Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress her Department has made on tackling fraud in the welfare system.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are delivering £8.6bn of new savings over the next five years to tackle fraud. This includes recruiting an additional 3,000 counter-fraud staff, committing to deliver the Targeted Case Review in Universal Credit and bringing forward savings of £1.5bn through measures within the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill) which we introduced to Parliament on 22^nd January.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Departmental have had with the Welsh Government on supporting pan-regional economies that overlap the borders of England and Wales.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

Growth is the number one mission of the government, and our new industrial strategy is central to that mission. The Industrial Strategy will drive growth, create a pro-business environment and support high-potential clusters across the UK, including cross border clusters.

I regularly meet the First Minister to discuss a variety of issues, including economic growth and the Industrial Strategy.

In addition, officials from the Wales Office, the Department for Business and Trade, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Welsh Government and HM Treasury are working closely on the Industrial Strategy. This work includes active consideration of opportunities that straddle the border between England and Wales.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with representatives of the devolved administrations on supporting economic development in pan-regional economies that are also cross-border economies.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK Government and the Department of Business and Trade engages regularly with devolved governments on all aspects of economic development, including at the Business and Industry Inter-Ministerial Group.

The inaugural meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions took place in Edinburgh in October 2024. The Council brings together the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister with the leaders of the devolved governments and the mayors of combined authorities to facilitate collaboration on cross-cutting challenges including the core mission of securing economic growth.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Work Capability Assessments were carried out (a) face-to-face, (b) remotely and (c) on paper in each month since March 2020.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The number and proportion of Work Capability Assessments carried out face-to-face, remotely (by telephone and video) and by paper each month since March 2020 can be found in the tables below.

March 2020 to December 2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Please Note

• All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 100.
• Due to rounding some percentages may exceed 100%.
• Remote assessments include telephone and video assessments.
• Due to the period covered in this question, the data source has been amended so figures may not exactly match with previous publications.
• All the above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the assessment suppliers.
• The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the planning system in supporting the rollout of electric vehicle charging points.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of electric vehicle charge points without the need to submit a planning application, subject to certain conditions.

In its response to the Climate Change Committee’s 2024 progress report published on 17 December last year, the government made clear that it intended to amend these rights to further support the roll out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, so that opportunities from changing transport technology and usage are realised. The NPPF also sets out that applications for development should be designed to enable charging of plug-in vehicles in safe, accessible and convenient locations.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to support the development of pan-national economies that cut across the borders of the nations of the UK in (a) South Wales and Western England and (b) other areas.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This government is committed to an agenda of national growth and the UK’s new Industrial Strategy, a 10-year plan for growth due to be published in Spring, will be designed and implemented in lockstep with local and regional leaders.

In addition, HMG has announced the Council of Nations and Regions, supporting cross-border collaboration bringing together the PM and the DPM with the heads of the devolved governments and the mayors of combined authorities, to consider shared opportunities across the UK.

Found: meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Johanna Baxter; Mr Peter Bedford; Steve Darling; Damien Egan

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Johanna Baxter; Mr Peter Bedford; Damien Egan

Found: meeting Members present: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Johanna Baxter; Mr Peter Bedford; Steve Darling; Damien Egan

Submit Evidence (by 3 Mar 2025)

The Work and Pension Committee is conducting an inquiry into jobcentres, the first in a series of inquiries in response to the Government’s Get Britain Working White Paper.