Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 17079 on Pension Credit: Social Security Benefits, what the average weekly cash total equivalent is of the additional qualifying benefits to which Pension Credit claimants are entitled.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No estimate has been made as the department is unable to quantify the value of all passported benefits.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what benefits would a successful applicant for Pension Credit potentially be eligible for in addition to the Winter Fuel Payment.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In addition to the Winter Fuel Payment, Pension Credit provides access to a number of other benefits and support including:
o help with rent via Housing Benefit;
o a Council Tax reduction;
o Cold Weather Payments and other help from the Social Fund including help with funeral costs;
o help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs;
o help with heating costs through the Warm Home Discount Scheme; and
o a free TV licence for those over 75.
We are urging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit by 21 December 2024, which is the latest date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment (or the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland).
Pension Credit in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Communities who are undertaking their own take-up activities targeting pensioners.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans further publicity to inform pensioners of the closing date for applications for Pension Credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department’s campaign to promote Pension Credit has been running across Great Britain since September. The latest phase of the campaign, which launched on 8 November, is aimed at friends and family - especially adult children of eligible pensioners - asking them to tell people they know about Pension Credit, encourage them to check their eligibility, as well as help them make a claim. It is running on TV, radio, social media such as Facebook and Instagram, on YouTube and on advertising screens, including on GP and Post Office screens.
We are urging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit by 21 December 2024, which is the latest date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment (or the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in Scotland).
Pension Credit in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Communities who are undertaking their own take-up activities targeting pensioners.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether recipients who have not been suspected of benefit fraudulent activity will be subject to having their personal bank account details scrutinised.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Fraud and error in the social security system currently costs the taxpayer almost £10 billion a year and, since the pandemic, a total of £35 billion of taxpayers’ money has been incorrectly paid to those not entitled. The DWP is determined to reduce those levels.
The Eligibility Verification Measure (EVM) in the proposed Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will not give DWP access to any bank accounts, nor any information on how claimants spend their money. The proposed new power instead helps verify benefit eligibility, using very limited information from banks and financial institutions. As set out by the National Audit Office, access to data is key to prevention and detection of incorrect payments.
EVM will require banks and financial institutions to look within their own data to highlight where someone may not be eligible for the benefits they are receiving. The data will only be sent to DWP if there is a possible conflict with the benefit eligibility rules, such as the £16,000 capital limit in Universal Credit or individuals living abroad without notifying the Department.
The information gathered will help DWP identify incorrect payments, prevent debts from accruing for the claimant and help identify where there may be fraudulent activity. No benefit entitlement decision will be made solely because of the data obtained under EVM and a final decision on benefit entitlement will always involve a human agent.
Further details will be set out when the Bill is introduced to Parliament.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what reduction in fraud and error in the benefit system she plans to achieve by the end of 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
At Autumn Budget, the OBR updated their forecasts. This shows the impact of the Department’s plans to reduce fraud and error levels across the scorecard period. In addition to this, the Department provides annual updates on the effectiveness of their plans through the publication of the Annual Report and Accounts, where the latest UC forecast and outturn position for the financial year is published. DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 (HTML) - GOV.UK.
Whilst we have published forecasts in the past, they have been superseded and the latest forecast is not in the public domain.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to run an Invitation to Claim campaign to enable more senior citizens to claim Pension Credit before 21 December 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department’s ‘Invitation to Claim’ initiative was launched on 30 October. Since then, we have written to around 120,000 pensioner households across Great Britain who are in receipt of Housing Benefit but not Pension Credit. The letter and accompanying leaflet urge these households to claim Pension Credit by the 21 December, which is the latest date for making a successful backdated Pension Credit claim and qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment.
The Department’s broader communications campaign to promote Pension Credit has been running since September. The latest phase of the campaign is targeting friends and family - asking them to tell people they know about Pension Credit, encourage them to check their eligibility, as well as help them make a claim. It is running on TV, radio, social media such as Facebook and Instagram, on YouTube and on advertising screens, including on GP and Post Office screens.
Pension Credit in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Communities who are undertaking their own take-up activities targeting pensioners.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average weekly Pension Credit payment was in April 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pension Credit data for April 2024 is not currently available.
The latest data is from February 2024, when the average weekly Pension Credit payment was £76.20.
The next iteration of Pension Credit statistics containing data to May 2024 will be available on Stat Xplore from 28th November 2024.
This data is available on Stat-Xplore at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk in the ‘Pension Credit - Data from May 2018’ dataset. More information on the data included in the ‘Pension Credit’ dataset can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistical-summaries. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new applications for Pension Credit were made between 10 September 2024 and 10 October 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data on how many pension credit applications have been made between 1 April 2024 and 22 September 2024 was recently published on gov.uk, Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This shows that between 9 September and 22 September 2024, 25,200 Pension Credit application were received by the Department.
On 28 October 2024, the department announced that updated Pension Credit applications and award statistics will be published on 28 November 2024. This publication will provide application volumes after 22 September 2024.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of eligible people claimed Pension Credit in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Information relating to Pension Credit eligibility is only available via take-up statistics. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2021 to 2022 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The next release of statistics for Financial Year Ending 2023 will be published on Thursday 10 October 2024. The below table shows the number of eligible people receiving Pension Credit and the estimated take up of Pension Credit.
Please note that Financial Year Ending 2021 proportion of take-up is not available due to the pandemic restricting the number of face-to-face interviews required to collect the data. Also, the take-up figures shown below are central estimates.
| Number of eligible people receiving Pension Credit | Estimated take up of Pension Credit |
Financial Year Ending 2018 | 1,690,000 | 61% |
Financial Year Ending 2019 | 1,570,000 | 63% |
Financial Year Ending 2020 | 1,490,000 | 66% |
Financial Year Ending 2021 | 1,410,000 | X |
Financial Year Ending 2022 | 1,350,000 | 63% |
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's press release entitled You could get Pension Credit: Week of Action to drive take up, published on 1 September 2024, whether she has a target of the (a) number and (b) proportion of pensioners that are not in receipt of Pension Credit who will successfully apply by the close of the campaign.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No targets have been set, the Government wants everyone eligible for Pension Credit but not currently claiming it to receive the benefits they are entitled to.
DWP launched the Pension Credit Week of Action on 2 September, joining forces with national charities, broadcasters and local authorities to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim.
From 16 September we will be running a national marketing campaign on a range of channels. The campaign will target potential pension-age customers, as well as friends and family who can encourage and support them to apply.
Our future campaign messaging will also focus on encouraging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit before the 21 December 2024, which is the last date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment.
We will also work with external partners, local authorities and the Devolved Governments to boost the take-up of Pension Credit.