Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure a balance of perspectives among the chairs and steering group members of the review of Personal Independent Payment, and whether they will consider members with backgrounds in operational delivery, systems reform and efficiency.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) draws on a wide range of perspectives and expertise.
On 30 October the Minister for Social Security and Disability announced that he would co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise and experience in health and disability issues, as well as the co-production process.
Members of the steering group will be recruited through an open Expression of Interest process, which is now live. The EOI has been designed to ensure the steering group reflects a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds. The t applications will be sifted against the criteria set out in the EOI, including experience and expertise in disability and social security issues, working with disabled people, commitment to working collaboratively and inclusively, and ability to evaluate a range of evidence and engage with complex policy issues.
The steering group will not work alone: it will oversee a wider programme of participation to ensure the full range of views and voices are heard.
The Review will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to include addressing systemic and administrative challenges, such as fluctuating conditions, assessment quality, appeal outcomes and interaction with health services, within the scope of the terms of reference for the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, the Government published revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK which set out further details about its scope. The Review will include consideration of:
We also announced that the Review will be co-chaired by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Stephen Timms, alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. They will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review's strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people's organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest process.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment will examine opportunities to improve assessment accuracy and reduce duplication by modernising delivery, including through the use of digital integration with NHS data and other public services.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, the Government published revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK which set out further details about its scope. The Review will include consideration of:
We also announced that the Review will be co-chaired by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Stephen Timms, alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. They will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review's strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people's organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest process.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the terms of reference of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment state that the purpose of the review is not to generate proposals for future savings; and whether improving value for money and reducing inefficiency remains a priority in the design of disability benefits.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to spending public money as effectively as possible to support disabled people in living independent and fulfilling lives. The aim of the Review is to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the full findings, evidence base and consultation responses of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment, in addition to the outcomes.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will report its findings to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for decision in autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of this.
As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability set out to the House of Commons on the 9 July, the Government will report the Review's outcomes to Parliament.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to communicate with vulnerable people about planned welfare reform, particularly in regard to providing clarity and alleviating concerns.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have set out proposals to reform the health and disability benefits proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18 March 2025. A full suite of accessible versions is available including Audio, British Sign Language, Braille, Large Print and Easy Read.
The consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation.
We want to improve and refine our plans by consulting on certain measures as described within the paper. We are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do.
The Green Paper is an important staging post on a journey of reform, building on the vision and approach set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper in November 2024. It sets out our vision, strategy and proposals for change. We would like to hear views from a wide group of people, in particular disabled people and people with health conditions and disability organisations and encourage responses to the consultation through the online form, email and post.
We are also running a number of accessible virtual and face-to-face events on the Green Paper to hear from stakeholders, including disabled people and their representative organisations, directly. More information on these events and registration are available on GOV.UK.
In the Green Paper, we have also announced that we will set up collaboration committees to develop parts of our reforms further. This will involve bringing together disabled people and other experts with civil servants around specific issues to collaborate, provide ideas, challenge, and input into recommendations.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 26 March of Spring Statement 2025: policy costings, how many corrections to benefit claims they have forecasted, and how they made these estimates.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 shows the estimated corrections to benefit claims associated with the costing entitled “Welfare Fraud and Error: Recruit over 500 new counter fraud and error staff from April 2025”. This costing is described on page 15 of the Spring Statement 2025: Policy Costings document which accompanied the publication of the Spring Statement.
Table 1. Forecast corrections to benefit claims
Total | 360000 |
Caveats:
The methodology underpinning this forecasts is outlined on page 15 of the Spring Statement 2025: Policy Costings document which accompanied the publication of the Spring Statement.
The cost base
The cost base for this measure is estimated using DWP data on performance of current fraud and error programmes and current and forecasted levels of fraud and error in DWP benefits, including national statistics on DWP fraud and error.
Costing
The costing is estimated by taking the performance of the Verify Earnings and Pensions Service and the General Matching Service and applying this to forecasted levels of DWP benefit expenditure. This produces the savings achieved from correcting payments that were incorrect in the past, as well as correcting payments that would have otherwise been incorrect in the future without DWP’s intervention.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 26 March of Spring Statement 2025: policy costings, how they identified benefit payments that would otherwise be incorrect without the employment of an additional 500 fraud and error staff.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is the customer’s responsibility to report change of circumstances impacting their entitlement to benefit to the Department for Work and Pensions. By providing additional resource to action data alerts we are taking action to more promptly detect and correct under, and overpayments.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 26 March of Spring Statement 2025: policy costings, what the (1) purpose, and (2) cost, of the 500 additional new fraud and error staff will be; and where these staff will be recruited from.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the Spring Statement 2025, it was announced that DWP will provide additional resourcing to action data alerts which will enable the Department to detect and correct under- and over-payments. The cost of these staff actioning these data alerts comes from a package of £80m out to 29/30 to support this measure and expected to generate AME savings of £245m by 29/30. Recruitment options are being considered but will likely include some redeployment of existing operational staff.
Asked by: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the (1) timeline, and (2) plan, for the merger of the National Careers Service with Jobcentre Plus; and what estimate they have made of the financial implications this merger will have on the budget of (a) the Department for Work and Pensions and (b) the Department for Education.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bringing together the National Careers Service with Jobcentre Plus in England and the creation of a new Jobs and Careers Service will form a key part of our plans to transform our employment support, as we set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper.
We will deliver this transformation using a test and learn approach, allowing us to gather evidence based on small-scale tests, iterate the service design, and scale up interventions that meet success criteria. Through this approach, lessons from our small-scale tests will be taken into consideration as part of our plans to bring the two services together.
At the Autumn Budget, the government announced £55m to take forward the first steps of building, testing and trialling the new service in 2025/26. Departmental budgets for the next Spending Review period will be outlined by the Chancellor in due course.
As a start to our commitment to better integrate employment support and careers advice in England, we have launched a data sharing agreement between the Department for Education (DfE) and DWP. This will encourage ‘join-up’ of our services and promote a more streamlined process for our customers ahead of the new service. We will continue to work closely with the DfE as we develop the new service, including careers advisers, who will be able to share their experiences, views and ideas around how we deliver careers services in the future.