Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many families there were in each region in England and Wales with (a) one child, (b) two children, (c) three children, (d) four children, (e) five children, (f) six to eight children, (g) eight to 10 children and (h) more than 10 children in each year since 2019.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of the 2nd of December is attached.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent changes to salary sacrifice arrangements on employees’ pension savings.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for every year since 2017, what proportion of Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are (a) in work and (b) not in work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 provides the proportion of Universal Credit households with children, broken down by in work or not in work.
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1%.
2. Figures are for households receiving Universal Credit in assessment periods ending at any point in the calendar year.
3. Figures are for Great Britain (GB) only and include only households where Universal Credit was in payment.
4. Figures represent Universal Credit full service claims only, which are only available from 2019 onwards.
5. Due to differences in methodology, there may be slight differences from published statistics.
Table 1: Proportion of UC households with children, broken down by in work or not in work, for every calendar year since 2019
Calendar Year | Proportion of UC households with children | |
In work | Not in work | |
2019 | 69% | 31% |
2020 | 70% | 30% |
2021 | 71% | 29% |
2022 | 72% | 28% |
2023 | 72% | 28% |
2024 | 70% | 30% |
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the membership of the Timms Review steering group will be published.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have launched the Timms Review to ensure Personal Independence Payment is fair and fit for the future. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.
On 30 October, I announced that I will co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group of around a dozen members, which will set the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan.
The steering group is being recruited through an open and accessible Expression of Interest process, which ran from 30 October to 30 November. We are now considering applications and will provide an update shortly.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Universal Credit starts in each of the last 5 years were (a) new benefit claimants and (b) claimants transitioning from legacy benefits through managed migration.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not readily available. However, as detailed in the DWP Statistical Work Programme and the Universal Credit statistics release strategy, the Department is developing a method to denote UC claimants given a migration notice from the Move to Universal Credit programme, and updates on this will be shared in the DWP Statistical Work Programme.
As we continue the Move to Universal Credit (UC) programme, the department is moving people from legacy benefits to UC, leading to an expected rise in the UC caseload.
Latest Official Statistics show that, up to end of September 2025, almost 1.9 million individuals have made a claim to UC following receipt of a migration notice.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the number of Universal Credit households with dependent children reporting fewer than (a) 16, (b) 30 and (c) 35 hours of work per week.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are in the light touch or working conditionality groups.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average duration of a Universal Credit claim that was started in a) 2021, b) 2022, c) 2023, d) 2024 and e) 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by claim duration and by age.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Universal Credit claimants with dependent children are in (a) full-time or (b) part-time work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is not available.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average duration of a Universal Credit claim for someone who begins a claim at age a) 18, b) 19, c) 20, d) 21, e) 22, f) 23 and g) 24.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
However, monthly statistics for the number of People on Universal Credit in Great Britain are published regularly on Stat-Xplore. This data is available by claim duration and by age.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.