Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average and maximum response times are for the Child Maintenance Service providing parents with full statements and breakdowns of maintenance calculations and variations on request.

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

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) remains committed to providing timely, transparent, and accurate information to parents.

Parents can access full statements at any time via the Child Maintenance Self Service portal, My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC), which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They do not need to request this from the CMS, as an online statement is always available.

When CMS recalculates maintenance due to a change in circumstances or a variation, we are legally required to notify both parents in writing. These letters, which include a detailed breakdown of the calculation, are also available online via MCMC.

Where a parent disputes their arrears balance, they can request a full account breakdown. This is a manual process. CMS does not systematically record the time taken to complete these requests, so the data requested is not available.

All calculation decisions can be challenged through the Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) process, which allows a parent to ask CMS to review a decision before appealing to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. During MR, CMS re-examines the decision and considers any new information provided. If the original decision is found to be incorrect, it will be revised.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of salary sacrifice pension scheme changes on the value of occupational pension funds.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We are taking a pragmatic approach to reforming pension contributions made via salary sacrifice, the costs of which were set to nearly triple to £8bn between 2017 and the end of this decade. The £2,000 cap means that only 5% of workers earning below £30,000 making salary sacrificed contributions will be affected. And the government continues to support pension saving with no changes to pensions tax relief, worth over £70 billion a year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support disabled people with the cost of living.

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

The government recognises that people are still feeling the squeeze on their finances with essential areas such as energy, food and housing remaining too high. That is why we have announced a range of support, including taking around £150 on average off household energy bills and expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount to 6 million lower income households and freezing regulated rail fares and NHS prescription fees for one-year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support young people into employment, education or training.

Answered by Pat McFadden - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The government is investing £820m to help young people earn or learn through the Youth Guarantee. This includes a Jobs Guarantee where eligible 18–21-year-olds, who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months, will be guaranteed six-months paid work. We are also investing £725m for the Growth and Skills Levy will help support apprenticeships for young people, alongside reforms that will simplify the apprenticeship system.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the responsiveness of his Department's helplines.

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

We are continuing our efforts to improve our telephony services.

We have prioritised service reform through focusing extra resource to boost our performance.

Our call answering rate has increased to 86 per cent, the average answering time improving from eight minutes 34 seconds to seven minutes 22 seconds.

Our efforts have cleared up agent work queues and freed up capacity.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has set performance targets for the Child Maintenance Service on (a) time to initial calculation, (b) time to enforcement following non payment, and (c) customer satisfaction.

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

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aims to complete 80 percent of initial maintenance calculations within six weeks The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the latest statistics are currently available to June 2025. Table 1 of the latest National tables includes information on the total number of applications received by CMS for each quarter and the percentage cleared within 6 weeks and 12 weeks, from quarter ending June 2024 to quarter ending June 2025

The main causes of delay in completing maintenance calculations include parent disputes, where we need to trace and verify the paying parent’s identity or location and when income investigation and verification is required

We continue to mitigate these factors through income verification from HMRC or benefits systems, quality assurance controls, and responsive resourcing to meet service-level targets.

The CMS is committed to making the most effective use of its strong enforcement powers, and we have made a number of improvements to its processes to drive case compliance and challenge non-compliant behaviours, but we do not currently have performance targets on the time to enforcement following non-payment.

We are dedicated to using enforcement powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families, but the specific actions taken following non-payment, and associated timescales will vary depending on the circumstances of a case.

CMS monitors customer experience and satisfaction as part of its regular operational rhythm, however, we do not currently have customer satisfaction performance targets for CMS, but work is ongoing to develop benchmarks against which we can measure performance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken is for initial maintenance calculations; and what the main causes of delay in making those calculations are.

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

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aims to complete 80 percent of initial maintenance calculations within six weeks The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the latest statistics are currently available to June 2025. Table 1 of the latest National tables includes information on the total number of applications received by CMS for each quarter and the percentage cleared within 6 weeks and 12 weeks, from quarter ending June 2024 to quarter ending June 2025

The main causes of delay in completing maintenance calculations include parent disputes, where we need to trace and verify the paying parent’s identity or location and when income investigation and verification is required

We continue to mitigate these factors through income verification from HMRC or benefits systems, quality assurance controls, and responsive resourcing to meet service-level targets.

The CMS is committed to making the most effective use of its strong enforcement powers, and we have made a number of improvements to its processes to drive case compliance and challenge non-compliant behaviours, but we do not currently have performance targets on the time to enforcement following non-payment.

We are dedicated to using enforcement powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families, but the specific actions taken following non-payment, and associated timescales will vary depending on the circumstances of a case.

CMS monitors customer experience and satisfaction as part of its regular operational rhythm, however, we do not currently have customer satisfaction performance targets for CMS, but work is ongoing to develop benchmarks against which we can measure performance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Maintenance Service cases in each of the last five years the Independent Case Examiner identified maladministration; and what common failings were identified.

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

Where the Independent Case Examiner identifies maladministration in cases it investigates, an upheld finding will be reached. Such findings are either upheld, whereby the complaint is fully accepted and evidence supports the complaint, or partially upheld whereby some, but not all, of the issues raised in the complaint have merit.

The data in the table below provides a combined total of upheld and partially upheld outcomes in the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) cases the Independent Case Examiner considered over the last five full reporting years.

Joanna Wallace, the Independent Case Examiner, provided written evidence to the House of Lords Public Services Committee Child Maintenance Inquiry 2025, in which she commented on emergent themes or common issues seen in CMS complaints.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support young people into employment, education or training.

Answered by Pat McFadden - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The government is investing £820m to help young people earn or learn through the Youth Guarantee. This includes a Jobs Guarantee where eligible 18–21-year-olds, who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months, will be guaranteed six-months paid work. We are also investing £725m for the Growth and Skills Levy will help support apprenticeships for young people, alongside reforms that will simplify the apprenticeship system.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Maintenance Service calculations were revised following (a) Mandatory Reconsideration and (b) appeal in each of the last five years; and what the total value of revised liabilities was in each year.

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

Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) is the process where a parent asks the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to review a decision before appealing to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. It can be requested at any stage of a case or after an unsuccessful application. If CMS finds the original decision incorrect or receives new information, the decision may be revised.

The CMS is committed to ensuring decisions are timely, accurate, fair, and based on all relevant information provided by parents.

The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the latest statistics are currently available to June 2025.

Table 9 of the latest National tables includes information on the total number of mandatory reconsideration requests received by the CMS and the outcomes occurring each quarter, and the number and percentage cleared within 28 days of receipt, from quarter ending June 2015 to quarter ending June 2025.

Table 10 of the latest National tables includes information on the total number of appeals made by parents to His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service to review a decision made by the CMS each quarter, from quarter ending June 2015 to quarter ending June 2025.

The information requested on the average time it takes the Child Maintenance Service to review these requests and, total value of revised liabilities, 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 (a) mandatory reconsiderations and (b) appeals have been requested in each of the last five years; and what is the average time it takes the Child Maintenance Service to review these requests.

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

Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) is the process where a parent asks the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to review a decision before appealing to His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. It can be requested at any stage of a case or after an unsuccessful application. If CMS finds the original decision incorrect or receives new information, the decision may be revised.

The CMS is committed to ensuring decisions are timely, accurate, fair, and based on all relevant information provided by parents.

The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the latest statistics are currently available to June 2025.

Table 9 of the latest National tables includes information on the total number of mandatory reconsideration requests received by the CMS and the outcomes occurring each quarter, and the number and percentage cleared within 28 days of receipt, from quarter ending June 2015 to quarter ending June 2025.

Table 10 of the latest National tables includes information on the total number of appeals made by parents to His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service to review a decision made by the CMS each quarter, from quarter ending June 2015 to quarter ending June 2025.

The information requested on the average time it takes the Child Maintenance Service to review these requests and, total value of revised liabilities, 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 assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on the number of NEET young people.

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

The Budget made more than £1.5bn available over the next three years for investment inemployment and skills support. This funds £820m for the Youth Guarantee and provides£725m for the Growth and Skills Levy, ensuring young people have the support they need toearn or learn. The Youth Guarantee will include the Jobs Guarantee, which is guaranteeing six-months of paid work for every eligible 18-21 year old who has been on Universal Credit andlooking for work for 18 months. Under the Jobs Guarantee we will fund 100% of the wages forthe six months (up to 25hrs/week at the relevant minimum wage), as well as the additionalemployment costs.

An independent investigation has also been launched to identify how we can go further totackle the root causes of youth activity. Led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the probewill examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or educationbefore their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental healthconditions and disability.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many additional households will become subject to the Household Benefit Cap following the removal of the two-child limit on the Universal Credit child element.

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

The requested information is not available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints about the Child Maintenance Service were received in each of the last five years, and how many were (a) upheld, (b) partly upheld and (c) not upheld.

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

The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics. The complaints received for quarter ending June 2015 to quarter ending June 2025 are available in Table 11 of the accompanying National tables.

A new publication containing data on DWP complaints received and their outcomes, including those within the Child Maintenance Service, is due to be published on 16 December 2025. Data within this publication will cover the period quarter ending September 2020 to quarter ending September 2025.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of total benefit income received by the average benefit-capped household is accounted for by (a) Universal Credit excluding child elements, (b) the Universal Credit child element, (c) Housing Benefit, (d) Incapacity Benefit, (e) Employment and Support Allowance, (f) Income Support, and (g) Jobseeker’s Allowance.

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

The information is not available. This is because, whilst there are different elements in the determination of the gross entitlement, Universal Credit is paid as one single payment. As such it is not possible to quantify the amount of Universal Credit excluding child elements or the amount of Universal Credit child element that the average benefit-capped household would receive after reductions due to earnings for example.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) removing the two-child limit of UC child benefit and (b) adding that benefit to the exemptions for the household benefit cap on the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) number of households exempt from that cap.

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

Information related to removing the two child limit policy is published in ‘Table 3.2: Costing of the removal of the two-child limit’ (page 66-67) and is available at EFOs - Office for Budget Responsibility.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will he provide projections for the number of face-to-face assessments on a national basis for each month of 2026.

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

As set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we plan to increase the number of face-to-face health assessments while maintaining our commitment to providing alternative assessment channels where necessary.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will consult with representatives of older FAS and PPF members to explore alternative approaches to compensating people without pension indexation.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has tabled an amendment which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) on pensions built up before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%) and apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases. Pre-97 increases will also apply to the beneficiaries of eligible members.

The change announced to provide pre-97 indexation for PPF and FAS compensation payments will be made for members whose former schemes provided indexation within their scheme rules on a mandatory or statutory basis. The members captured within our reforms lost out when their scheme transferred to the PPF or qualified for the FAS. We do not intend to consult on the matter of pensions indexation in the PPF and FAS.

I understand that members will want to receive compensation quickly, particularly those with a serious illness or limited life expectancy and I am sympathetic to those concerns.

Legislation introducing indexation on pre-1997 service will apply to eligible members suffering serious ill health in the same way that it applies to other members. Those in receipt of an ill-health pension when their scheme entered a PPF assessment period are entitled to 100% compensation, indexed as set out in the proposals.

The Financial Assistance Scheme has the capacity to pay ill health, severe ill health and terminal ill health payments. All three are regular payments rather than in the form of a lump sum. The Pension Protection Fund makes terminal illness payments in the form of a lump sum. Measures in the Pension Schemes Bill are additionally extending the definition of terminal illness so that affected individuals can access terminal illness payments earlier, at a very difficult time of their lives.

The earliest opportunity to provide pre-97 increases to PPF and FAS members is January 2027, the first annual uprating point after the Pension Schemes Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has considered bringing forward the planned January 2027 implementation of CPI-linked increases for pre-1997 PPF and FAS accruals to ensure that members with limited life expectancy benefit.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has tabled an amendment which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) on pensions built up before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%) and apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases. Pre-97 increases will also apply to the beneficiaries of eligible members.

The change announced to provide pre-97 indexation for PPF and FAS compensation payments will be made for members whose former schemes provided indexation within their scheme rules on a mandatory or statutory basis. The members captured within our reforms lost out when their scheme transferred to the PPF or qualified for the FAS. We do not intend to consult on the matter of pensions indexation in the PPF and FAS.

I understand that members will want to receive compensation quickly, particularly those with a serious illness or limited life expectancy and I am sympathetic to those concerns.

Legislation introducing indexation on pre-1997 service will apply to eligible members suffering serious ill health in the same way that it applies to other members. Those in receipt of an ill-health pension when their scheme entered a PPF assessment period are entitled to 100% compensation, indexed as set out in the proposals.

The Financial Assistance Scheme has the capacity to pay ill health, severe ill health and terminal ill health payments. All three are regular payments rather than in the form of a lump sum. The Pension Protection Fund makes terminal illness payments in the form of a lump sum. Measures in the Pension Schemes Bill are additionally extending the definition of terminal illness so that affected individuals can access terminal illness payments earlier, at a very difficult time of their lives.

The earliest opportunity to provide pre-97 increases to PPF and FAS members is January 2027, the first annual uprating point after the Pension Schemes Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures the Government will take to ensure that members of the FAS and PPF with serious health conditions or limited life expectancy are not disadvantaged under the proposals for CPI-linked increases to pre-1997 pension accruals.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has tabled an amendment which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) on pensions built up before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%) and apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases. Pre-97 increases will also apply to the beneficiaries of eligible members.

The change announced to provide pre-97 indexation for PPF and FAS compensation payments will be made for members whose former schemes provided indexation within their scheme rules on a mandatory or statutory basis. The members captured within our reforms lost out when their scheme transferred to the PPF or qualified for the FAS. We do not intend to consult on the matter of pensions indexation in the PPF and FAS.

I understand that members will want to receive compensation quickly, particularly those with a serious illness or limited life expectancy and I am sympathetic to those concerns.

Legislation introducing indexation on pre-1997 service will apply to eligible members suffering serious ill health in the same way that it applies to other members. Those in receipt of an ill-health pension when their scheme entered a PPF assessment period are entitled to 100% compensation, indexed as set out in the proposals.

The Financial Assistance Scheme has the capacity to pay ill health, severe ill health and terminal ill health payments. All three are regular payments rather than in the form of a lump sum. The Pension Protection Fund makes terminal illness payments in the form of a lump sum. Measures in the Pension Schemes Bill are additionally extending the definition of terminal illness so that affected individuals can access terminal illness payments earlier, at a very difficult time of their lives.

The earliest opportunity to provide pre-97 increases to PPF and FAS members is January 2027, the first annual uprating point after the Pension Schemes Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government will review the method used to apply CPI-linked increases in the PPF and FAS to pre-1997 accruals to ensure that compensation is proportionate to levels of historical losses.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has tabled an amendment which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) on pensions built up before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%) and apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases. Pre-97 increases will also apply to the beneficiaries of eligible members.

The change announced to provide pre-97 indexation for PPF and FAS compensation payments will be made for members whose former schemes provided indexation within their scheme rules on a mandatory or statutory basis. The members captured within our reforms lost out when their scheme transferred to the PPF or qualified for the FAS. We do not intend to consult on the matter of pensions indexation in the PPF and FAS.

I understand that members will want to receive compensation quickly, particularly those with a serious illness or limited life expectancy and I am sympathetic to those concerns.

Legislation introducing indexation on pre-1997 service will apply to eligible members suffering serious ill health in the same way that it applies to other members. Those in receipt of an ill-health pension when their scheme entered a PPF assessment period are entitled to 100% compensation, indexed as set out in the proposals.

The Financial Assistance Scheme has the capacity to pay ill health, severe ill health and terminal ill health payments. All three are regular payments rather than in the form of a lump sum. The Pension Protection Fund makes terminal illness payments in the form of a lump sum. Measures in the Pension Schemes Bill are additionally extending the definition of terminal illness so that affected individuals can access terminal illness payments earlier, at a very difficult time of their lives.

The earliest opportunity to provide pre-97 increases to PPF and FAS members is January 2027, the first annual uprating point after the Pension Schemes Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Government's proposed changes to Motability on those with standard leases.

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

The Motability Scheme will continue to offer a choice of vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs. The Scheme will continue to offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit.

Motability Operations, an independent commercial company which delivers the Scheme, will continue to prioritise customer needs, ensuring vehicles remain affordable.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people using the Access to Work scheme in (a) Surrey Heath constituency and (b) Surrey.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions does not publish Access to Work data at constituency or county level. However, national statistics show that 61,670 people received Access to Work support across Great Britain in the financial year ending March 2025.

Further details are available in the official publication: Access to Work statistics - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has instructed that Access to Work criteria should be applied more strictly.

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

There has been no change to Access to Work policy. The published guidance remains the same and continues to be applied, though as a part of the continuous improvement of the service there has been a focus on ensuring consistency in decision-making.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 94068 on Universal Credit: Veterans, whether the rules have changed since July 2024.

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

With regards to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 94068, there have been no changes since July 2024.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of making advance payments for a qualifying vehicle under the Motability Scheme taxable at the standard rate of VAT on people with disabilities from July 2026.

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

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms.

Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles.

Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to consult with (a) service users and (b) providers when changing (a) hours and (b) hourly rates for Access to Work grants after an application.

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

We have interpreted service users as Access to Work (AtW) customers and providers as support workers, third parties, and stakeholders who deliver support to AtW customers.

AtW provides tailored support to help disabled people overcome workplace barriers that go beyond an employer’s reasonable adjustments. Awards are based on an assessment of the customer’s individual needs.

When hours or hourly rates are changed the AtW case manager consults directly with the customer to explain the reasons for the change. As the customer is the recipient of the grant, the case manager does not consult with providers such as support workers or organisations delivering services. It is for the customer to liaise with their chosen provider regarding any changes.

If a customer is dissatisfied with a change to their hours or hourly rates, they may request that their award is reviewed by a different AtW case manager.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate the Department has made of the level of change in the number of households exempt from the benefit cap following the Autumn Budget 2025.

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

No assessment has been made.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes his Department has in place for people to escalate complaints where no response has been received after the standard timeframe for people contacting Access to Work during application and when finalising the details of a grant.

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

Customers who are unhappy with the service they receive from Access to Work, including delays or lack of response, can raise a complaint directly with the team handling their case.

If the issue is not resolved, the complaint can be escalated through the Department’s formal complaints process. This includes:

Stage 1: Contacting the business area or team directly to resolve the concern.

Stage 2: Asking for the complaint to be referred to the DWP Complaints Team for review, who will aim to resolve it within 15 working days.

Stage 3: If still dissatisfied, customers can escalate their complaint to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) within six months of the final response.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of applying Insurance Premium Tax to certain vehicles under the Motability Scheme from 1 July 2026 to levels of (a) poverty and (b) financial hardship among people with disabilities.

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

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms.

Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles.

Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of applying Insurance Premium Tax to certain vehicles under the Motability Scheme from 1 July 2026 on access to (a) employment, (b) education and (c) health appointments.

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

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms.

Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles.

Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of making advance payments for a qualifying vehicle under the Motability Scheme taxable at the standard rate of VAT on the level of (a) poverty and (b) financial hardship for people with disabilities.

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

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms.

Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles.

Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of making advance payments for a qualifying vehicle under the Motability Scheme taxable at the standard rate of VAT on access to (a) employment (b) education (c) health appointments from July 2026.

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

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms.

Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles.

Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the comments of the Minister for Pensions on the Making Money podcast on 17 November, whether the Pensions Commission is scheduled to report within 12 months; and what is the expected date of publication.

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

The Pensions Commission has been tasked with considering how to deliver financial security in retirement and support those approaching retirement through a pensions framework that is strong, fair and sustainable. The Pensions Commission is expected to publish its final report in early 2027.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received wobble boards through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average cost of a wobble board.

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

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average number of items received by successful applicants through Access to Work.

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

Information on the number of items received by successful applicants is stored as descriptive free-text information. Providing an answer would require manual examination of individual applications, and would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received noise-cancelling headphones through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what is the average cost of those headphones.

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

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people received Microsoft Office subscriptions through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average cost of those subscriptions.

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

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received Trello subscriptions through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average price of those subscriptions.

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

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have received farming equipment through Access to Work in each of the past five years, and what was the average cost of that equipment.

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

Details of the specific special aides/equipment an individual claims payment for is stored as descriptive free-text information and would require manual examination of individual applications to analyse and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of AI on the number of individuals who will claim health and disability benefits over the course of this Parliament.

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

No estimate has been made on the impact of AI on the number of individuals who will claim health and disability benefits over the course of this Parliament.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28th November to question 93107, whether his Department will monitor how local authorities spend the Crisis and Resilience Fund; and will the wider essentials section be separated further to differentiate between expensive furniture and white goods and lower cost period and hygiene products etc.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

My Department has actively engaged with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund, including reporting requirements, through a structured co-design process involving a representative group of local authorities, third-party organisations and academics. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28th November to question 93107, whether the Crisis and Resilience Fund will include an updated management information return to ensure that spend on furniture and white goods is accounted for.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

My Department has actively engaged with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund, including reporting requirements, through a structured co-design process involving a representative group of local authorities, third-party organisations and academics. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will introduce a ringfenced element for (a) furniture and (b) appliances through the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

My Department has actively engaged with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund through a structured co-design process involving a representative group of local authorities, third-party organisations and academics. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are exempt from the Household Benefit Cap solely as a result of receiving (a) Personal Independence Payment and (b) Carer’s Allowance by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - 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 households are exempt from the Household Benefit Cap solely as a result of receiving (a) Disability Living Allowance and (b) Attendance Allowance by region.

Answered by Stephen Timms - 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 whether they will implement specific measures to support people with learning disabilities into work; and if so, when.

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

People with learning disabilities often face very significant challenges in being able to find work. We know that most people with learning disabilities want to have a job, and evidence shows that they bring many positive benefits to their employers.

Connect to Work is our voluntary, locally commissioned, Supported Employment programme which is rolling out this year and early 2026. This £1bn programme is for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing more complex barriers to work and will support around 300,000 people by the end of the decade. Participants are given a dedicated specialist employment support adviser who works alongside them to understand their career goals and help them to address any specific barriers to employment. Local Authorities are required to follow two models of Supported Employment – Individual Placement and Support and Supported Employment Quality Framework. The latter framework has been specifically designed, and has a proven track record, to support individuals with learning disabilities or who are neurodivergent to get into sustainable employment.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are claimants of Access to Work whose employment is to help others claim Access to Work.

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

This data is not held. Determining this would require a manual review of individual claimant applications to examine employment details, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals who are eligible for health and disability benefits who have not claimed these benefits over the last five years.

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

No estimate has been made.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether ideas for reforming the Personal Independent Payment assessment criteria and processes requiring additional expenditure will be permitted under the terms of reference of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.

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

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.

The Review is focussed on ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence. We are committed to spending public money as effectively as possible to support disabled people in living independent and fulfilling lives.

It will be for the Steering Group to determine the Review’s recommendations, subject to the Terms of Reference which specify that the Review will operate within the OBR’s projections for future Personal Independence Payment expenditure.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Budget 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the number of existing Motability Scheme users who may be adversely affected by changes to Motability tax reliefs.

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

The Motability Scheme supports many disabled people and families, by enabling them to lease a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for an eligible disability benefit allowance.

The Motability Scheme will continue to offer a choice of vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs. The scheme will also continue to offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Motability Scheme in addressing transport accessibility gaps.

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

The Motability Scheme supports many disabled people and families, by enabling them to lease a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for an eligible disability benefit allowance. The scheme helps people with significant mobility issues participate in society, including by breaking down barriers to work.

The Motability Foundation have published its strategy to support and empower disabled people by improving their access to transport. The plan sets out how they will act directly and work with others to drive change.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the total amount of national insurance contributions made by recipients of Contributory Employment Support Allowance.

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

Entitlement to contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is based on a claimant’s National Insurance (NI) contribution record.

Aggregating each ESA claimant’s NI contributions would require detailed analysis of individual claimants’ administrative records across both DWP and HMRC and would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) region, (2) ethnicity, (3) religion, (4) age, and (5) disability of parents with families of three children or more.

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

Statistics related to households on Universal Credit with three or more children, affected by the Universal Credit two child limit policy, are published annually. The last publication was published on 10 July 2025 with data for April 2025.

The relevant information is shown in the data tables attached:

1, table 10A for country and region

2, table 09A for ethnicity

4, table 07A for age group of any claimant

5, table 04A for health and disability benefit entitlement

The full publication is available here: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK

Data broken down by 3) religion is not available.

Alternatively, statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit by family type and number of children are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore. Universal Credit statistics are available in the Households on Universal Credit dataset.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information received from HMRC regarding earnings is accurate and that any errors are identified and corrected swiftly, so that Universal Credit claimants are not left without support as a result of inaccurate data.

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

HMRC has the responsibility to ensure employers report earnings information accurately and timeously.

DWP has a process to ensure any inaccurate data is corrected as soon as is possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners receive the full state pension as their only income.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department does not hold readily available information to identify how many pensioners receive the full State Pension as their only income. Information is, however, available from Departmental survey data which shows, in 2023/24, around 1.1m pensioner families in the UK received the State Pension and other state benefits as their only source of income. This information is published in the Pensioner Incomes series.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of pensioners whose incomes will be below the minimum retirement living standard in 2040.

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

This Government is committed to delivering greater security in retirement for future retirees. The Pensions Scheme Bill will put in place bigger, better pension schemes that have the scale to deliver better returns, a strong Value for Money framework to ensure schemes are delivering these returns, and new Guided Retirements to support people to turn their savings into an income in retirement.

The Government has also revived the Pensions Commission, which is reviewing our pensions system as a whole and the retirement outcomes it delivers, with a focus on adequacy, fairness and sustainability.

DWP’s latest estimate, in July 2025, found around 13% of current working-age individuals were on track to have an income level in retirement below the Pensions UK Minimum Retirement Living Standard.

For those becoming a pensioner in the 2040s, it is estimated that 15% will fall below the Pensions UK Minimum Standard, the equivalent of around 1 million individuals.

For further detail please see:

Analysis of Future Pension Incomes 2025 - GOV.UK

analysis_of_future_pensions_incomes_data.xlsx – See table 4

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within his Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The independent Office for National Statistics publish monthly estimates of online job adverts by occupation Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK - Office for National Statistics and vacancies across each industrial sector VACS02: Vacancies by industry - Office for National Statistics.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 94068 on Universal Credit: Veterans, if he will set out the reasons for differences in how Armed Forces Pensions and service attributable pensions are taken into account for the purposes of calculating Universal Credit payments.

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

In common with the legacy benefits it replaces, Universal Credit takes into account money available from other sources which allow a claimant to support themselves, allowing a fair balance to be struck between those in the greatest financial need and taxpayers who fund the welfare system. The general principle is that income, other than earnings, which is provided to meet everyday living costs is fully taken into account in the calculation of Universal Credit

As occupational and private pensions are paid to provide support to help people meet their living costs, they are taken fully into account in the assessment of entitlement to Universal Credit. This includes regular Armed Forces pensions, which are treated the same as any other occupational pension.

However, income which is provided to meet additional costs relating to disability is not taken into account. Therefore, payments relating to special schemes for compensation, and those relating to personal injury, are not taken into account as unearned income. Consequently, War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Payments are not taken into account in Universal Credit. Guaranteed Income Payments, Service Attributable Pensions and service-attributable, non-taxable Service Invalidity Pensions are also not taken into account.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to remove the work capability assessment.

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

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we are abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and that following this, eligibility to the new Universal Credit Health Element would require the claimant to be in receipt of a Daily Living award on Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Work is continuing to determine the detail of how this reformed system would work and discussions are also under way with the Scottish Government about the interactions between the devolved and reserved systems. We will set out further details of the reformed system, and the timing of WCA abolition, once we are in a position to do so.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who flowed off the household benefit cap because of an exempting benefit had the off-flow outcome due to receiving (a) Employment Support Allowance support group, (b) Disability Living Allowance, (c) Industrial Injuries and (d) Personal Independence Payment in the quarter to May 2025.

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

The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are currently available up to the quarter to May 2025.

Statistics on the exempting benefit outcomes above are grouped in the ‘Other outcome’ category above. The Department does not produce statistics breaking down this category into individual exempting benefits and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, of the households who flowed off the household benefit cap in the quarter to May 2025, how many had the off-flow outcome due to the (a) household’s benefit income being reduced to under the cap levels, (b) the household being in receipt of an exempting benefit, and (c) household no longer claiming Universal Credit.

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

The Department publishes Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit that have flowed off the benefit cap, including outcome at off-flow, which are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are currently available up to the quarter to May 2025.

Statistics on the exempting benefit outcomes above are grouped in the ‘Other outcome’ category above. The Department does not produce statistics breaking down this category into individual exempting benefits and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

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

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been done as to the number of households that are affected by the overall benefit cap, rather than the two child limit.

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

Benefit Cap statistics are regularly published, the latest publication is available here: Benefit cap: number of households capped to May 2025 - GOV.UK

The latest two child limit statistics are published here: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure timely chid maintenance payments for single parents.

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

Children in separated and single-parent families are statistically more likely to experience poverty compared to those in non-separated families. Through both statutory and non-statutory arrangements, Child Maintenance payments currently help keep around 120,000 children out of poverty each year.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring that parents meet their financial responsibilities in full and on time. Recent system changes enable us to identify at-risk cases earlier, allowing caseworkers to intervene promptly where partial payments are made and before payments stop altogether.

Where parents fail to meet their obligations, the CMS will not hesitate to use the full range of enforcement powers available. These powers are applied fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Motability Scheme on supporting disabled people into employment and training.

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

The Motability Foundation report that 27% of Scheme users have improved access to education and 21% have improved access to employment opportunities. Scheme customers in employment report working an extra 14 hours a week, on average.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Budget 2025, what measures his Department will take to reduce error and fraud in the welfare system by £4.6 billion by 2030-31.

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

Since Autumn Budget 2024, including the new announcements at Autumn Budget 2025, the Government has committed to gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030/31 from fraud, error and debt activity in GB. These activities include:

• introducing regular requests for Universal Credit claimants to confirm whether any of their circumstances have changed, £1.2bn
• improvements to the verification of self-employment income and expenses and of capital in claimants’ bank accounts to prevent fraud and error entering the Universal Credit benefit system, £0.9bn
• investment to deploy up to 3,000 additional staff and strengthen our data, analytics and investigative capability, £3.0bn
• continuing Targeted Case Reviews to check accuracy of Universal Credit claims at risk of being incorrect, £6.6bn including £1.2bn in Autumn Budget 25. Since its inception, TCR has committed to delivering £17.3 billion AME savings by March 2031.
• providing additional resource to action data alerts to detect and correct under- and over-payments, £0.2bn
• introducing legislation to require banks and other financial institutions to share data with DWP to help identify any potential overpayments, £1.2bn
• introducing legislation to allow DWP to recover debts from those no longer on benefit or in PAYE employment, £0.9bn (PSNCR - Public Sector Net Cash Requirement)
• introducing reviews of Pension Credit claims that are at risk of being incorrect, starting from 2026 and ending in 2029, £0.5bn.

Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by his Department in the last financial year.

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

Due to the way this information is stored in our systems, it would be difficult and incur disproportionate costs to extract subscriptions to LinkedIn and other social media platforms.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households will be affected by the lifting of the two child benefit cap.

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

The requested information is published in ‘Table 3.2: Costing of the removal of the two-child limit’ (page 66-67) and is available at EFOs - Office for Budget Responsibility.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average payment per customer for each primary medical condition, as defined in the Access to Work statistics released by the Department for Work and Pensions.

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

The requested information across all Access to Work provision can be found in tables AVG03a (nominal terms expenditure) and AVG03a-R (real terms expenditure) in the published official statistics. Tables AVG03b through AVG03d-R provide further average expenditure breakdowns by any element, any assessment and non-contracted provision. Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of pensioners eligible for Pension Credit who are not currently receiving it.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics cover the financial year 2023 to 2024 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2024 - GOV.UK.

The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are rightly entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign. Alongside the campaign, we are making better use of data to directly target potentially eligible households. Since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit. In September, the Department undertook a trial in partnership with Age UK and Independent Age targeting 2,000 households in England identified using HMRC and DWP data.

The DWP’s drive to maximise Pension Credit take-up has seen the Department receive record numbers of claims – some 320,300 Pension Credit claims in the year ending July 2025 with nearly 60,000 extra awards compared to the equivalent period in the previous year.

We are also undertaking research specifically looking into the factors that motivate people to make a claim as well as why some older people do not claim benefits to which they could be entitled, in order to build the evidence of what works to increase take-up.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to extend pre-1997 pension indexation changes for members of the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme to members of ongoing occupational pension schemes whose pre-1997 contributions remain frozen.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme on pensions accrued before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%). This will apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases.

In private sector defined benefit pension schemes, analysis published by the Pensions Regulator indicates that, as of March 2023, around 17 per cent of members do not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests

The reforms in our Pension Schemes Bill give trustees more flexibility to share surplus with sponsoring employers, and negotiate benefits for members, including discretionary increases. Trustees will be in the driving seat in all decision making on surplus release and must act in the best interest of scheme beneficiaries.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of members of ongoing occupational pension schemes who will not receive pre-1997 indexation.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme on pensions accrued before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%). This will apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases.

In private sector defined benefit pension schemes, analysis published by the Pensions Regulator indicates that, as of March 2023, around 17 per cent of members do not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests

The reforms in our Pension Schemes Bill give trustees more flexibility to share surplus with sponsoring employers, and negotiate benefits for members, including discretionary increases. Trustees will be in the driving seat in all decision making on surplus release and must act in the best interest of scheme beneficiaries.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of occupational pension schemes whose pre-1997 pension rights remain unindexed on retired members of those schemes.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme on pensions accrued before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%). This will apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases.

In private sector defined benefit pension schemes, analysis published by the Pensions Regulator indicates that, as of March 2023, around 17 per cent of members do not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests

The reforms in our Pension Schemes Bill give trustees more flexibility to share surplus with sponsoring employers, and negotiate benefits for members, including discretionary increases. Trustees will be in the driving seat in all decision making on surplus release and must act in the best interest of scheme beneficiaries.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support older people experiencing financial hardship in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The State Pension remains the foundation of our support for pensioners, and our commitment to maintain the Triple Lock throughout this Parliament will ensure its value continues to rise over time. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the basic and new State Pensions will, increase by 4.8% in April 2026, benefitting over 12 million pensioners by up to £575. It also means The new State Pension is set to rise by over £2,000 over this Parliament.

Pension Credit continues to provide vital financial support for pensioners who, for whatever reason, find themselves on a low income. It does this by guaranteeing a minimum level of income – called the Standard Minimum Guarantee – which will also, subject to Parliamentary approval, increase by 4.8%, protecting the most vulnerable pensioners.

Crucially, receipt of Pension Credit also opens the door to other financial support, including Housing Benefit, Council Tax support and help with NHS costs as well as help with fuel bills and a free TV licence for those over 75. Maximising the take-up of Pension Credit remains a key priority. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends. The latest campaign burst started in September and activity is planned until the end of the financial year.

Our campaign features adverts on television and ‘video on demand’, radio (including Greatest Hits radio, Hits Radio Lincolnshire, Classic FM and Smooth), social media, digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices (13 locations in Lincolnshire), as well as press activity (including advertorials in the Lincolnshire Echo, Grantham Journal, Lincolnshire Free Press, Spalding Guardian and the Stamford Mercury).

For households facing financial hardship, the Household Support Fund remains available, with funding extended to March 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that the State Pension Benefit will be available under the current conditions to those entering the workforce in the financial year 2025-2026.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to maintaining a fair and sustainable State Pension system that provides security in retirement. The new State Pension, introduced in April 2016, offers a clear and predictable foundation for individuals’ retirement planning.

Entitlement to the State Pension continues to be based on National Insurance contributions and credits, ensuring that those who contribute throughout their working lives are able to build qualifying years.

To ensure today’s workers and tomorrow’s pensioners have security in retirement, we have launched the Pensions Commission to consider what is needed for a stronger, fairer and more sustainable pensions framework. The Commission will examine how to improve outcomes, particularly for those on the lowest incomes and at greatest risk of poverty or under-saving.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the adequacy of support available to pensioners in schemes with differing indexation arrangements.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has no plans to retrospectively change defined benefit pension scheme rules to align what are highly variable indexation arrangements.

Our reforms will however introduce greater flexibility for more trustees to share surplus with employers, deliver better outcomes for members and benefit the wider economy. Trustees will be able to require that employers approve discretionary indexation for members as part of any agreement to release surplus funds to the employer.

The Pension Regulator already sets out that trustees should consider the situation of those members who would benefit from a discretionary increase and whether the scheme has a history of making such awards. The Regulator will be producing further guidance on surplus sharing once the legislation is in place.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Oral Statement on 11 November 2025 entitled Pensions, if he will publish the research findings from the Department's 2007 evaluation on the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Report no.447 “Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts” is publicly available and can be accessed at:

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20121212081018mp_/http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2007-2008/rrep447.pdf

As confirmed in the Written Statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 11 November, a copy of DWP Research Report no.447 “Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts” has also been deposited in the Libraries of the House.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that carers are not being pursued for overpayments where this was incurred due to incorrect operational guidance.

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

I refer the hon. Member to my Written Statement of 25 November HCWS1092 and (at Col 22WS) Carer's Allowance Overpayments Review - Hansard - UK Parliament where I set out that the department will be reassessing historical and existing Carer’s Allowance cases with an earnings-related overpayment in England and Wales. This will cover the period between 2015 and summer 2025 where the treatment of fluctuating earnings may have given rise to an incorrect overpayment. I also said we would set out more details on the reassessment exercise in the New Year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the planned timetable for the reassessment of carers allowance overpayments as a result of incorrect operational guidance.

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

I refer the hon. Member to my Written Statement of 25 November HCWS1092 and (at Col 22WS) Carer's Allowance Overpayments Review - Hansard - UK Parliament where I set out that the department will be reassessing historical and existing Carer’s Allowance cases with an earnings-related overpayment in England and Wales. This will cover the period between 2015 and summer 2025 where the treatment of fluctuating earnings may have given rise to an incorrect overpayment. I also said we would set out more details on the reassessment exercise in the New Year.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the readiness of the replacement digital service for the new Jobs and Careers Service.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department is working to ensure the new Jobs and Careers Service is delivered on schedule. The Department continues to engage with stakeholders and will communicate changes in a timely manner.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to address the 15% of people who are dying in poverty in Mid Fife and Glenrothes every year.

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

A Scottish person at end of life can make a fast-tracked claim to the following reserved benefits (if they are eligible): Universal Credit (UC) and New Style Employment Support Allowance (NS ESA).

Disability Benefits are devolved in Scotland and policy responsibility sits with the Scottish Government.

The UK Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it. Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work, are on a low income or have additional costs as a consequence of a long-term health condition or disability but are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age

For those nearing the end of their life, the UK Government’s priority is to provide people with financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable Scottish people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to UC and NS ESA. The Universal Credit Act 2025, also ensures that all SREL claimants will receive the higher LCWRA rate, no matter when they make their claim.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to address the 25.9% of working age people who are dying in poverty in Fife every year.

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

A Scottish person at end of life can make a fast-tracked claim to the following reserved benefits (if they are eligible): Universal Credit (UC) and New Style Employment Support Allowance (NS ESA).

Disability Benefits are devolved in Scotland and policy responsibility sits with the Scottish Government.

The UK Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it. Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work, are on a low income or have additional costs as a consequence of a long-term health condition or disability but are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age

For those nearing the end of their life, the UK Government’s priority is to provide people with financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable Scottish people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to UC and NS ESA. The Universal Credit Act 2025, also ensures that all SREL claimants will receive the higher LCWRA rate, no matter when they make their claim.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to increase the speed of (a) award decisions and (b) reimbursement payments for the Access to Work scheme.

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

We are committed to increasing the speed of (a) award decisions and (b) reimbursement payments under the Access to Work scheme. To support this, we have increased capacity by recruiting additional staff to process applications and payments. Access to Work payments processing is currently meeting the Standard level agreement of 10 days. We also prioritise cases where customers are about to start work or require renewal of existing support.

In March 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which launched a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the timeline for the introduction of new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing.

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

The Autumn Budget 2025 included an announcement to introduce four new earned income disregards into Housing Benefit for residents in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation.

This will remove a significant barrier to entering work or increasing hours, ensuring that work pays and residents are better able to achieve financial independence from Autumn 2026. The Department’s latest data for August 2025 shows there were around 300,000 working-age people on Housing Benefit living in either supported housing or temporary accommodation of which around 200,000 were living specifically in supported housing.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are in the light touch or working conditionality groups.

Answered by Stephen Timms - 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 whether they plan to lift any other elements of the benefit cap beyond scrapping the two-child limit.

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

The benefit cap limits the total amount of benefits a working age household can receive and is applied through Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. The benefit cap aims to incentivise work as, where possible, it is in the best interest of children to be in working households. The Department provides a range of support for people to prepare for, move into and progress in work. We are delivering a step-change in employment and skills support for parents, enabling parents to balance work and caring responsibilities through high quality, flexible jobs, and improving access to childcare so parents are better able to work. There are no plans to change the benefit cap policy.

Alongside employment support, the Department supports families in work through an exemption from the benefit cap for households earning at least £846 each month. There is also protection for the most vulnerable as those who are caring or are severely disabled are exempt from the benefit cap.

Removing the two child limit is the fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty over this Parliament and estimated to alone lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament. It builds on major action we’ve already taken including expanding Free School Meals for over half a million children, investing £39 billion in social and affordable housing, £13.2 billion in the Warm Homes Plan, and rolling out Best Start Family Hubs backed by £500 million.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are expected to be supported by the introduction of new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing.

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

The Autumn Budget 2025 included an announcement to introduce four new earned income disregards into Housing Benefit for residents in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation.

This will remove a significant barrier to entering work or increasing hours, ensuring that work pays and residents are better able to achieve financial independence from Autumn 2026. The Department’s latest data for August 2025 shows there were around 300,000 working-age people on Housing Benefit living in either supported housing or temporary accommodation of which around 200,000 were living specifically in supported housing.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for every year since 2017, what proportion of Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are (a) in work and (b) not in work.

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

Table 1 provides the proportion of Universal Credit households with children, broken down by in work or not in work.

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1%.

2. Figures are for households receiving Universal Credit in assessment periods ending at any point in the calendar year.

3. Figures are for Great Britain (GB) only and include only households where Universal Credit was in payment.

4. Figures represent Universal Credit full service claims only, which are only available from 2019 onwards.

5. Due to differences in methodology, there may be slight differences from published statistics.

Table 1: Proportion of UC households with children, broken down by in work or not in work, for every calendar year since 2019

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the official closing date under section 14 of the Inquiries Act 2005 was for the public inquiry entitled ICL Inquiry.

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

The independent public inquiry entitled ICL Inquiry, officially closed when its final report was presented to the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament under Section 26 of the Inquiries Act 2005 in July 2009.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are in (a) full-time or (b) part-time work.

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

The requested information is not available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what service standards on timeliness are in place for making decisions on Work Capability Assessments; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce these waiting times.

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

The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is one part of the process for making a UC or ESA benefit entitlement decision. Health Care Practitioners undertake the Work Capability Assessment and following this functional assessment make a recommendation to the department. Thereafter, a DWP Decision Maker reviews this recommendation and makes the decision on benefit entitlement.

We monitor customer journey times for WCAs, deploying additional staff if required, prioritising urgent cases and addressing backlogs. We consistently prioritise assessments for new claims to minimise waiting times.

Due to unforeseen high levels of WCAs required in late 2024, a backlog of reassessment cases built up from individuals reporting a change in their condition before May 2025. We are working with suppliers to increase capacity for clearing this backlog, including the acceleration of the recruitment of assessors. There are no backlogs within the DWP Decision Making stage.

The UC WCA statistics remain under development with Phase 2 having been completed in September 2024. WCA clearance times will be introduced during phase 4 (there are no timelines). Details of this strategy can be found on gov.uk at the below link. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-wca-statistics-release-strategy/universal-credit-work-capability-assessment-statistics-release-strategy.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average duration of a Universal Credit claim for someone who begins a claim at age a) 18, b) 19, c) 20, d) 21, e) 22, f) 23 and g) 24.

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

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

However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by claim duration and by age.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average duration of a Universal Credit claim that was started in a) 2021, b) 2022, c) 2023, d) 2024 and e) 2025.

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

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

However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by claim duration and by age.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to address the 18% of people who are dying annually in poverty in Bristol Central, as identified in Marie Curie's Dying in Poverty 2025 report.

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

This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it. Support is available through the social security system to those who are unable to work, are on a low income or have additional costs as a consequence of a long-term health condition or disability, but are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age.

For those nearing the end of their life, the Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain welfare benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

The Universal Credit Act 2025, ensures that all SREL claimants will receive the higher LCWRA rate, no matter when they make their claim.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of financial insecurity of people at the end of life.

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

The UK Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it. Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work, are on a low income or have additional costs as a consequence of a long-term health condition or disability but are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age.

For those nearing the end of their life, the UK Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enables people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to Universal Credit (UC) and New Style Employment and Support Allowance. The Universal Credit Act 2025, also ensures that all SREL claimants will receive the higher UC Health rate, no matter when they make their claim.

Disability Benefits are devolved in Scotland and policy responsibility sits with the Scottish Government.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the number of Universal Credit households with dependent children reporting fewer than (a) 16, (b) 30 and (c) 35 hours of work per week.

Answered by Stephen Timms - 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, what proportion of Universal Credit starts in each of the last 5 years were (a) new benefit claimants and (b) claimants transitioning from legacy benefits through managed migration.

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

This information is not readily available. However, as detailed in the DWP Statistical Work Programme and the Universal Credit statistics release strategy, the Department is developing a method to denote UC claimants given a migration notice from the Move to Universal Credit programme, and updates on this will be shared in the DWP Statistical Work Programme.

As we continue the Move to Universal Credit (UC) programme, the department is moving people from legacy benefits to UC, leading to an expected rise in the UC caseload.

Latest Official Statistics show that, up to end of September 2025, almost 1.9 million individuals have made a claim to UC following receipt of a migration notice.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the membership of the Timms Review steering group will be published.

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

We have launched the Timms Review to ensure Personal Independence Payment is fair and fit for the future. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.

On 30 October, I announced that I will co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group of around a dozen members, which will set the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan.

The steering group is being recruited through an open and accessible Expression of Interest process, which ran from 30 October to 30 November. We are now considering applications and will provide an update shortly.

Found: Rebecca Long Bailey, Liz Jarvis and Sir Julian Lewis: Financial redress for 1950s women impacted by DWP

Found: neighbourhood % of Working Age people with No Qualifications 29.2 17.9 % of Working Age people claiming DWP

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

Found: That comes on top of my having attended a DWP meeting about medical malpractice where I found that the

Found: Once they become 19, they become the responsibility of the DWP, but nobody has the overview of those

Found: Are there any plans in the Treasury to do a root-and-branch review with DWP of how pensions policy

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

Found: Because the OBR is itself the forecaster and really gets into the weeds—it goes to talk to the DWP

Found: transfer of responsibility for Skills England from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: group that brings together representation from DCMS, from DBT, from Health, from Transport, from the DWP

Found: group that brings together representation from DCMS, from DBT, from Health, from Transport, from the DWP

Found: It is very common for me to get emails from the Department for Work and Pensions saying, “I have an

Found: group that brings together representation from DCMS, from DBT, from Health, from Transport, from the DWP

Found: Parents are reporting that DWP is not allowing them to claim back any charges for meals and snacks,

Found: group that brings together representation from DCMS, from DBT, from Health, from Transport, from the DWP

Found: To your point of specific groups, it is incumbent on the service provider— the Department, DWP, or the

Found: . • As set out in the DWP Secretary of State’s remit letter for 2025–2026, Skills England was established

Found: Collaboration needs to happen across DESNZ, DWP, HMRC and HMT.

Found: DWP.

Found: I loved Caxton House at the DWP but it looked a tad different from that.

Found: the weeks-long progress of the OBR interrogating and challenging officials from the Treasury, HMRC, DWP

Found: In terms of work, we now have Regional Employment Councils with the DWP and businesses to support offenders

Found: There is further to go with the DHSC, the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government why those entitled to a free TV licence have to apply for it, rather than receiving it automatically, and whether they will ask the BBC to remove the need to apply for such licences.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The BBC is responsible for administering the Television Licence, and as the BBC is independent from the Government, this is an operational issue for the BBC. The BBC does not hold the necessary information to automatically determine which households are eligible to receive free TV Licences. However, the BBC is able to verify automatically whether a person applying for a free TV Licence is on Pension Credit with the Department for Work and Pensions, meaning in most cases eligible applicants can apply online or over the phone without any need to supply additional paperwork.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the reoffending outcomes for adults released from short custodial sentences; and what steps he is taking to improve those outcomes.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We publish proven reoffending statistics quarterly, including detailed data by sentence type, offence type, and offender characteristics. The next publication is due at the end of January 2026 (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK).

We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of services which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.

For example, to support employment, we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers.

Reoffending rates for adults sentenced to less than 12 months in custody remain high – in the latest data, just over 60% reoffended within a year. Ministry of Justice research shows that community orders and suspended sentences are up to 4 percentage points more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less via the Sentencing Bill, and expanding Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), which aim to reduce reoffending by diverting individuals from short custodial sentences into enhanced community-based orders.

We are not, however, abolishing short sentences. Judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review the effectiveness of custodial sentences of under 12 months in reducing levels of reoffending.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We publish proven reoffending statistics quarterly, including detailed data by sentence type, offence type, and offender characteristics. The next publication is due at the end of January 2026 (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK).

We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of services which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.

For example, to support employment, we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers.

Reoffending rates for adults sentenced to less than 12 months in custody remain high – in the latest data, just over 60% reoffended within a year. Ministry of Justice research shows that community orders and suspended sentences are up to 4 percentage points more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less via the Sentencing Bill, and expanding Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), which aim to reduce reoffending by diverting individuals from short custodial sentences into enhanced community-based orders.

We are not, however, abolishing short sentences. Judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to publish detailed data on reoffending outcomes by (a) sentence type, (b) offence type, and (c) offender characteristics.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We publish proven reoffending statistics quarterly, including detailed data by sentence type, offence type, and offender characteristics. The next publication is due at the end of January 2026 (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK).

We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of services which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.

For example, to support employment, we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers.

Reoffending rates for adults sentenced to less than 12 months in custody remain high – in the latest data, just over 60% reoffended within a year. Ministry of Justice research shows that community orders and suspended sentences are up to 4 percentage points more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less via the Sentencing Bill, and expanding Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), which aim to reduce reoffending by diverting individuals from short custodial sentences into enhanced community-based orders.

We are not, however, abolishing short sentences. Judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the proportion of offenders who commit a further offence within the one-year follow-up period used in reoffending statistics.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

We publish proven reoffending statistics quarterly, including detailed data by sentence type, offence type, and offender characteristics. The next publication is due at the end of January 2026 (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK).

We are tackling the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of services which address offenders’ underlying criminogenic needs and support their rehabilitation journey. This includes education, employment, accommodation and access to substance misuse treatment.

For example, to support employment, we are delivering vocational courses, a future skills programme, and expanding the prisoner apprenticeship scheme. All 93 resettlement prisons have key roles in place to prepare prisoners for employment on release, and we have launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to support prison leavers.

Reoffending rates for adults sentenced to less than 12 months in custody remain high – in the latest data, just over 60% reoffended within a year. Ministry of Justice research shows that community orders and suspended sentences are up to 4 percentage points more effective at reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less via the Sentencing Bill, and expanding Intensive Supervision Courts (ISCs), which aim to reduce reoffending by diverting individuals from short custodial sentences into enhanced community-based orders.

We are not, however, abolishing short sentences. Judges will always have the power to send offenders to prison where they have breached a court order, where there is a significant risk of physical or psychological harm to a particular individual, or in exceptional circumstances.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to address cases where DWP staff meet the annual Skilled Worker Visa salary threshold but are affected by the method used to calculate hourly pay.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

When assessing salaries for visa purposes, our approach is consistent with that taken in national minimum wage guidance, which states:

‘If you pay a salaried worker their normal salary while they are absent from work and this forms a part of their employment contract, the time of the absence counts towards the worker’s time worked for minimum wage purposes. For example, during rest breaks, lunch breaks, holidays, sickness absence or maternity / paternity / adoption leave.’

We do not plan to change our approach, as it could open up inconsistencies with wider employment regulation.

A decision on whether to amend employment contracts, so that salaries reflect the actual hours worked, would be for an employer to make.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the impact of leaving the EU single market on graduate employment opportunities.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government is committed to ensuring graduates have the skills and support needed to succeed in the modern economy, which is why the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2bn of investment in the skills system by 2028-29.

The Department for Work and Pensions has an established network of partnerships to enhance graduate employment opportunities. DWP are reforming Jobcentre Plus to create a new, more personalised employment support service across Great Britain to recognise that individuals - including graduates - have different needs.

However, the Department for Business and Trade has made no specific assessment of the impact of leaving the EU single market on graduate employment opportunities.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions regarding the inclusion of physical activity and exercise-based solutions within programmes aimed at reducing ill health as a cause of worklessness.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The improvements to individual wellbeing is valued at £96.7 billion a year, and the wider value to society through savings to the health and care system is £10.5 billion a year.

We are working closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions and Health and Social Care to develop a cross government approach to tackling physical inactivity and improving health outcomes. As part of this, we are working on a national plan for physical activity as set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.

In June, following the Spending Review we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the use of (a) gyms, (b) swimming pools, and (c) leisure centres alongside weight-loss drugs.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The improvements to individual wellbeing is valued at £96.7 billion a year, and the wider value to society through savings to the health and care system is £10.5 billion a year.

We are working closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions and Health and Social Care to develop a cross government approach to tackling physical inactivity and improving health outcomes. As part of this, we are working on a national plan for physical activity as set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.

In June, following the Spending Review we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years. We will ensure that this funding promotes health and wellbeing, and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that when errors in earnings submissions to HMRC are self-identified and corrected, those corrections are communicated promptly and accurately to the Department for Work and Pensions, so that claimants are not adversely or unfairly affected by inaccurate income data.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Where an error has been identified, employers can submit revised information to HMRC through standard reporting processes.

HMRC transmits payroll data to the Department for Work and Pensions on a daily basis.

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Found: 2025, c299WH 48 NRLA, “NRLA adds voice to calls to reverse benefits freeze”, 13 October 2025 49 DWP

Found: (DWP).55 If someone is entitled to HB, the council makes the HB payment first, to cover

Found: It is essential that MOD and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) collaborate urgently and effectively

Found: Armed Forces community, especially service leavers and veterans, through the work of the MOD, the DWP

Found: Performance Report 63 The Joint Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and DHSC Work and Health

Found: Performance Report 63 The Joint Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and DHSC Work and Health

Found: (DWP), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Transport (DfT) should

Found: (DWP), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Transport (DfT) should

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Found: DHSC, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) DBT 0 to 3 years Improve uptake of NHS Health Checks

Found: The current cross- government Head of Profession is the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: The current cross- government Head of Profession is the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Rough Sleeping Questionnaire 2025, available: Rough Sleeping Questionnaire 2025: Findings - GOV.UK 32 DWP

Found: And that was probably like £50 more than I could get off the DWP.”

Found: (DWP) • We will work across government to keep Local Housing Allowance rates under review in order

Found: However, HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions, HO and MOD, which constitute over 50% of the civil

Found: spend a lot of time helping people use helplines provided by organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Levelling Up, Housing and Communities MHCLG: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government DWP

Found: from drug and alcohol services, adult social care, probation, mental health, and the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Framework (DWP, 2010), Appendix DASee note to headline cost above.

Found: driving efficiencies and reducing costs. 5.4 The Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: The Department for Work and Pensions’ £820 million funding package announced this week to support young

Found: after graduation based on information provided by the Department for Education, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: education outcomes (LEO) dataset combines data from the Department for Education (DfE), Department for Work and Pensions

Found: There remains uncertainty as the case may be subject to a further appeal or the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: On 5 June 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions published an announcement confirming that the government

Found: On 5 June 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions published an announcement confirming that the government

Found: On 16 September 2025, CITB’s sponsoring department became the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: On 16 September 2025, CITB’s sponsoring department became the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP

Found: What about Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) appointees?

Found: In addition, through its over 600 Jobcentres,23 the Department for Work and Pensions will offer support

Found: but not HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) or The Department for Work Pensions (DWP

Found: department or public body but not HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) or The Department for Work Pensions (DWP

Found: occupation • Unpaid carers • Qualifications • Schoolchildren and students living away from home DWP

Found: In May 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions rolled out an increase in the administrative earnings

Found: includes Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd from Q1 2008.3, 5Q4 2008Q3 2012From Q3 2012 Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Government, Local Government, Improvement Service, Third Sector, Health, Skills Development Scotland and DWP

Found: also a discussion of the limitations on available data given the reliance on what the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: gov.scot 17 Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics 18 In May 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: Response Access to Work is a UK Government scheme, funded and facilitated by the Department for Work and Pensions

Found: remains ‘relentless’, outstripping the funding provided by the Welsh Government or recoverable from the DWP

Found: In 2025-26 a Memorandum of Understanding was put in place between WG and DWP for the use of this funding

Found: Partnership, Employability and Fair Work We have developed a trailblazer project with the Department for Work and Pensions