Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimation in Economic and Fiscal Outlook - March 2026 that health and disability benefits will increase to almost £110 billion by 2030.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions has slowed the increase in health and disability benefit caseloads, and in welfare spending as a proportion of GDP compared to the last Government.

The Timms Review, the first ever full review of PIP, was launched to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater in-dependence, including through employment.

The steering group is now moving towards designing and testing its recommendations for change, which will be published in a final report in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of Personal Independence Payment claimants citing mental health conditions in their claims.

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

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the success rate for applications for Personal Independence Payment following (1) initial application, (2) mandatory reconsideration, and (3) tribunal appeal, for individuals with (a) mixed anxiety and depressive disorders, (b) mood disorders, (c) anxiety disorder, (d) substance use disorder, and (e) conduct disorder, between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2026.

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

The requested information for new claims under normal rules in areas under DWP policy ownership are included below. This data is for initial decisions between 1 April 2024 and 31 December 2025, the most recent date for mandatory reconsiderations and appeals data.

Table 1: award rates (%) for initial decision, mandatory reconsideration (MR), and appeal by condition subgroup.

Notes:

• There were insufficient appeals for claimants with conduct disorder for an appeal overturn rate to be meaningful.
• The rate for MRs is the percentage of cleared MRs which resulted in an award being changed.
• The overturn rate for appeals is the number of appeals that were overturned at a tribunal as a percentage of appeals which were cleared or lapsed (decision changed by DWP without going to a tribunal).
• The claimants’ primary conditions at the time of initial decision were used to categorise these percentages. Many PIP claimants have additional conditions which factor into the decisions made and claimants who have the listed conditions as supplementary conditions will not be included in the table.
• Percentages have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the Personal Independence Payment eligibility criteria.

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

The Timms Review, the first ever full review of PIP, was launched to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater in-dependence, including through employment.

As part of this work, the Review is gathering evidence from a wide range of sources, including lived experience, expert insight, existing research and new data, to inform its analysis and recommendations.

The steering group published its interim report on 9 July, providing an update on its work to date, including an evidence pack and a summary of the Call for Evidence, which received over 38,000 responses.

The steering group is now moving towards designing and testing its recommendations for change, which will be published in a final report in the autumn.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the Personal Independence Payment.

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

The Timms Review, the first ever full review of PIP, was launched to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater in-dependence, including through employment.

As part of this work, the Review is gathering evidence from a wide range of sources, including lived experience, expert insight, existing research and new data, to inform its analysis and recommendations.

The steering group published its interim report on 9 July, providing an update on its work to date, including an evidence pack and a summary of the Call for Evidence, which received over 38,000 responses.

The steering group is now moving towards designing and testing its recommendations for change, which will be published in a final report in the autumn.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) remuneration per day, and (2) total remuneration since appointment, of the (a) non-ministerial co-chairs, and (b) members, of the steering group of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.

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

Information on the day rate is already available. Members of the Timms Review steering group will be paid at a rate of £300 a day, with an expected time commitment of up to 5 days a month. The Review’s two external co-chairs, who were appointed in October 2025, are paid at a rate of £400 a day, with the same expected time commitment.

The rates per month may vary.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Sherlock on 30 June (HL116 and HL117), whether the training programmes for case managers and healthcare professionals include the identification of false letters sent to PIP assessors.

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

"Relevant partners" refers to charities and organisations with expertise in disability benefits, welfare rights and claimant support, such as Citizens Advice.

As part of keeping this area under review, the Department will continue to consider evidence about the activity of commercial providers and any poor practice, including where this may affect the quality or reliability of evidence submitted in support of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims.

Healthcare Professionals (HPs) and Case Managers are required to undertake a detailed review of all available evidence as part of the assessment and decision-making process and to assess the consistency, relevance and sufficiency of the information provided in support of a claim.

The PIP Assessment Guide requires HPs to consider any inconsistencies in the evidence available, determine whether further supporting evidence is required, and record the rationale for the conclusions reached. Where appropriate, HPs may seek additional evidence from professionals involved in the claimant’s care, including GPs, hospital clinicians and other relevant practitioners, to help inform their advice to DWP.

DWP is focussed on preventing fraud and error from entering the system and has robust detect and correct capabilities in place to address inaccurate payments at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 9 July (HL820), what are the "relevant partners" referred to; and what steps will be taken as part of this review.

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

"Relevant partners" refers to charities and organisations with expertise in disability benefits, welfare rights and claimant support, such as Citizens Advice.

As part of keeping this area under review, the Department will continue to consider evidence about the activity of commercial providers and any poor practice, including where this may affect the quality or reliability of evidence submitted in support of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims.

Healthcare Professionals (HPs) and Case Managers are required to undertake a detailed review of all available evidence as part of the assessment and decision-making process and to assess the consistency, relevance and sufficiency of the information provided in support of a claim.

The PIP Assessment Guide requires HPs to consider any inconsistencies in the evidence available, determine whether further supporting evidence is required, and record the rationale for the conclusions reached. Where appropriate, HPs may seek additional evidence from professionals involved in the claimant’s care, including GPs, hospital clinicians and other relevant practitioners, to help inform their advice to DWP.

DWP is focussed on preventing fraud and error from entering the system and has robust detect and correct capabilities in place to address inaccurate payments at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the introduction of a right to guaranteed hours could reduce access to flexible employment opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment or training.

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

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.

This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.

We also recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

The government's Employment Rights Act 2025 is tackling one-sided flexibility partly through a right to guaranteed hours, where the number of hours offered reflects a qualifying worker’s working hours during a reference period.

The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts of the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025. This includes consideration of the potential impact of the right to guaranteed hours on employment for different types of roles or groups in the labour market.

The government is consulting on these measures, and will consider responses before finalising regulations and implementation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to end overpayments of Carer's Allowance through the use of Verify Earnings and Pensions alerts.

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

The Department is making full use of Verify Earnings and Pensions alerts from HMRC to notify Carer’s Allowance recipients that they may be exceeding the weekly earnings limit. This should reduce both the number and size of overpayments linked to earnings, and was a measure welcomed by Liz Sayce in her independent review into such overpayments. The Government has also launched a Call for Evidence as part of its longer-term work on modernisation of Carer’s Allowance. This includes seeking views on the way in which earnings interact with the benefit.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications were received for funding from the Crisis and Resilience Fund to assist with rising heating oil costs since its launch on 1 April 2026, broken down by local authority area; and how many (1) have been approved or rejected, and (2) remain unprocessed.

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

Support for households affected by rising heating oil prices is administered by local authorities through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). Local authorities are responsible for determining eligibility, processing applications and holding data relating to applications and awards.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to tackle the level of debt repayments unpaid carers in receipt of carer's allowance are continuing to face, following overpayments of carer's allowance; and how many unpaid carers are still affected and at risk of prosecution due to overpayments of carer's allowance.

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

The Department is making full use of automated notifications of earnings from HMRC to notify Carer’s Allowance recipients that they may be exceeding the weekly earnings limit. This should reduce both the number and size of overpayments linked to earnings, and was a measure welcomed by Liz Sayce in her independent review into such overpayments.

With respect to recovery of debt caused by overpayments, the Department remains committed to working with all customers to agree repayment terms, and strives to set affordable, sustainable repayment plans. Anyone who is unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment can contact DWP’s Debt Management at the earliest opportunity.

For a case to be considered for prosecution, there must have been a suspicion of fraud, a full criminal investigation, consideration of the public interest test and agreement from the Crown Prosecution Service to bring the case forward.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what welfare, housing and health benefits foreign nationals are entitled to; from what point after their arrival in the UK are they entitled to those benefits; and what criteria are used to assess their eligibility.

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

All claimants, regardless of their nationality, must demonstrate that they are resident in the UK and have an immigration status that qualifies them to receive taxpayer-funded benefits.

Migrants with recourse to public funds are subject to the same eligibility criteria as any other claimant, including the need to be ‘habitually resident’ (meaning they have made the UK their home) in addition to having a legal right to claim benefits.

Most non-UK nationals are granted an immigration status by the Home Office with a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)’ condition. Individuals may have their NRPF condition removed once they are granted Indefinite Leave to Remain/settled status, which is usually after 5 years. These claimants can still access contribution-based benefits such as New-Style Jobseeker’s Allowance.

The full eligibility criteria, including the residency tests, for each benefit type can be found on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government why some benefits applied for via an online application form still receive a reply by post.

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

DWP is committed to expanding its digital services enabling more customers to engage with us online. Although some benefits, such as Universal Credit, can be claimed online and any further communications can also be conducted digitally through the use of the customer journal, applying online does not automatically mean all subsequent communications will be digital.

DWP operates a multi-channel approach to ensure customers receive important information in a way that is accessible, secure and inclusive. In some cases, letters remain the formal method for notifying customers of a decision or providing information about their award and appeal rights. Postal notifications also support legal, policy and accessibility requirements for certain decisions and customer groups.

Our approach is to expand digital services while maintaining alternative channels so that no customer is excluded. We also remain committed to ensuring that customers have a choice of those alternative channels.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Skills England on the potential creation of an apprenticeship standard in counselling.

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

Skills England is focused on developing new, and reviewing existing, apprenticeships which will have the greatest impact on government priorities, including supporting young people into employment and supporting industrial strategy and other priority sectors.

Skills England has engaged with stakeholders on the development of a counselling apprenticeship. This included exploring whether the existing Level 4 Counsellor occupational standard, which was developed for Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) provision, could be used as the basis for an apprenticeship. However, to date, no decision has been made on the development of such an apprenticeship.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Child Maintenance Service-paying parents were liable to pay child maintenance of between £0.01 and £7.00 per week at the latest date for which data are available; and of those paying parents, how many were (1) in receipt of Universal Credit, and (2) subject to a work-search requirement under Universal Credit conditionality.

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

The information requested 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 claimants are awaiting reassessment for Personal Independence Payment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

The total number of cases outstanding at all stages of the Personal Independence Payment Award Review (PIP) process, at the end of May 2026 is 300,000.

Please note this data is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard and represents England and Wales only. The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10,000 cases.

All claims remain in payment whilst award reviews are in progress and award increases identified during a planned review will be backdated as appropriate. Should customers report a change of circumstance and trigger an unplanned review, their claim will be prioritised alongside new claims.

We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for our claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service.

We know PIP can be improved, which is why we launched the Timms Review, which is being co-produced with disabled people and their organisations to ensure the benefit is fair and fit for the future. The Review aims to report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in Autumn 2026 and we have committed to reporting its outcomes to Parliament.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for each Arm's Length Body (ALB) their Department sponsors, (a) how many people are employed in the following bands of total earnings, or nearest equivalent, (i) under £25,000, (ii) £ 25,001 to £ 35,000, (iii) £35,001 to £50,270, (iv) £50,271 to £100,00, (v) £100,001 to £ 125,140 and (vi) over £125,140, and (b) what estimate they have made of the total unfunded public sector pension liability.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This table outlines the total people employed for each Arm’s Length Body (ALB) for each salary band of total earnings or nearest equivalent, and the total unfunded public sector pensions liability for each ALB.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many long-term unemployed 18–21-year-olds have been enrolled on the new national Jobs Guarantee scheme in Birmingham.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Phase One of the Jobs Guarantee commenced in May and will be followed by national rollout from November 2026. The information requested is planned for future publication and will be made available in due course.

Birmingham and Solihull is one of six Phase One areas where support is being offered first. In Birmingham and Solihull, DWP has partnered with Catch-22 to deliver the Jobs Guarantee and referrals started in May. Long-term unemployed young people who are enrolled on the scheme will be provided six months of paid employment alongside wraparound support and training.

Mandate that freelance contracts must abide by the following Working Time Regulations:

• Maximum of 48 hours/week
• Right to rest

We ask the Government to increase the £6,000 and £16,000 capital thresholds to the value these had in real-terms when they were set in 2006; introduce automatic annual uprating to maintain their value; and set proportionately higher capital thresholds for joint claims than for single claimants.

We urgently call on the Government to amend the Employment Rights Act to ensure that the proposed bans on restrictive NDAs and non-derogatory clauses apply retrospectively.

Some people already benefit from cold weather payments to offset high utility bills in winter. The same should be avaliable for hot weather to offset higher utility bills

We call on the Government to launch a review into updating health and safety laws to ensure they specifically address and protect workers who spend much of their day in vehicles from excessive heat.

Calculate child maintenance payments on NET income not GROSS.

Legislate to require paternity tests to be taken before a father makes child maintenance payments.

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