Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to enhance digital access support for Pension Credit applications for older people.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is committed to making Pension Credit applications as accessible as possible for older people. We have invested in the Apply for Pension Credit online service (AfPC), which is designed to simply gather the information needed to make a claim, while ensuring that non-digital routes remain available for those who prefer or require them.
Assisted digital support is embedded into the service, including telephone and paper-based options for digitally excluded customers. To further enhance digital access support, we plan to introduce “save and return” to make online applications easier for those who need more time or assistance.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of potential factors limiting Pension Credit take-up among eligible low-income pensioners in rural areas.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Research suggests that there are a range of reasons why some pensioners don’t claim Pension Credit. These include lack of awareness, uncertainty about eligibility and stigma around claiming benefits more generally. Some pensioners assume that they will not be entitled because they own their own home or have modest savings or other retirement income. Some may be put off by the claim processor be hesitant to provide personal or financial information. Pensioners in rural areas may face added barriers such as having limited access to local support services, social isolation or poor digital connectivity.
The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners, no matter where they live, receive the financial support they are entitled to. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit taken-up campaign across the whole of Great Britain, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends through adverts on television and radio; on social media and on digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices, as well as in the press. And Pension Credit can be claimed over the telephone, by post or online. Pensioners claiming by telephone can be supported and guided through the claim process by an agent while the online service is available 24/7 every day of the year and can be completed by a friend or relative.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on local authority engagement with Pension Credit take-up campaigns.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department regularly engages with all councils in Great Britain through the Local Authority Welfare Direct e-bulletins on GOV.UK, email communications to our local authority contact list, and through wider outreach work through partnership managers covering national Jobcentre Plus districts. DWP Communications keeps a log of the extensive support for the campaign offered by Local Authorities across Great Britain, which helps the Department to focus promotional efforts. Following our calls for support for the annual Pension Credit Week of Action in 2024, and in October this year, at least 200 councils across Great Britain have actively supported our awareness campaign through social media promotion and/or in-person/on-site distribution of our promotional materials, including posters and leaflets.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of the 23 million (a) toothbrushes and (b) toothpastes will be provided to early years settings in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not available at constituency level. In 2025/26, Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council have received 5,544 toothbrushes for use in early years settings, 4,812 toothpastes and 3,660 toothbrushes for children to take home. This equates to a proportion of 0.3% of the total allocation of products from our partnership with Colgate-Palmolive for this year. Product allocations are based on the number of 3-to-5-year children living in the 20% most deprived areas in England. Allocation of products for subsequent years will be confirmed in partnership with the councils and Colgate-Palmolive.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to measure the potential impact of UK leadership in multilateral development fora on global poverty reduction outcomes.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to working with a range of multilateral organisations and international institutions to pursue our shared goals across a number of policy objectives, including sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has identified priority sectors for future UK-backed multilateral development funding following the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund 2025, Development Committee plenary, October 2025.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to working with a range of multilateral organisations and international institutions to pursue our shared goals across a number of policy objectives, including sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of UK technical assistance to the World Bank’s capacity-building programmes.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to working with a range of multilateral organisations and international institutions to pursue our shared goals across a number of policy objectives, including sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that UK-funded multilateral programmes align with the Sustainable Development Goals review cycle to 2030.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to working with a range of multilateral organisations and international institutions to pursue our shared goals across a number of policy objectives, including sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the role her Department will be in discussions on debt sustainability and restructuring under the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to working with a range of multilateral organisations and international institutions to pursue our shared goals across a number of policy objectives, including sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international partners since the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund 2025 Annual Meetings on the alignment of development financing with climate adaptation priorities.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to working with a range of multilateral organisations and international institutions to pursue our shared goals across a number of policy objectives, including sustainable development and poverty reduction.