Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51421 on Students: Personal Independence Payment, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on students no longer eligible for personal independence payment under proposed reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have committed to introduce a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). We are mindful of the impact this change to PIP eligibility could have on people. That is why, in the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working (published on 18 March), we are consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement due to the reforms, including how to make sure health and care needs are met. We are working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care on this.
For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed according to their normal schedule by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance before any changes are made. More information on the impacts and equality analysis for these changes published on 26 March can be found: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51421 on Students: Personal Independence Payment, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of consulting with students who receive Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a range of proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support and opened a public consultation on certain reforms. The consultation welcomes all views, and we hope that a wide range of voices, including students, will respond before it closes on the 30 June 2025.
We are also running a programme of accessible public events to further facilitate input. The series of both virtual and in-person events across the country, will help us to hear from people directly.
We are continuing to facilitate other ways to involve stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups, including disabled people and other experts, together for specific work areas.
Our wider review of the PIP assessment, led by myself, will also bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience. Throughout the review, we will work closely with disabled people, the organisations that support them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on students no longer eligible for personal independence payment under proposed reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made. The Department does not hold data about the student status of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be considered by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will provide guidance to customer service teams to ensure that written responses are available upon request.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Customers can contact DWP by telephone or post, face to face and via digital channels.
DWP continues to develop services that are easy to find and navigate, ensuring that the people feel confident and protected when they are relying on us.
The department is modernising to allow customers to interact with the department across multiple channels and in a way that suits them, enabling customers to self-serve online, while retaining non-digital channels for those that need them, avoiding digital exclusion and ensuring that everyone gets the level of support they need. Of course, if a customer cannot access digital services and specifically requests a written response, the department will provide this.
Developing secure digital channels for both the customer and the department is a key foundation of the work to modernise its services and using email as an outbound channel to communicate with customers is being progressed, the department is developing more secure and effective inbound digital channels for customers to use.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40633 on Social Security Benefits: Reform, when her Department plans to publish the full suite of accessible versions of the Green Paper.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The remaining accessible formats of the Green Paper have now been published and can be accessed here: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK. A full suite of accessible versions is available including Audio, British Sign Language, Braille, Large Print and Easy Read.
The consultation will close in 12 weeks on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what accessibility adjustments are in place for the consultation on the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper; and whether her Department consulted with disabled people on accessibility requirements for that consultation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do. Throughout the consultation period we will listen, learn and take feedback through an online form, email, post and through accessible in-person and online events.
We will publish a full suite of accessible versions of the Green Paper, to ensure that everyone can engage with the consultation. The consultation will close 12 weeks after the point at which all the accessible versions are available, to ensure that all stakeholders have sufficient time to engage and we hear from as many people as possible. We will also be holding a full schedule of public events which we will publish along with the accessible versions in the coming weeks. The public consultation events will accommodate any reasonable adjustments for individuals who wish to attend, including re-imbursing travel costs and arranging accessible venues and interpreters for attendees.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a service standard timeframe for criminal investigations by her Department into fraud.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is no Service Level Agreement for criminal fraud investigations. Each case presents unique complexities, depending on the offence type and individual circumstances. Cases are often operationally challenging due to the complexity of the work required, involving information gathering from external organisations to obtain supporting evidence. Timelines are also affected by the frequent need to capture witness statements and the reliance on customer participation.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training her Department requires call handlers to complete.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
All directorates within DWP receive Telephony learning. This begins with new joiners receiving induction and mandatory learning which covers topics such as communicating effectively, delivering excellent customer service, keeping safe, and how to support those with additional or complex needs.
On completion of the induction learning delegates will complete their technical learning covering the skills and knowledge required for their specific role.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many decision makers in her Department are working on cases of benefits fraud.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of the 31st October 2024, Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt (CFCD) Directorate has the following Full Time Equivalent (FTE) assigned to decision making:
CFCD Internal Decision Makers |
Administrative Officer | Executive Officer | Total |
181.2 | 148.6 | 329.8 |
*This covers both Administrative Officer (AO) and Executive Officer (EO) grades who conduct this work as part of CFCD’s Enhanced Review Team (ERT), Interventions, Investigations, Economic and Serious Organised Crime, and Compliance functions.
In addition, CFCD also refers some of the cases it reviews to decision makers within Universal Credit (UC). As of the 28th October 2024, this function has the following FTE assigned to decision making for CFCD cases:
UC Decision Makers Assigned to CFCD Cases
Total |
110.03 |
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) simplifying and (b) automating the process to apply for Pension Credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department continues to assess the Pension Credit service. This led to the introduction of the online claim process, providing customers with a convenient alternative claim route, alongside the existing telephony and paper application methods. As the Department continues to modernise the Pension Credit service, we continue to review the user experience, balancing simplification of application with capturing the right information to ensure accuracy of award.