Department for Work and Pensions

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



Secretary of State

 Portrait

Mel Stride
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Shadow Ministers / Spokeperson
Plaid Cymru
Hywel Williams (PC - Arfon)
Shadow PC Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)

Democratic Unionist Party
Sammy Wilson (DUP - East Antrim)
Shadow DUP Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)

Liberal Democrat
Baroness Janke (LD - Life peer)
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)

Labour
Baroness Sherlock (Lab - Life peer)
Shadow Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)

Liberal Democrat
Wendy Chamberlain (LD - North East Fife)
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)
Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD - Life peer)
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)

Labour
Liz Kendall (Lab - Leicester West)
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Junior Shadow Ministers / Deputy Spokesperson
Labour
Vicky Foxcroft (Lab - Lewisham, Deptford)
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Alison McGovern (Lab - Wirral South)
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Gill Furniss (Lab - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Ministers of State
Jo Churchill (Con - Bury St Edmunds)
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Mims Davies (Con - Mid Sussex)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con - Excepted Hereditary)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Paul Maynard (Con - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Scheduled Event
Tuesday 26th March 2024
15:45
Department for Work and Pensions
Orders and regulations - Grand Committee
26 Mar 2024, 3:45 p.m.
Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding and Investment Strategy and Amendment) Regulations 2024
View calendar
Debates
Monday 18th March 2024
Oral Answers to Questions
Oral Questions
Select Committee Inquiry
Thursday 7th March 2024
Devolution of employment support

In our July 2023 Report Plan for Jobs and employment support, we considered DWP’s employment support provision following the …

Written Answers
Monday 18th March 2024
Low Incomes: Rents
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support low-income renters.
Secondary Legislation
Wednesday 13th March 2024
Biocidal Products (Health and Safety) (Amendment and Transitional Provision etc.) Regulations 2024
These Regulations amend Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 concerning …
Bills
Tuesday 7th February 2023
Social Security (Additional Payments) Act 2023
A Bill to make provision about additional payments to recipients of means-tested benefits, tax credits and disability benefits.
Dept. Publications
Tuesday 19th March 2024
10:04

Department for Work and Pensions Commons Appearances

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

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

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

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

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category
Mar. 18
Oral Questions
Mar. 16
Urgent Questions
Mar. 11
Written Statements
Mar. 12
Westminster Hall
Mar. 12
Adjournment Debate
View All Department for Work and Pensions Commons Contibutions

Bills currently before Parliament

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


Acts of Parliament created in the 2019 Parliament


A Bill to make provision about additional payments to recipients of means-tested benefits, tax credits and disability benefits.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 23rd March 2023 and was enacted into law.


A Bill to provide for certain social security rules which apply where life expectancy is 6 months or less to apply instead where life expectancy is 12 months or less

This Bill received Royal Assent on 25th October 2022 and was enacted into law.


A Bill to make provision about additional payments to recipients of means-tested benefits, tax credits and disability benefits.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 28th June 2022 and was enacted into law.


A Bill to make provision relating to the up-rating of certain social security benefits payable in the tax year 2022-23.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 17th November 2021 and was enacted into law.


A Bill to make provision about pension schemes

This Bill received Royal Assent on 11th February 2021 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 23rd September 2020

A Bill To make provision relating to the up-rating of certain social security benefits.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 23rd November 2020 and was enacted into law.

Department for Work and Pensions - Secondary Legislation

These Regulations amend Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products (EUR 2012/528) (“Regulation (EU) No 528/2012”).
These Regulations make amendments and modifications to various social security regulations.
View All Department for Work and Pensions Secondary Legislation

Petitions

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

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

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

Trending Petitions
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(4,151 in the last 7 days)
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9,111 Signatures
(821 in the last 7 days)
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(275 in the last 7 days)
Petitions with most signatures
Petition Debates Contributed

The government should implement an immediate Universal Basic Income trial for all UK residents to ensure home and food security through the coronavirus Covid-19 crisis, to support the needs of those that need to self-isolate as well as the public health at large, and the wider economy.

The British State pension is far too low. We want the Government to increase the basic state pension to £19,760 a year (£380 a week), and extend this to anyone aged 60 or over. This should lift thousands out of poverty, and give our elderly folk more spending power and help grow the economy.

People with a lifelong illness should not be subject to regular reviews for eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). People suffering lifelong conditions should not have to prove they are still ill every couple of years.

View All Department for Work and Pensions Petitions

Departmental Select Committee

Work and Pensions Committee

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

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

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


11 Members of the Work and Pensions Committee
Stephen Timms Portrait
Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Work and Pensions Committee Chair since 29th January 2020
Desmond Swayne Portrait
Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Ben Spencer Portrait
Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Selaine Saxby Portrait
Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Nigel Mills Portrait
Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Neil Coyle Portrait
Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Siobhan Baillie Portrait
Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Shaun Bailey Portrait
Shaun Bailey (Conservative - West Bromwich West)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Debbie Abrahams Portrait
Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
David Linden Portrait
David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 9th January 2023
Marsha De Cordova Portrait
Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Work and Pensions Committee Member since 18th December 2023
Work and Pensions Committee: Previous Inquiries
Money and Pensions Service Pension stewardship and COP26 PIP and ESA Assessments DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak Work of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment Plan for Jobs and employment support The sale and acquisition of BHS inquiry DWP’s preparations for changes in the world of work Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams Progress with child maintenance reforms Update on auto-enrolment and a range of current pensions issues Fraud and error in the benefits system Employment and Support Allowance and Work Capability Assessments Progress with Personal Independence Payment implementation 2014 Employment support for disabled people: Access to Work One-off evidence session on pension reforms Benefit delivery inquiry Welfare to work inquiry Pension freedom guidance and advice inquiry Tax credit reforms inquiry Local welfare safety net inquiry In-work progression in Universal Credit inquiry Understanding the new State Pension inquiry Bereavement benefits inquiry Pre-appointment hearing for the Pensions Ombudsman Progress with automatic enrolment and pension reforms Financial scrutiny of the Department for Work and Pensions Benefit sanctions policy beyond the Oakley review Progress with disability and incapacity benefit reforms Universal Credit Work Programme: the experience of different user groups Youth unemployment and the Government’s Youth Contract EU Pensions Policy White Paper on Universal Credit Automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and National Employment Savings Trust Governance and best practice in workplace pensions Role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system Support for housing costs in the reformed welfare system School holiday poverty inquiry The work of The Pensions Regulator inquiry Executive pensions inquiry Spending Review inquiry Support for the bereaved Universal Credit and Survival Sex: sex in exchange for meeting survival needs inquiry No DSS: discrimination against benefit claimants in the housing sector inquiry Benefit freeze Overpayments of Carer's Allowance Ongoing work on DWP priorities and performance inquiry Charging for pension transfer advice inquiry Pension auto-enrolment: update inquiry Universal Credit Project Assessment Reviews inquiry Carillion joint inquiry Assistive technology inquiry Pre-appointment scrutiny of the Chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee Defined benefit pensions white paper inquiry The future of the European Social Fund inquiry Two-child benefit limit inquiry Welfare safety net inquiry Benefit cap inquiry Pension costs and transparency inquiry Disability employment inquiry Concentrix and tax credits inquiry Child Maintenance Service inquiry Employment opportunities for young people inquiry Intergenerational fairness inquiry Pensions automatic enrolment inquiry Early drawing of state pension inquiry Recent pensions policy developments The Future of Jobcentre Plus inquiry Support for ex-offenders inquiry Disability employment gap inquiry Pension Protection Fund and Pensions Regulator inquiry Personal Independence Payment inquiry Citizen's income inquiry Victims of modern slavery inquiry DWP Annual Report and Accounts inquiry Self-employment and the gig economy inquiry Benefit cap inquiry Brexit and labour market policy inquiry Universal Credit update inquiry Universal Credit inquiry PIP and ESA Assessments inquiry Pension freedom and choice inquiry Defined benefit pension schemes Access to work cap on support grants inquiry Collective defined contribution pension schemes inquiry Support for carers inquiry The cost of living Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service Defined benefit pensions with liability driven investments Benefit levels in the UK Defined benefit pension schemes Cost of living support payments Disability employment gap Health and Safety Executive Safeguarding vulnerable claimants Norton pension schemes and the Fraud Compensation Fund Statutory Sick Pay Disability employment Devolution of employment support Children in poverty: Measurement and targets Welfare policy in Northern Ireland Assistive technology Benefit cap Benefit sanctions Collective defined contribution pension schemes Defined benefit pensions white paper inquiry Disability employment The future of the European Social Fund inquiry Executive pensions Universal Credit Universal Credit - In-work progression Pension costs and transparency Spending Review Welfare safety net Charging for pension transfer advice Overpayments of Carer's Allowance Pension auto-enrolment: update No DSS: discrimination against benefit claimants in the housing sector Benefit freeze Support for the bereaved The work of The Pensions Regulator Motability Ongoing work on DWP priorities and performance Pension freedom and choice PIP and ESA Assessments School holiday poverty Support for carers Two-child benefit limit Universal Credit and Survival Sex

50 most recent Written Questions

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

11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16811 on State Retirement Pensions: National Insurance Contributions, how many days his Department took on average to reassess a citizen's claim to state pensions following notification of an updated National Insurance record by HMRC in the latest year for which data is available; and how many people waited more than one month for their claim to be reassessed in that period.

This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential reasons why people receiving tax credits are not voluntarily migrating to Universal Credit.

It is the customers responsibility to choose whether to make an application for Universal Credit. There is no evidence to suggest any actions the Department has taken or should have taken are influencing that choice.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to settle Access to Work payments owed to Icarus Theatre Collective in Southwark to support a disabled actor.

We are unable to comment on individual cases.

Claims for Access to Work payments can be submitted via our online portal or through the post and this is clearly explained in customer letters. Approved claims submitted through the proper channels are typically processed within 10 days.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit Migration Notice letters he plans to send to people in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) the UK by 31 March 2025.

The Department plans to send Migration Notices to over 1 million households by 31 March 2025.

We intend to publish constituency level data at a future date.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce inactivity in the labour market.

DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work, and we are committed to reducing economic inactivity.

Over the last year, we have announced a wide range of additional measures building on our extensive employment support, breaking down barriers to work for those we know are more likely to experience economic inactivity.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support low-income renters.

We spend around £30bn annually on housing support for low-income renters in the private and social rented sectors.

From April we are investing £1.2bn increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents, ensuring 1.6m private renters gain on average almost £800 in 2024/25 in additional support towards rental costs. This significant investment will cost £7bn over five years.

Discretionary Housing Payments are available for those who need additional support. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7bn for DHPs to local authorities.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help people save for the future.

Retirement saving has been transformed with over 11 million employees put into workplace pensions since 2012.

We are committed to the expansion of Automatic Enrolment in the mid-2020s. Our reforms will benefit younger workers and increase overall amounts being saved, with 3m people saving £2bn extra a year.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the scope of Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations to include voluntary organisations.

The Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 2004 require persons providing facilities for adventure activities in return for payment to hold a licence granted by the licensing authority in accordance with the regulations. Persons are not required to hold a licence where facilities are provided by a voluntary association to its members or members of other voluntary associations by agreement between the associations. Since 2007 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been the licensing authority for the regulations.

In 2018 HSE consulted stakeholders as part of a review of the delivery and scope of adventure activity licensing. In preparation for that consultation HSE considered and decided against extending licensing to include exempt persons such as voluntary organisations. This was on the basis that:

  1. The financial burden on schools, local authorities and voluntary organisations would have created a risk that services would be cut thereby reducing provision of adventure activities for young people which would have been contrary to the purpose of the review.
  2. The inspectorate at the time would not have been able to cope with the demand for licenses such a change would have created.
Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of prosecutions that were initiated by the Health and Safety Executive for ill-fitting PPE provided to women workers in the last five years. .

In the last five years, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not initiated any prosecutions relating specifically for ill-fitting Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provided to women workers.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average waiting time for those on Universal Credit to see a work coach for an initial interview.

The requested information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of parents with children older than three that have (a) requested and (b) been granted flexibility on the 30 hour work requirement in each of the last 12 months; and what proportion were single parents.

No assessment has been made.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claimed (a) PIP and (b) DLA for ADHD since 2013.

The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) clearances split by condition, including ADHD, can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

Data on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) clearances by condition is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for an initial assessment for people on the Access to Work Scheme in the latest period for which data is available.

The average waiting time from application to decision in February 2024 was 40.8 days.

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

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that people living with (a) arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition are able to remain in work.

The Government has an ambitious programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, to start, stay and succeed in work.

These include: the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; a digital information service for employers; Disability Employment Advisers and increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

In the Spring Budget 2023, the government set out a package of measures to tackle the leading health-related causes keeping people out of work, including specific initiatives for people with MSK conditions. This includes introducing employment advisers within MSK services, including to support people with MSK conditions to thrive in work and scaling up MSK physical activity hubs in the Community, building on the example of delivering physical activity interventions in local leisure and community centre venues.

The Government also announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 to: double the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme; launch WorkWell in approximately 15 pilot areas to provide light touch work and health support; explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support; and establish an expert group to advise on a framework for Occupational Health provision.

In October 2022 we published the Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health Toolkit for employers and further education institutions which encourages employers to support adolescents and young adults with MSK conditions. The Musculoskeletal health toolkit for employers was developed in partnership with Business in the Community and provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to increase public awareness of support available to people living with (a) arthritis and (b) musculoskeletal conditions.

The government has taken steps to increase public awareness of support available to people living with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as arthritis.

For example, the Musculoskeletal health: applying All Our Health - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) guide is a government resource to help health and care professionals prevent poor MSK health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice. NHS England’s NHS England » Musculoskeletal health page also highlights the importance of MSK health and suggests resources for healthcare professionals, patients and carers to use.

In October 2022, government published the MSK Health Toolkit for employers and further education institution, developed in partnership with Business in the Community, which provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.

There are multiple risk factors that can heighten an individual’s susceptibility to MSK conditions, including physical inactivity and being underweight, overweight or obese. The ‘Better Health’ campaigns and resources highlights the effects of weight and physical activity and supports people to make and sustain changes to improve their health. The campaign provides free, accessible and evidence-based resources including digital tools, such as NHS Weight Loss, Food Scanner, Couch to 5K and Active 10 apps.

Since announcing the MCS in January 2023, we have been working with a range of stakeholders to identify what would make the most difference in tackling the six major conditions groups, which includes MSK conditions. We expect to publish the MCS in Spring of this year. Government also announced funding for scaling up MSK Physical Activity Hubs and embedding employment advice within MSK pathways as part of £400m of funding in Spring Budget 2023 and we are working with a range of stakeholders on these projects.

Beyond this, World Arthritis Day (WAD), observed annually on 12 October, spreads awareness of the existence and impact of rheumatic and MSK disorders.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to take steps to help increase the number of musculoskeletal hubs in local communities.

The Government announced measures to address economic inactivity, as part of the 2023 Spring Budget. This included £12 m over a period of four years, from April 2024, to scale up Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physical Activity Hubs in the Community.

The MSK Physical Activity Hubs in the Community project will seek to build on local practice and explore how to enable people with MSK conditions to access supportive physical activity interventions within local leisure and community settings. This project will also explore how to build in vocational advice.

We are currently engaging with stakeholders to expand our understanding of existing practice and inform our approach to this project.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help people with (a) arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition to remain in work.

The Government has an ambitious programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, to start, stay and succeed in work.

These include: the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; a digital information service for employers; Disability Employment Advisers and increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

In the Spring Budget 2023, the government set out a package of measures to tackle the leading health-related causes keeping people out of work, including specific initiatives for people with MSK conditions. This includes introducing employment advisers within MSK services, including to support people with MSK conditions to thrive in work and scaling up MSK physical activity hubs in the Community, building on the example of delivering physical activity interventions in local leisure and community centre venues;

The Government also announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 to: double the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme; launch WorkWell in approximately 15 pilot areas to provide light touch work and health support; explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support; and establish an expert group to advise on a framework for Occupational Health provision.

In October 2022 we published the Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health Toolkit for employers and further education institutions which encourages employers to support adolescents and young adults with MSK conditions. The Musculoskeletal health toolkit for employers was developed in partnership with Business in the Community and provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 6 March 2024 to Question 16495 and of 11 March 2024 to Question 17444 on Employment: Disability, what guidance his Department issues to employers on home assessments to ensure the suitability of equipment for disabled people taking on home-based employment.

An employer has the same health and safety responsibilities for people working from home, including those with disabilities, as for any other workers. Employers must protect their workers from health and safety risks from working on a computer or laptop (display screen equipment or DSE) at home and should check to see if the Display Screen Equipment Regulations apply. HSE guidance provides more information: Managing home workers' health and safety - Overview – HSE

Separately, the Chance to Work Guarantee will remove reassessments for the majority of Universal Credit (UC) or Employment and Support Allowance claimants (ESA) with no work-related requirements. The purpose of the Guarantee is to encourage claimants who have been assessed without work-related requirements to try work without the fear of reassessment, within existing permitted work rules in ESA and work allowance rules in UC.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve awareness of the Access to Work programme.

Information about Access to Work (AtW) is widely available in Jobcentres and across government, including a range of online resources. Our stakeholders actively promote the scheme to groups and customers that might benefit from support.

Our new online application and payment portals mean that it is now easier for customers to apply for and claim the support they need.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the access to work programme.

Information about Access to Work (AtW) is widely available in Jobcentres and across government, including a range of online resources. Our stakeholders actively promote the scheme to groups and customers that might benefit from support.

Our new online application and payment portals mean that it is now easier for customers to apply for and claim the support they need.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that access to work support is targeted towards people with (a) arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition.

The Access to Work process assesses the needs of the individual to ensure they have the appropriate support they need to access and stay in work. This includes providing support for people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions. We do not specifically promote the scheme to any one type of disability or long-term health condition.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living with (a) arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition that have received support through the Access to Work scheme.

The Department does collect information on Access to Work recipient's primary medical condition, however we do not hold information to the level required to identify people with arthritis and/or musculoskeletal conditions. Therefore we are not able to make an estimate of the number of people living with arthritis and/or a musculoskeletal condition that have received support through the Access to Work scheme. Information on Access to Work volumes and expenditure by primary medical condition are published annually in the official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with (a) arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition who have accessed support through the access to work programme in the last year.

The Department does collect information on Access to Work recipient's primary medical condition, however we do not hold information to the level required to identify people with arthritis and/or musculoskeletal conditions. Therefore we are not able to make an estimate of the number of people living with arthritis and/or a musculoskeletal condition that have received support through the Access to Work scheme. Information on Access to Work volumes and expenditure by primary medical condition are published annually in the official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claimed PIP for ADHD in each year since 2010.

The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) clearances split by condition, including ADHD, can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
6th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of employing an Armed Forces Champion at every Jobcentre.

As part of the Armed Forces Covenant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiatives which help current and former Armed Forces personnel and their families. This includes the role of the Armed Forces Champion in every Jobcentre Plus District, who provide specialist support to members of the Armed Forces community and build Work Coach capability in our Jobcentres. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.

Although there is no specific assessment carried out, the Department regularly evaluates the role to ensure we deliver the best service possible and we have had, and continue to receive positive feedback from customers and external stakeholders regarding their experience of working with Armed Forces Champions.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to extend the restart scheme beyond 2025.

As announced in the 2023 Autumn Statement, DWP is looking to extend the Restart Scheme for an extra two years with final referrals being made in June 2026.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received an advance payment of universal credit between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.

Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, 880,000 Universal Credit (UC) households received at least one advance payment of UC and between 1 April 2023 and 30 November 2023, 610,000 UC households received at least one advance payment of UC.

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.

2. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

3. Data up to November 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.

4. This analysis includes New Claims, Change of Circumstances and Benefit Transfers as these are an advance of a Universal Credit payment. Budgeting Advances have been excluded since these are loans to help with emergency household costs and not an advance of Universal Credit payment.

5. Households with more than one advance payment in the stated time period have only been counted once.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received an advance payment of universal credit between 1 April 2023 and 12 March 2024.

Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, 880,000 Universal Credit (UC) households received at least one advance payment of UC and between 1 April 2023 and 30 November 2023, 610,000 UC households received at least one advance payment of UC.

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.

2. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

3. Data up to November 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.

4. This analysis includes New Claims, Change of Circumstances and Benefit Transfers as these are an advance of a Universal Credit payment. Budgeting Advances have been excluded since these are loans to help with emergency household costs and not an advance of Universal Credit payment.

5. Households with more than one advance payment in the stated time period have only been counted once.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility publication entitled Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published in March 2024, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the potential impact of the projected labour participation rate on the number of job vacancies over the next five years.

The DWP is not an economic forecaster. This sits with the OBR who have forecast total hours worked in the economy will increase over the next 5 years.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to take steps to help ensure that the treatment of payments made under the Republic of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme to those living in the UK do not discriminate against those in receipt of means-tested benefits.

Means-tested benefits have no specific disregard of payments made by the Republic of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme to those living in Great Britain and DWP currently has no plans to change this policy.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial support to people who are (a) aged 66 when the State Pension age rises to 67 and (b) unable to continue working until they are 67 due to (i) illness and (ii) disability.

Financial support is available through the welfare system for working age people.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 26 January 2024 from the Rt hon. Member for East Ham, reference ST105404.

I can confirm that a full response was issued to the MP’s parliamentary email address as a PDF attachment on 15 February 2024 from our complaint’s resolution team (CMPT12024-07318 (ST105404) I have checked the email address used and it is correct.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Mar 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have stopped publishing data on tax contributions and welfare payments by nationality.

Following the review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, HMRC proposed changes to 25 statistics publications in a public consultation that ran from 24 October 2022 to 16 January 2023. In response to the user consultation the annual Income Tax, NICs, tax credits and child benefit statistics for non-UK nationals release was discontinued. The consultation suggested the statistics to be of limited value to users, due to the decrease in data coverage as tax credits claimants move across to Universal Credit, and the lack of timeliness in the data.

Separately the DWP reviewed the ‘Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP working age benefit recipients’ statistics and announced in July 2022 that it would be ceasing publication of these statistics as they no longer met the purpose for which they were created. The statistics reflected the nationality status of the benefit claimants at the point of National Insurance number (NINo) registration, which does not necessarily reflect the nationality at the point of claiming the benefit, as the allocation of a NINo can be made many years, or even decades, before an individual claims a benefit. Therefore, benefit recipients who were non-UK nationals and subsequently obtained British citizenship would have been counted in those statistics as non-UK nationals.

The proposals and outcomes from the consultation on changes to HMRC statistics publications are published on GOV.UK.

HMRC does publish information on non-UK nationals in PAYE employment by nationality, region and industry on GOV.UK.

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the (a) Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service, (b) Enhanced Checking Service, (c) Risk Review Team, (d) Enhanced Review Teams, (e) Universal Credit advances claims decision risk model, (f) Common Risk Engine, (g) General Matching Service, (h) Fraud Referral and Intervention Management System (i) Targeted Case Review and (j) any other systems have been used as part of fraud surveillance in the benefits system in the last year.

None of the teams or systems referenced carry out surveillance in the benefits system.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what reduction in fraud and error in the benefit system he expects by the end of 2024.

DWP measures fraud and error in the welfare system via annual national statistics published each May.

The Department has a target to save at least £1.3 billion in 2023-24 from its dedicated counter fraud and error resource. Further information on this is included in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) Report, available on GOV.UK. The ARA report for financial year 23/24 is expected to be published Summer 2024.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential for bias in the automated machine learning and decision-making systems used to audit.

Please be assured that assessments of bias have been conducted for all IRIS machine learning models and the screening to date has not identified any areas of concern. The outcomes will be published in summer 2024 within DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts.

The department always ensures appropriate safeguards are in place. There are detailed Data Protection Impact Assessments and Equality Analysis that accompany our machine learning models, and these are live documents that are kept updated. We also work closely with legal colleagues to ensure our use of machine learning is legal and proportionate. As an additional safeguard, all decisions on claims are made by DWP case workers based on all the facts and individual circumstances of the claim.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q27 of the oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee on 10 January 2024, HC 417, what biases there are in the (a) AI and (b) machine learning systems used by his Department to detect and prevent fraud in the benefit system; and how these biases have been used to identify fraud.

Please be assured that assessments of bias have been conducted for all IRIS machine learning models and the screening to date has not identified any areas of concern. The outcomes will be published in summer 2024 within DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts.

The department always ensures appropriate safeguards are in place. There are detailed Data Protection Impact Assessments and Equality Analysis that accompany our machine learning models, and these are live documents that are kept updated. We also work closely with legal colleagues to ensure our use of machine learning is legal and proportionate. As an additional safeguard, all decisions on claims are made by DWP case workers based on all the facts and individual circumstances of the claim.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the forms it issues are accessible to people with limited ability to complete a form by hand.

The department’s forms are designed to be accessible for people who use assistive technology. Our online PDFs are compliant with Work Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 accessible standards. Claim form design and standards are regularly tested to ensure they continue to meet user needs.

DWP seeks to identify individuals who require additional support to enable them to access our services, providing a tailored service and ensuring appropriate support is quickly made available.

Jobcentre Plus provides access to services for claimants who need face-to-face support.

Help to Claim is a service delivered independently by Citizens Advice and in partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland, for those who are claiming Universal Credit.

DWP Visiting supports those who are unable to complete requirements through any of the other channels.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
6th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time taken to process an Access to Work application was in each month since January 2022.

The table below shows the average length of time taken to process an Access to Work application in each month since January 20022.

Month

Mean Working days to process application

Jan-22

37

Feb-22

40

Mar-22

38

Apr-22

38

May-22

49

Jun-22

56

Jul-22

60

Aug-22

58

Sep-22

61

Oct-22

63

Nov-22

62

Dec-22

62

Jan-23

61

Feb-23

58

Mar-23

63

Apr-23

56

May-23

50

Jun-23

41

Jul-23

47

Aug-23

47

Sep-23

45

Oct-23

45

Nov-23

42

Dec-23

42

Jan-24

42

Feb-24

41

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

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
6th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications to the Access to Work scheme were rejected in each month from January 2023 to February 2024.

The table below shows how many applications the Access to Work scheme rejected from January 2023 to February 2024.

Month

Cases Not Approved

Jan-23

3357

Feb-23

2952

Mar-23

3819

Apr-23

2492

May-23

3029

Jun-23

3709

Jul-23

3705

Aug-23

3695

Sep-23

3392

Oct-23

3566

Nov-23

3268

Dec-23

2642

Jan-24

3435

Feb-24

3068

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

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
6th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wolverhampton South East constituency are on long-term sickness benefits; and how many were on such benefits in each of the past five years.

People on ‘long-term sickness benefits’ have been assumed as those in the main phase of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Universal Credit (UC) Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups. The Department regularly publishes Benefit Combination statistics on Stat-Xplore and these were extended inFebruary 2024 to include additional information for those on ESA and the UC Health Journey, so can now be used to provide the information, from quarter ending May 2019 to the end of the latest quarter, August 2023.

The figures can be obtained from the ‘Benefit Combinations - Data from May 2019 for England and Wales’ dataset using the ‘Additional Claim Details’ options. The ‘ESA Phase of Claim’ and ‘UC Health Journey’ options should be used to identify quarterly totals for ESA Support Group (SG), ESA Work-related Activity Group (WRAG), Universal Credit Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups, and those on one benefit but not the other using the ‘Not On’ options. The ‘Geography’ option can then be used to filter by the relevant Westminster Parliamentary Constituency.

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

Using the Benefit Combinations data on Stat-Xplore, the number of people on long-term sickness benefits in the Wolverhampton South East constituency is provided in the table below:

Aug 2019

Aug 2020

Aug 2021

Aug 2022

Aug 2023

Total

4,150

4,440

4,690

5,080

5,830

Source: Stat-Xplore

Notes:

  1. Totals are rounded to 10.
  2. UC Data is not available prior to 2019 as some UC claims were recorded on an interim operational system called UC Live Service (UCLS). Figures for UCLS Health claimants are not currently collated and to develop that information would incur disproportionate cost.
  3. A person can claim both ESA and be on the UC health caseload and these claimants would be counted in each separate caseload in the published data on Stat-Xplore. Benefit Combinations data on Stat-Xplore allows these 'Dual claims' to be identified and only counted once in the above.
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of claimants referred by a DWP algorithm for case review as potentially containing fraud or error were (a) in receipt of disability benefit and (b) registered as disabled; and of these claims how many experienced benefits (i) stoppages and (ii) suspensions in the latest period for which data is available.

The department does not hold the information requested.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 8 June 2023 to Question 187857 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as (a) serving and (b) having served in the armed forces for the assessment period ending on 1 February 2024.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.

Data coverage continues to improve over time and by January 2024 data was held on the status of approximately 71% of the GB UC caseload. It should be noted that Armed Forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past. The table below shows the proportion of claimants who have disclosed their Armed Forces status.

UC caseload month

Proportion of caseload with a recorded status

Currently serving

Served in the past

Not served

Prefer not to say

No recorded status

July 2022

51%

3,000

39,000

2,800,000

21,000

2,800,000

August 2022

53%

3,200

40,000

2,900,000

22,000

2,700,000

September 2022

54%

3,200

41,000

3,000,000

22,000

2,600,000

October 2022

56%

3,300

43,000

3,100,000

23,000

2,500,000

November 2022

57%

3,300

44,000

3,200,000

24,000

2,500,000

December 2022

58%

3,400

45,000

3,300,000

25,000

2,400,000

January 2023

59%

3,500

46,000

3,400,000

25,000

2,300,000

February 2023

61%

3,500

48,000

3,500,000

26,000

2,300,000

March 2023

62%

3,600

48,000

3,500,000

27,000

2,200,000

April 2023

63%

3,700

50,000

3,600,000

28,000

2,200,000

May 2023

64%

3,800

50,000

3,700,000

28,000

2,100,000

June 2023

65%

3,900

51,000

3,800,000

29,000

2,100,000

July 2023

66%

4,000

52,000

3,900,000

30,000

2,100,000

August 2023

66%

4,000

53,000

3,900,000

30,000

2,000,000

September 2023

67%

4,000

54,000

4,000,000

30,000

2,000,000

October 2023

68%

3,900

54,000

4,100,000

30,000

2,000,000

November 2023

69%

3,900

55,000

4,200,000

31,000

1,900,000

December 2023

70%

3,900

57,000

4,300,000

31,000

1,900,000

January 2024 (provisional)

71%

4,000

58,000

4,400,000

32,000

1,900,000

The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.

Increases in the numbers of claimants with a recorded status of “currently serving” or “served in the past” do not necessarily mean the overall numbers of claimants who are currently serving or have served in the past have increased and may reflect increases in the number of claimants for whom data is held as data coverage improves over time.

Notes:

1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.

2. Figures in the table have been rounded according to the Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy.

3. In line with the latest published People on UC official statistics, provisional figures relating to January 2024 are provided. These figures will be subject to revision in subsequent releases.

4. These figures are based on the Official Statistics UC caseload definition. Some previous figures have used an alternative caseload definition based on assessment period end dates.

5. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of cases in the targeted case review system were (a) discontinued and (b) endorsed on the grounds that they were likely to contain (i) fraud and (ii) error after being checked by a human reviewer in the most recent period for which data is available.

The TCR process is led by specialised agents to find incorrectness on claims and put it right. Prior to starting a claim review, agents will preview the claim to make sure it meets the criteria for selection. Claims selected for review are not endorsed on the grounds they are likely to contain fraud or error. It is only once a claim review is complete that an agent can determine the outcome. Performance for the financial year 22/23 is included in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) Report, available on GOV.UK. The ARA report for financial year 23/24 is expected to be published Summer 2024.

We do not categorise claims as discontinued. A claim may be deselected for review if it does not meet the criteria.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to assess the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund after September 2024.

The government is providing an additional £500m to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 3.35 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, published on 6 March 2024, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on extending the Household Support Fund beyond September 2024.

The government is providing an additional £500m to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Mar 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from Viscount Younger of Leckie to Baroness Hayman dated 6 July 2023, when officials will hold a briefing for peers on their work on pension fund trustees and fiduciary duty.

The pension industry stakeholder roundtables planned this spring will explore interpretations of fiduciary duty in relation to climate change and responsible investments. Following these the Department will ensure a briefing session is held in which interested Parliamentarians will have the opportunity to provide insight and discuss the conclusions drawn from these events.

Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will introduce a marker to enable the collection of data on the number of veterans that are claiming Personal Independence Payments.

We have no immediate plans to introduce such a marker. Where a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimant is a veteran, then relevant information on the functional impact of their medical condition will be gathered as part of the claiming process, either through the medical assessment, or by the DWP decision maker.

PIP is based on the needs of the individual and current or previous occupation is unrelated to entitlement.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of a Sickness absence recording tool (SART) code for menopause.

The Government believes it is vital that employers support their workers affected by symptoms of the menopause and we are raising awareness of this alongside the Government’s Menopause Employment Champion.

It is important for individual businesses to decide how to record staff absences and support their own workers. The Government has shared guidance and best practice on the Menopause Resources Hub on the Help to Grow portal.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)