authorities.

Local Get Britain Working plans will support areas in identifying and addressing labour market challenges, tackling inactivity, and increasing employment rates. They are a key element in tackling challenges in labour market participation across England and in achieving the long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate.

Local government have been asked to lead a partnership of local labour market stakeholders and seek insights from a broader range of stakeholders. The guidance we published earlier this year included housing associations in the list of key partners to consider.

Drawing on the range of experiences and expertise of partners within the area, the partnership will ensure a comprehensive analysis of key labour market issues and priorities as well as setting short- and longer-term objectives specific to the needs of the labour market locally.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to support the national rollout of (a) JobsPlus and (b) other community-led employment programmes following the conclusion of the pilot phase.

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

The Jobs Plus pilot which began in summer 2024 is an exciting test of how housing and community-led employment support can help engage social housing communities. The first report, due this summer, will help us understand how Jobs Plus or similar models might help us achieve our objectives to Get Britain Working. Evaluation will be shared with a range of commissioners and stakeholders, including local authorities.

Local Get Britain Working plans will support areas in identifying and addressing labour market challenges, tackling inactivity, and increasing employment rates. They are a key element in tackling challenges in labour market participation across England and in achieving the long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate.

Local government have been asked to lead a partnership of local labour market stakeholders and seek insights from a broader range of stakeholders. The guidance we published earlier this year included housing associations in the list of key partners to consider.

Drawing on the range of experiences and expertise of partners within the area, the partnership will ensure a comprehensive analysis of key labour market issues and priorities as well as setting short- and longer-term objectives specific to the needs of the labour market locally.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that Local Get Britain Working plans (a) are designed in partnership with community-led housing organisations and (b) reflect local labour market needs.

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

The Jobs Plus pilot which began in summer 2024 is an exciting test of how housing and community-led employment support can help engage social housing communities. The first report, due this summer, will help us understand how Jobs Plus or similar models might help us achieve our objectives to Get Britain Working. Evaluation will be shared with a range of commissioners and stakeholders, including local authorities.

Local Get Britain Working plans will support areas in identifying and addressing labour market challenges, tackling inactivity, and increasing employment rates. They are a key element in tackling challenges in labour market participation across England and in achieving the long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate.

Local government have been asked to lead a partnership of local labour market stakeholders and seek insights from a broader range of stakeholders. The guidance we published earlier this year included housing associations in the list of key partners to consider.

Drawing on the range of experiences and expertise of partners within the area, the partnership will ensure a comprehensive analysis of key labour market issues and priorities as well as setting short- and longer-term objectives specific to the needs of the labour market locally.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people with (a) musculoskeletal disorders and (b) learning disabilities who will be affected by changes to PIP eligibility in Wiltshire.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Estimates of the volumes of PIP claimants affected by the reform in the future are forecast for England and Wales only and are not broken down by Local Authority or any other geographic area, nor by specific primary health condition.

After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment daily living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities, by local authority area, is available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.25, while data by primary health condition is in table 2.22.

Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK

Notes:

• There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
• PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
• We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
• We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

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 the proposed changes to PIP on people living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.

Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 49218 on Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations, whether her Department plans to (a) make an assessment of the potential merits of exploring more tailored mechanisms to reduce the frequency of assessments for people with (i) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and (ii) other clearly documented, severe and long-term health conditions where improvement is unlikely and (b) involve (A) people with lived experience and (B) relevant charities in the (1) development and (2) implementation of such mechanisms.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As stated in our response to Question 49218, we are not planning to exempt specific conditions, but we are planning to reduce reassessments for those with the most severe conditions.

We aim to do this in Universal Credit through guaranteeing that for both new and existing claims, those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed in the future. In PIP, we are exploring ways we could use evidence from other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe conditions to undergo a full functional assessment.

In the Green Paper, we also promised to review the PIP assessment to make sure that it is fit for the future. I shall lead the review in close consultation with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, and other experts. To get this right, I am bringing together stakeholders to agree the scope and timing of the review. I will then publish Terms of Reference for the review in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of operational changes to Access to Work on disabled people who (a) are self-employed and (b) work in small businesses.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of our Plan for Change, and as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published in March, we are consulting on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the programme to help more disabled people into work and support employers, ensuring value for money for taxpayers. We will review all aspects of the Scheme following the conclusion of the consultation, and carefully assess the impact of any proposed changes.

We encourage people to have their views and voices heard on how they think the programme and the welfare system could be improved.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work Green Paper on (a) local government and (b) the voluntary sector.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has yet been made. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here: ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Notes:

• There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
• PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
• We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
• We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
• After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 370,000 PIP claimants, equating to 1 in 10 of the PIP caseload in November 2026 at the point of implementation of the four point requirement, will have lost their PIP entitlement by 2029/30.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the treatment of Maternity Allowance as unearned income when calculating means-tested benefits.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby’s health and wellbeing.

Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid by the State, for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, and is classed as unearned income for Universal Credit purposes. As such, in determining the entitlement to Universal Credit, Maternity Allowance is deducted pound for pound from the total value of the award.

Where an individual claims Universal Credit, their award is adjusted to take account of other financial support that the customer is already receiving – including earnings, other income and benefits. This principle applies to other benefits: for example, the same approach is applied to new style Jobseeker’s Allowance and new style Employment and Support Allowance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of her Department's proposals to freeze the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element of Universal Credit until 2029-30 on disabled people.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Some information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published in the evidence pack, impacts analysis and equalities analysis at:

[https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper]

The proposals have been carefully designed to protect the finances of severely disabled people. However, there will be no immediate changes. The rebalancing of Universal Credit (UC) is not coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

A further programme of analysis to support development of these proposals will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with (a) young people with severe mental illness and (b) organisations representing them on the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the eligibility criteria for Personal Independent Payments.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.

In the Green Paper, we are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by this change and what this support could look like. We are keen to hear views from a wide group of people, in particular people with disabilities and health conditions and organisations that represent them.

We also announced plans to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment led by myself, and we will bring together a range of people with disabilities and health conditions, organisations that represent them, and other experts to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

This government strongly values the input of disabled people and representative organisations. Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we engaged with a number of disability organisations and other stakeholders, and we will continue to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives. Since last July, I have had a number of meetings involving Mind, Rethink Mental Health and other organisations concerned about the mental health of young people.

There are nearly one million young people (16-24) not in Education Employment and Training, and the number is rising. Our future depends on young people being able to achieve their full potential. The period when young people transition from full-time education to building their careers is critical in shaping their professional future. We know that disengaging from employment and learning during early adulthood can have a lasting and detrimental impact on career prospects and be detrimental to a young person’s health and well-being.

The Government is launching the Youth Guarantee to ensure that all young people aged 18-21 in England can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. It will help them explore a range of pathways into employment, education and training by connecting a range of local services and support, with local accountability to identify and support young people.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who (a) are currently eligible for PIP and (b) will not be eligible for PIP following her Department's proposed changes to the assessment criteria for that benefit in Wiltshire.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Estimates of the volumes of PIP claimants affected by the reform in the future are forecast for England and Wales only and therefore have not been broken down by Local Authority or any other geographic area.

After taking account of behavioural changes, OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment daily living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities, by local authority area, is available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.25.

Notes:

• There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
• PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
• We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
• We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the number of people in poverty in each of the next five years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

An assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the number of people in poverty in each of the next five years is not yet available.

The government's impact assessment regarding the Pathways to Work Green Paper is available here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish its assessment of the labour market impacts of the Green Paper proposals at the time of the Autumn Budget.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the Child Maintenance Service helpline's performance in responding to phone calls against its service level standards.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Serco's performance against key performance indicators in their Functional Assessment Services contract.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Serco secured the Functional Assessment Services (FAS) contract for Lot 3 (south-west England) through a competitive and transparent procurement under the Public Contract Regulations in line with Government policies. Serco strives to provide an excellent service to claimants and are held to account for their performance.

The contract with Serco is robustly managed to obtain optimal performance, with a dedicated performance management team monitoring performance on an ongoing basis. DWP does not use key performance indicators in the FAS contract; instead, we monitor performance through the achievement of Target Performance Levels (TPLs) and Volume Clearance Targets (VCTs). As the contract is still relatively new, we do not yet have sufficient data to share a full assessment of Serco's performance. However, plans are being developed for a routine statistics publication.

We are working hard to ensure all services are delivered to a high standard for customers and we have sufficient controls in place to quickly identify any future deterioration.

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 proposed changes to the welfare system on people with disabilities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Some information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published in the evidence pack, impacts analysis and equalities analysis at:

[https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper]

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The proposals have been carefully designed to protect the finances of severely disabled people.

• There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
• PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be assessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional on individual needs and circumstances.
• We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
• We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether proposed changes to PIP will include people of pensionable age.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, only if they score fewer than 4 points in one category in their reassessment by a trained assessor or healthcare professional.

In keeping with existing policy, people over state pension age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by these changes.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help end discrimination against disabled people.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 5 February to PQ 27692.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the (a) secondary and (b) related conditions of people claiming PIP.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information is collected on secondary and related conditions during a claimant’s assessment. However, information on secondary and related conditions is not held centrally for analysis and it would therefore incur disproportionate cost to the department to undertake analysis on it, as it would require the manual investigation of individual claimant records.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her department has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people with Parkinson's disease.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.

There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of statutory maternity pay.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Government spends approximately £3 billion a year on parental payments.

When considering calls to increase the level of parental benefits, the Government must balance a range of factors including the needs of parents, the impact on employers, and affordability for taxpayers. This is particularly true in today’s challenging economic climate. As such, any changes would need to be carefully considered, taking into account views from businesses and other stakeholders.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and State Pensions, including Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance. She announced her decision from the latest review of benefits in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 30 October. From April 2025, the rate increased by September 2024's CPI figure of 1.7%, from £184.03 to £187.18 per week.

Depending on individual circumstances, additional financial support, for example, Universal Credit, Child Benefit and the Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) may also be available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who receive (a) enhanced daily living Personal Independence Payment awards and (b) standard daily living Personal Independence Payment awards did not score four or more points on any individual activity descriptor in 2024-25.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the volume of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who received a standard Daily Living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities can be found in Table 1 below.

The number of people currently on PIP and did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious.

No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time.

After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will lose their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

We have launched a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30.

Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants who are in receipt of the standard daily living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities

Source(s): PIP administrative data

Notes:

• Figures are for England and Wales only.
• Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1000.
• Data includes working aged claimants only.
• Data includes normal rules claimants only, and excludes special rules for end of life (SREL) claimants as they typically receive maximum or very high scores.
• Claimants with missing point scores have been excluded from the data.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary housing has not increased since 2011.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere.

We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. MHCLG are increasing funding for homelessness services this year by an extra £233 million compared to last year (2024/25).

We continue to keep the rates used for Housing Benefit subsidy under review and are working closely with MHCLG and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to explore the impacts of subsidy rates on local authorities.

Any future decisions on subsidy rates will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the current challenging financial environment at the appropriate fiscal event.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity.

A new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026. The Department for Work and Pensions has been supporting Cabinet Office with the development of this new scheme, sharing learning from our own school leaver Social Mobility Apprenticeship pilot, which has run successfully for the last two years, with our first cohort of school leavers all securing permanent employment within the Department.

In addition, in the Department for Work and Pensions we are developing an internal apprenticeship strategy, which will utilise the flexibility provided by the new Growth and Skills Levy to develop skills and support the future needs of the Department. Expansion of opportunities to recruit new apprentices are being explored, including continued use of our Social Mobility Apprenticeship schemes and direct recruitment of apprentices into entry level roles. We have recently run a campaign for 50 new Level 3 apprentices in Counter Fraud and Compliance, with a further 40 roles due to go live next month.

We are committed to Getting Britain Working, driving growth through employment. Our plan includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who have commenced phased delivery of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper from May 2025. The Department is committed to offering high quality apprenticeships for all and working with professions to identify opportunities to fulfil business needs.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the number of people who are currently in receipt of PIP who are likely to lose their entitlement under the proposals in the Health and Disability Green Paper, broken down by primary health condition.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No such assessment will be made. PIP is not based on primary medical condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.

There will be no immediate changes. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. They will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number and proportion of people who may lose their entitlement to (1) Carer's Allowance, and (2) the carer element of Universal Credit, because they care for a disabled person who is no longer eligible for Personal Independence Payment because they score fewer than four points in the daily living component, broken down by gender.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold the data requested.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on students no longer eligible for personal independence payment under proposed reforms.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made. The Department does not hold data about the student status of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.

PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be considered by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department's consultation on the Health and Disability Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, does not include proposals to (a) abolish the Work Capability Assessment, (b) freeze the Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element and (c) make change to the PIP daily living component; and if she will (i) change that consultation to include those measures and (ii) extend the consultation period.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans and proposals for reform to health and disability benefits and employment support. This includes urgently needed reforms to PIP eligibility and Universal Credit rates that are not subject to consultation but which Parliament will fully debate and vote on. The reforms are included in the Green Paper to provide the wider context.

We are also scrapping the Work Capability Assessment to end the dysfunctional process which drives people into dependency – delivering on the Government’s commitment to reform or replace it. The details will be set out in a White Paper in autumn 2025, following the Green Paper consultation, which closes on 30 June. This will be followed by further primary legislation, which we expect to take forwards in the second session, subject to parliamentary approval. We will not be changing the scope of the consultation or extending the consultation period.

The Green Paper does consult on many key elements of the reform package, including employment support and Access to Work, which are at the centre of our plans to improve the system for disabled people. We hope that a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation, and we are holding a programme of public consultation events across the country to help facilitate input.

We are also developing other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific work areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people who receive (a) enhanced daily living Personal Independence Payment awards and (b) standard daily living Personal Independence Payment awards did not score four or more points on any individual activity descriptor in 2024-25.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who received a standard Daily Living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities can be found in Table 1 below.

There will be no immediate changes. Our intention is the changes will start to come into effect from November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time.

Table 1: Proportion of PIP claimants who are in receipt of the standard daily living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities

Source(s): PIP administrative data

Notes:

• Figures are for England and Wales only.
• Figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.
• Data includes working aged claimants only.
• Data includes normal rules claimants only, and excludes special rules for end of life (SREL) claimants as they typically receive maximum or very high scores.
• Claimants with missing point scores have been excluded from the data.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate she of the potential impact of changes to (a) PIP entitlement rules, (b) the Universal Credit health element and (c) the Universal Credit standard allowance and (d) all three measures on the number of (i) families, (ii) people and (iii) children who are (A) in and (B) not in relative poverty after housing costs pre-measures in 2029-30, using baselines in which the Autumn Statement 2023 Work Capability Assessment descriptor reforms are assumed to have (1) been implemented and (2) not been implemented.

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

An assessment of the potential impact of the planned changes to health and disability benefits is available here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

This includes breakdowns for each change separately on levels of poverty. It also includes estimated impacts regarding the changes to the Work Capability Assessment descriptors proposed at Autumn Statement 2023, but which were subsequently reversed.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of changes to (a) PIP entitlement rules, (b) the Universal Credit health element, (c) Universal Credit standard allowance and (d) all three measures on the number of (i) people and (ii) children who will be in relative poverty after housing costs in 2029-30, using baselines in which the Autumn Statement 2023 Work Capability Assessment descriptor reforms are assumed to have (A) been implemented and (B) not been implemented.

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

An assessment of the potential impact of the planned changes to health and disability benefits is available here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

This includes breakdowns for each change separately on levels of poverty. It also includes estimated impacts regarding the changes to the Work Capability Assessment descriptors proposed at Autumn Statement 2023, but which were subsequently reversed.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken with (a) disabled people and (b) disabled people’s organisations to develop the Health and Disability Green Paper; and what plans she has to work with disabled people to develop the (i) design and (ii) delivery of any proposed reforms.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Our Green Paper, “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working” is an important staging post on a journey of reform, building on the vision and approach set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper in November 2024. It sets out our vision, strategy and proposals for change. Our conversations with disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as experts, have already shaped and informed this Green Paper. We are committed to continuing this dialogue and drawing on a wide range of insights and experiences to get these reforms right.

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 on.gov.uk.

We have also committed to the establishment of a panel to consult disabled people on our reforms, and of ‘collaboration committees’ to develop them further, both on design and delivery. These committees will involve bringing together groups of disabled people, representative organisations, and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.

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 disputes involving the Child Maintenance Service on the backlog of cases in the family courts; and what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken to resolve those disputes.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Should a Child Maintenance (CM) claimant dispute a decision made by DWP, they can request a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) to review the decision made. Subsequently, if they are still dissatisfied with the decision, they can appeal to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Once DWP are notified of the appeal, the Department has 42 days to prepare their appeal response or lapse the appeal if we can improve the decision.

To reduce the time taken to resolve Child Maintenance Service (CMS) disputes that have reached Appeal stage, the disputes service has taken the following actions:

• Recruited an additional team of CMS Appeal Writers in January 2025.
• Working to identify continuous improvement activity to improve the customer journey and reduce wait times.
• Utilising overtime to increase clearance volumes.
• Supporting a two-way data sharing agreement with HMCTS to identify pre-registration Appeal volumes.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners are in receipt of a full new State Pension.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The latest figures, for the quarter ending November 2024, show 2,458,948 individuals were in receipt of at least the full rate of the new State Pension. Source: Stat-Xplore

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) single pensioners and (b) couples receive a full old basic state pension.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The pre-2016 State Pension system for those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 consisted of a basic State Pension, an earnings-related additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit. (If people were contracted out of the additional State Pension, they will have a workplace or private pension instead.) People may also have derived some basic State Pension from a spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance record or inherited some State Pension from a deceased spouse or civil partner. There is no full rate of additional State Pension or Graduated Retirement Benefit as the amount an individual receives will vary depending on their earnings, the amount of contributions they have paid and whether they were contracted out of the State scheme.

As of March 2025, around 5.8 million received the full basic State Pension. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Quarterly Statistical Enquiry 5% sample March 2025. Numbers have been grossed up to 100% and rounded to the nearest 0.1 million.

State Pension is paid on an individual basis. Data on State Pension incomes by relationship status (single pensioners and couples) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners were in receipt of a full old State Pension on 12 May 2025.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The pre-2016 State Pension system for those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 consisted of a basic State Pension, an earnings-related additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit. (If people were contracted out of the additional State Pension, they will have a workplace or private pension instead.) People may also have derived some basic State Pension from a spouse or civil partner’s National Insurance record or inherited some State Pension from a deceased spouse or civil partner. There is no full rate of additional State Pension or Graduated Retirement Benefit as the amount an individual receives will vary depending on their earnings, the amount of contributions they have paid and whether they were contracted out of the State scheme.

As of March 2025, around 5.8 million received the full basic State Pension. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Quarterly Statistical Enquiry 5% sample March 2025. Numbers have been grossed up to 100% and rounded to the nearest 0.1 million.

State Pension is paid on an individual basis. Data on State Pension incomes by relationship status (single pensioners and couples) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was to (a) process and (b) pay Access to Work claims once an invoice had been submitted in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In response to what the average time taken was to (a) process Access to work claim in each of the last 5 years, Access to work can provide this for the last 4 years. The average time taken was:

2021-2022 = 28.1 days

2022-2023 = 57.8 days

2023-2024 = 45.1 days

2024-2025 = 56.9 days

(b) the average time taken to process a payment once an invoice has been submitted is not available as there is no reporting systems in place.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what proportion of recipients of the Personal Independence Payment daily living component scored fewer than four points on all of the descriptors on which they qualified across the ten activities, broken down by (1) gender of the recipient, (2) age of the recipient, including those of working age and over pension age, and (3) main condition type.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment with the Daily Living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities is readily available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2.

(https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper).

The figures are broken down by the gender of the claimants in table 2.23, in which 39% of males and 52% of females scored fewer than four points on any daily living activity.

The figures are broken down by the age of the claimants in table 2.21. However, this table only includes statistics for working age claimants. For claimants over state pension age, 58% scored fewer than four points in all daily living activities. Claimants currently over state pension age are not routinely reviewed and will be unaffected by the proposals outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.

The figures are broken down by the primary condition group of the claimants in table 2.22.

The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP. It is important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we do not want people to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious.

No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who did not score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time. The OBR has taken into account expected behavioural changes in its numbers and determined that 370,000 (1 in 10) current PIP recipients may lose entitlement by 29/30 at their next award review after changes to PIP eligibility come into effect in November 2026.

Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to increase awareness of the availability of Pension Credit in rural areas.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are rightly entitled. That is why we ran the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign across the whole of Great Britain. This included adverts on television; radio (including Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire, Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire, Classic FM Midlands, Smooth Radio); social media; on YouTube; on advertising screens in Pharmacies, Post Offices and leisure centres. The campaign also featured on train advertising panels as well as in national and regional press (including the Shropshire Star).

As part of the campaign, the Department engaged with all councils in Great Britain, through the regular Local Authority Welfare Direct bulletins. Shropshire Council supported the Pension Credit campaign during our ‘Week of Action’ in September 2024, and on social media.

More recently, around 11 million pensioners will have received a leaflet promoting Pension Credit along with their State Pension uprating letter.

Further campaign and promotional activity is planned for this year.

The latest Pension Credit applications and awards statistics were published on 27 February and are available at: Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab). The statistics show that the Department made almost 50,000 extra awards on the comparable period in 2023/24.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average amount of basic state pension paid to (a) individuals and (b) couples under the old pension.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The weekly amount of basic State Pension paid to individuals who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 was £148.53, as of March 2025. This was before April 2025 increases. This is based on the basic State Pension only and does not include other components such as earnings-related additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit which individuals may also be receiving.

State Pension is paid on an individual basis. Data on State Pension incomes by relationship status (single pensioners and couples) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Source: Department for Work and Pensions Quarterly Statistical Enquiry 5% sample March 2025.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Pensions Ombudsman on the adequacy of the time taken for a complaint to be allocated to an adjudicator.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

I met with the Pensions Ombudsman and Chief Operating Officer to discuss the significant increase over a period of several years in complaints received; a trend that is continuing. This increase has impacted on waiting times for cases to be allocated to an adjudication specialist. In response, The Pension Ombudsman has implemented an Operating Model Review (OMR) programme.

DWP are working closely with TPO to rigorously monitor the impact the OMR is having on waiting times and case allocation to adjudication specialists.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 2 May (HL6725), how many and what proportion of (1) existing, and (2) expected inflow, recipients of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are expected to lose (a) the standard, and (b) the enhanced, PIP rate, broken down by gender.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold the data requested.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she will take to support people with (a) Multiple Sclerosis and (b) other fluctuating or progressive neurological conditions under the proposed reforms to PIP.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I recognise the vital role played by carers and family members in supporting individuals with MS. Through the Green Paper we are consulting on the support needed for those who may lose any entitlements because of proposed changes to PIP daily living and what this support could look like. We will also work closely with the DHSC and others on how the health and eligible care needs of those who would lose entitlement to PIP could be met outside the benefits system.

In the Green Paper, we committed to a review of the PIP assessment which I will be leading. Through the review, we want to make sure that the PIP assessment is fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors - and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence.

We outlined our commitment to improving the PIP assessment in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. We will take action to get the basics right and improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits. This includes recording health assessments as standard to build greater trust in the system. The aim is to create greater transparency, using recordings as a learning opportunity to consider potential improvements to the quality of the assessment process.

I will work closely with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, those who support them, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.

The scope and timing of the review will be developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. I have now begun the first phase of this work, inviting stakeholders with a range of experience and expertise to roundtables to consider the scope and timing. I will then publish the Terms of Reference for the review in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which stakeholders have been invited to help develop the (a) scope and (b) terms of reference of the review into the PIP assessment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Through the review, which I will be leading, we want to make sure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors - and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence.

I am working closely with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, those who support them, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.

The scope and timing of the review is being developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. I have now begun the first phase of this work, inviting stakeholders with a range of experience and expertise to roundtables to consider the scope and timing. I will then publish the Terms of Reference for the review in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she will publish the (a) scope and (b) terms of reference of the review of PIP assessment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Through the review, which I will be leading, we want to make sure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors - and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence.

I am working closely with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, those who support them, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.

The scope and timing of the review is being developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. I have now begun the first phase of this work, inviting stakeholders with a range of experience and expertise to roundtables to consider the scope and timing. I will then publish the Terms of Reference for the review in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her review of PIP assessment, if she will publish a call for evidence from (a) honourable Members, (b) civil society organisations and (c) the public.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Through the review, which I will be leading, we want to make sure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors - and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence.

I am working closely with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, those who support them, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.

The scope and timing of the review is being developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. I have now begun the first phase of this work, inviting stakeholders with a range of experience and expertise to roundtables to consider the scope and timing. I will then publish the Terms of Reference for the review in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the review of PIP assessment will (a) commence and (b) conclude.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Through the review, which I will be leading, we want to make sure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors - and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence.

I am working closely with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, those who support them, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.

The scope and timing of the review is being developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. I have now begun the first phase of this work, inviting stakeholders with a range of experience and expertise to roundtables to consider the scope and timing. I will then publish the Terms of Reference for the review in due course.

Found: the Reducing Parental Conflict Programme received £83m from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: Ministry of Justice (17%), the National Health Service (15%), the Police (10%), the Department for Work and Pensions

Found:  Key departments like DWP and DBT are notably absent from funding or partnership discussions, despite

Found: streams - Requires better co-ordination of MoJ, Home Office (including Prevent), MHCLG, Education, DWP

Found: services is needed.The Reducing Parental Conflict programme funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: decade would need to be tied to work to tackle women’s persistent economic inequality in the Treasury, DWP

Found: The Youth Hubs, draw together multi-partnership working including, DWP, local authorities, training

Found: Gatsby benchmarks; National Careers Service promotes career opportunities for young people and adults; DWP

Found: Programme, developed by the ECITB in collaboration with employers, training providers, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Professor Macmillan serves on the DWP Labour Market Advisory Board and DfE’s Opportunities Mission Expert

Found: What is the role of local and central government, and in particular the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: What is the role of local and central government, and in particular DWP?

Found: deliver skills programmes across vocational skills, employability programmes and careers for the DfE, DWP

Found: Question 18 What is the role of local and central government, and in particular the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: financial literacy means people are worse off – even when salaries are accounted for 14 Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Role of Government: Local government, working with Jobcentre Plus and the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: education (Individualised Learner Record), higher education (HESA), earnings (HMRC) and benefit receipt (DWP

Found: The BBC works with the DWP and other groups to increase awareness of the opportunities available at

Found: There is scope for the DWP to support such integrated local interventions 5.

Found: What is the role of local and central government, and in particular the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: What is the role of local and central government, and in particular the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education should embed youth work into

Found: employed locally. 3 Internal For all entry level roles our Social Partner Hub engage with the local DWP

Found: What is the role of local and central government, and in particular the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: The role of local government, central government and the Department for Work and Pensions: To effectively

Found: .  We are working with government (specifically DfE and DWP) to ensure close alignment of our respective

Found: , A study of work and health transitions: analysis of Understanding Society. 2021, Department for Work and Pensions

Found: What is the role of local and central government, and in particular the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Statistics Agency (HESA), and earning, benefits, and tax data from the Department for Work and Pension (DWP

Found: Officials are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to explore options on supporting

Found: How could the CMS work with the wider DWP and other departments and bodies to address child poverty?

Found: Local Government Housing Dispute Policy Renters Rights £23.649m £23.649m £17.212m Department for Work and Pensions

Found: How could the CMS work with the wider DWP and other departments and bodies to address child poverty?

Found: could firstly begin with having a shared computer system, or one which can communicate with other DWP

Found: How could the CMS work with the wider DWP and other departments and bodies to address child poverty?

Found: How could the CMS work with the wider DWP and other departments and bodies to address child poverty?

Found: opposite.3.2 CMS initially accepted this false claim without validating it with court documents or DWP

Found: Improvement requires more thorough financial investigations, improved collaboration with HMRC and DWP

Found: How could the CMS work with the wider DWP and other departments and bodies to address child poverty?

Found: That’s as difficult to answer as how well does the DWP combat benefit fraud.

Found: departments (£260m from DfE, £354m from DfT, £67m from DESNZ, and £15m in total from DCMS, DBT and DWP

Found: welfare reform point, if there are opportunities coming forward for employability services run by the DWP

Found: welfare reform point, if there are opportunities coming forward for employability services run by the DWP

Found: countries that have achieved this level, rates for younger and older people are still falling short2. 1 DWP

Found: feels too much like DBT policy with limited levers from other Departments, including Treasury, DfE and DWP

Found: Department for Work and Pensions iv. Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government v.

Found: Addressing the skills shortage requires Government to work across multiple departments (DESNZ, Defra, DFE, DWP

Found: Government intends to address this challenge cross-departmentally, with input from DSIT, DHSC, DfE, DWP

Found: disability employment gap of 28.6% between employment rates for disabled and non-disabled adults (DWP

Found: Engagement team to successfully partner with our MAT, London South East Academies Trust and our local DWP

Found: successfully partnering with our Trust’s founding sponsor, London South East Colleges and the local DWP

Found: assess whether early results show potential to save money and improve services.52 The Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No. 777.

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the Fraud and

Found: I think the DWP estimates that about a third of the working population of the UK is now in a Disability

Found: Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Health and Safety Executive, and the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: We recommend that government (the DWP) supports such a role, targeted especially for those with caring

Found: In addition, of all the jobs advertised via the Department for Work and Pensions Find a Job portal in

Found: challenges accessing caring provision), and may benefit from access to HM Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: result would mean fewer costs and a reduction in the administrative burden on local authorities and DWP

Found: Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office acquisition of former HMP Northeye HC 361 6th DWP

Found: More widely, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has appointed a Menopause Employment Ambassador

Found: You have the Department for Work and Pensions doing benefits and jobcentres.

Found: Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Work and Pensions, and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Such changes make it even more important that the DWP improves the service provided by Jobcentres.

Found: Already, we work in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to realise this ambition

Found: demand for services driven in part by growth in numbers claiming incapacity benefits1 means that the DWP

Found: opposition, which is that there has not been a join-up between an industrial strategy, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Former Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of potential additional costs to her Department of the provisions outlined in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Department makes regular assessments of spending pressures; these take account of various factors including new policy.

The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper is an open consultation led by the Department for Work and pensions which seeks views on the approaches government should consider around reform of the health and disability benefits system and employment support. The consultation closes on 30 June 2025.

As such, it is not current policy, and a full assessment will be made in the usual way at the appropriate time.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of the rising number of people aged 16 to 24 currently not in education, employment or training; and what steps they are taking to increase the number of young people entering education or employment.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government is determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all our young people and transform their life chances.

Almost one in seven 16 to 24 year-olds in England and the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET). This number is too high, and the department is taking the action needed to tackle this issue.

In the ‘Get Britain Working’ white paper, the government set out its commitment to establish a Youth Guarantee of support to access training, an apprenticeship, or to find work for all 18 to 21 year-olds. £45 million has been allocated to Youth Guarantee Trailblazers to develop the Youth Guarantee. The Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions will be working with strategic authorities in initially eight areas, including Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, East Midlands, Liverpool City Region, West of England, West Midlands, Tees Valley and two London areas.

The Youth Guarantee builds on entitlements that young people have to participate in education and training up to age 18. Local authorities have statutory duties to support young people into education and training, including identifying and helping those who are currently NEET. The department has also recently published guidance to help local authorities identify young people at an increased risk of becoming NEET, based on characteristics such as a learning difficulty or disability, or poor school attendance so they can be given extra support.

In addition, new foundation apprenticeships will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working lives. They will help bridge the gap between employers with skills shortages and those young people not currently engaging with apprenticeships through the existing routes and offers. The first foundation apprenticeships will be available in the construction sector from August, and to support these opportunities, employers will receive £2,000 for every construction foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the industry.

The Department for Education will also offer two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person and better careers advice at school, and has also created a new body, Skills England, to deliver national, regional and local skills needs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish membership of the Labour Market Evidence Group ahead of its establishment.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Labour Market Evidence (LME) Group will be comprised of:

• The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, who are encouraged to focus on domestic recruitment and training;

• The Department for Work and Pensions, tasked with reducing economic inactivity and increasing workforce participation;

• Skills England and equivalent organisations in the Devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which will target training needs; and

• The Migration Advisory Committee which will guide immigration policy.

The LME Group will be set up in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Labour Market Evidence Group will be set up.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Labour Market Evidence (LME) Group will be comprised of:

• The Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, who are encouraged to focus on domestic recruitment and training;

• The Department for Work and Pensions, tasked with reducing economic inactivity and increasing workforce participation;

• Skills England and equivalent organisations in the Devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which will target training needs; and

• The Migration Advisory Committee which will guide immigration policy.

The LME Group will be set up in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment on (a) cold-related illness and (b) hospital admissions amongst older adults in Wiltshire.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A specific assessment relating to older adults in Wilshire has not been produced. The Department for Work and Pensions published an equality analysis of the changes to eligibility for the winter fuel payment last summer, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responses-to-freedom-of-information-requests-on-equality-impact-assessments-produced-for-targeting-winter-fuel-payment/dwp-freedom-of-information-response

The Government has continued to take action to support vulnerable households with cost-of-living pressures, including extending the Household Support Fund until March 2026, thereby providing local authorities with an additional £742 million of funding.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 7 April (HL6018), and to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office on 21 October 2019 (HC463), why it was possible, in the case of the latter, to provide a full list of Permanent Secretary-level appointments, but not in the case of the former; and whether they will now provide a corresponding list of current Permanent Secretary-level appointments, including whether each appointment is fixed-term and its expiry date.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Since 2014, permanent secretary appointments have been made on the basis of a five year fixed tenure; this is set out in contracts of employment. There is no automatic presumption in favour of renewal, but renewals are possible at the discretion of the Prime Minister.

The table below sets out the tenure end dates of the current permanent secretary group.

*Andrew Goodall is on secondment from NHS Wales

**Andy Start is on a Fixed Term contract

*** Tamara Finkelstein, Jenny Harries and Sarah Munby are leaving the Civil Service in Summer 2025, and therefore before their tenure end date

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the distance that children and young people with cancer must travel to access their treatment and care in specialist centres (a) across the UK and (b) from Wokingham constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel.

The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer in all parts of England, including Wokingham.

Given wider ongoing work on policy development options and analysis of the call for evidence responses for the National Cancer Plan, the Department of Health and Social Care has not made a formal estimate of the proportion of children and young people with cancer and their families that are claiming travel costs from the HTCS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to support children and young people with cancer with the cost of travelling to access their treatment and care in specialist centres.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel.

The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer in all parts of England, including Wokingham.

Given wider ongoing work on policy development options and analysis of the call for evidence responses for the National Cancer Plan, the Department of Health and Social Care has not made a formal estimate of the proportion of children and young people with cancer and their families that are claiming travel costs from the HTCS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) he and (b) the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce have made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a young cancer patient travel fund; and if he will take steps through the National Cancer Plan to reduce travel costs for children and young people with cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel.

The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer in all parts of England, including Wokingham.

Given wider ongoing work on policy development options and analysis of the call for evidence responses for the National Cancer Plan, the Department of Health and Social Care has not made a formal estimate of the proportion of children and young people with cancer and their families that are claiming travel costs from the HTCS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of children and young people with cancer and their families are successfully claiming travel costs from the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that scheme in meeting the needs of children and young people with cancer and their families.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel.

The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer in all parts of England, including Wokingham.

Given wider ongoing work on policy development options and analysis of the call for evidence responses for the National Cancer Plan, the Department of Health and Social Care has not made a formal estimate of the proportion of children and young people with cancer and their families that are claiming travel costs from the HTCS.

Found: will result in a smaller workforce available to fund public services.11 In 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions

We call on the Government to halt proposed cuts to PIP and the introduction of a voucher system. These changes would harm disabled individuals, limiting independence and access to vital support. PIP is a lifeline that must be protected.

Found: The 0% fraud rate, according to the DWP, shows there’s no issue with misuse.

Found: departments, including but not limited to the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: departments, including but not limited to the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: departments, including but not limited to the Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Government, and is therefore outside the scope of this report. 4 The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP

Found: unblock some of these barriers including: information sharing with the Department of work and Pensions (DWP

Found: unblock some of these barriers including: information sharing with the Department of work and Pensions (DWP

Found: unblock some of these barriers including: information sharing with the Department of work and Pensions (DWP

Found: Department for Work and Pensions Introduction The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: Department for Work and Pensions Introduction The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: Communities Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Local Government Association (LGA) Department for Work and Pensions

Found: DWP 2 weeks Publish consultation with sufficient response time 4 weeks Draft LRO document & explanatory

Found: bullying and harassment. 15.7 The Employer will co-operate with the Department and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: bullying and harassment. 15.8 The Provider will co-operate with the Department and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: bullying and harassment. 15.7 The Provider will co-operate with the Department and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: 1 – April 2025 – Page 11 9.7 The Contractor will co-operate with the Department and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: bullying and harassment. 15.7 The Provider will co-operate with the Department and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: of bullying and harassment. 15.7 The College will co-operate with the Department and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: bullying and harassment. 15.8 The Provider will co-operate with the Department and Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Cross-government data work is underway in a range of key areas, including with the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Cross-government data work is underway in a range of key areas, including with the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: where we were with that, but we've now got an Electoral Registration Officer Portal, we've now got the DWP

Found: Communities Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Local Government Association (LGA) Department for Work and Pensions

Found: DWP 2 weeks Publish consultation with sufficient response time 4 weeks Draft LRO document & explanatory

Found: The Town Hall site is already let out to the NHS and DWP and there are good meeting facilities.

Found: Up until 2016-17 DWP temporary accommodation management fee was netted off of the relevant expenditure

Found: non material transactions with other government departments, HM Revenue & Customs, Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Following the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publication of UK Government welfare expenditure

Found: Timms MP, Minister for Social Security & Disability, and Minister of State for the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Timms M P , Minister for Social Security & Disability, and Minister of State for the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: where we were with that, but we've now got an Electoral Registration Officer Portal, we've now got the DWP

Found: Document 1 - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice letter to DWP Secretary of State - 5 Dec 2024 [

Found: Following the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publication of UK Government welfare expenditure

Found: affordability of rents, the Cabinet Secretary said that the issue had been raised with the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), health boards, Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Recently, we hosted three regional events with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to strengthen

Found: Recently, we hosted three regional events with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to strengthen

Found: Recently, we hosted three regional events with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to strengthen

Found: Recently, we hosted three regional events with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to strengthen

Found: The Department for Work and Pensions’ input alongside other contributors culminated in our report: ‘

Found: The Department for Work and Pensions’ input alongside other contributors culminated in our report: ‘

Found: Consultancy Costs CGI IT UK LTD 08.01.2025 5200660574 -56666.96 X285 F2CSI E CC & RA Stats Research studies DWP

Found: component for DLA indefinitely or had a mandatory reconsideration for PIP accepted by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: RSW, the police, Her Majesties Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: Ideally a Disability Confident Wales + would build upon the existing DWP Disability Confident scheme,

Found: We are also working to improve our relationship with DWP Disability Advisers to enable us to work together

Found: Service (CPS) Cymorth Cymru Cymru Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Dad's Group Gwent Department for Work and Pensions