Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not assessed the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.
The Department published an estimate of the overall cost to the economy due to sickness absence in 2016 Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. The analyses do not estimate the impact of health on productivity at work but considers the economic output lost as a result of sickness absence. This found that lost output due to sickness absence cost the economy between £15 billion to £20 billion.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 impact of changes to the winter fuel payment on recent trends in the level of economic growth.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is not possible to attribute changes in consumer spending or economic growth to any changes to Winter Fuel Payments. It is not possible to disentangle these from other much larger factors that could affect economic growth or consumption.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments on consumer spending.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is not possible to attribute changes in consumer spending or economic growth to any changes to Winter Fuel Payments. It is not possible to disentangle these from other much larger factors that could affect economic growth or consumption.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of Winter Fuel Payments that were spent through (a) direct and (b) indirect taxation in 2023-24.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The department does not hold information on how Winter Fuel Payments were spent in 2023–24.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the median income for pensioners in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Pensioners’ Incomes statistics contains estimates of the levels, sources and distribution of pensioners’ incomes. This is published by the department annually. The latest data covers financial year ending 2023.
In financial year ending 2023, it is estimated that the median net income for all pensioner units was £424 per week before housing costs, and £387 per week after housing costs. This information is available in Table 2.1 of the Pensioners' Incomes: financial years ending 1995 to 2023 tables, which can be found here: Pensioners' Incomes: financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK
Pensioners’ Incomes data is derived from the Family Resources Survey and covers private households in the United Kingdom. A pensioner unit can be a single pensioner over State Pension age, a pensioner couple where one member is over State Pension age, or a pensioner couple where both members are over State Pension age.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24303 on Pensioners: Winter Fuel Payment, if she will make an estimate of the number of those pensioners who are on the basic state pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
At May 2024, there were 3.5m pensioners with a basic State Pension income above £218.15: the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG) threshold for single pensioners. (Source: Stat-Xplore)
However, some pensioners with a basic State Pension income below the SMG will also have incomes from other sources, such as a private pension, which takes their total income above this threshold.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in poverty during the winter of 2024-25; and how this compares to the winter of 2023-24.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2025 to Question 24306
Statistics on the number of people living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are produced on an annual basis and published in the Households Below Average Income statistics.
The latest available data covers financial year ending 2023, and is published by the Department here Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK
Poverty figures relating to the financial year 2024-25 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting pensioners in winter 2024-25.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions publishes Management Information on the Household Support Fund, including details on the proportion of funding spent on households with pensioners.
The latest Management Information covering the scheme running from April 2023-March 2024 is available here: Household Support Fund management information - GOV.UK. Data that includes winter 2024-25 is still being collected and will be published later in 2025.
Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination that the Department for Work and Pensions have set out for the fund. This is because they have the ties and the knowledge to best determine how support should be provided in their local communities.
The Department for Work and Pensions conducted an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund, that ran from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, to understand the benefits of the awards made across England during this period. This will be published shortly.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of Household Support Fund funding allocated to pensioners in 2024-25.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions publishes Management Information on the Household Support Fund, including details on the proportion of funding spent on households with pensioners.
The latest Management Information covering the scheme running from April 2023-March 2024 is available here: Household Support Fund management information - GOV.UK. Data that includes winter 2024-25 is still being collected and will be published later in 2025.
Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination that the Department for Work and Pensions have set out for the fund. This is because they have the ties and the knowledge to best determine how support should be provided in their local communities.
The Department for Work and Pensions conducted an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund, that ran from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, to understand the benefits of the awards made across England during this period. This will be published shortly.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the cost of new sign ups for Pension Credit between July and December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest data on Pension Credit applications and awards covers the period between 1 April 2024 and 17 November 2024 and is available here: Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK. In the 16 weeks since the announcement on 29 July to means-test Winter Fuel Payment (which is up to and including end of week beginning 11 November), the Department received around 150,000 Pension Credit claims. The Department does not yet have an estimate of the value of these claims.
However, the Department estimates that the legislation to means-test Winter Fuel Payments would generate a saving of £1.3 billion in England and Wales for 2024/25. An estimated increase in Pension Credit take-up of five percentage points would reduce the overall saving by £0.3 billion in 2024-25 in England and Wales, but there is significant uncertainty around this element of the costing. For further details, please see: Economic and fiscal outlook – CP 1169.