Lord Booth

The Department has an extensive programme of engagement to raise awareness of CPTPP, an agreement comprising over 500 million people and a combined GDP of £12 trillion in 2023, when including the UK, among small and medium-sized enterprises.

We aim to reach as many businesses as possible to ensure they have the knowledge needed to take advantage of the commercial opportunities afforded to them in CPTPP markets. This includes running over 60 webinars, workshops, roundtables and events for, and often in partnership with, UK businesses.

The Department has also published 70+ practical CPTPP guides on great.gov.uk, aimed at supporting SMEs.

The Department for Business and Trade has an active programme of FTA Utilisation to promote the benefits of the UK’s Free Trade Agreements with Japan, including CPTPP and the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). This includes running Export Academy webinars on our FTAs, training sessions for UK business delegations visiting Japan, podcasts on our FTAs with Japan, and an ambitious programme of business engagement on CPTPP which included over 50 DBT-led events across October and November. On the 15^th December, the department published 11 new CPTPP guides with Japan-specific content on great.gov.uk, designed to support UK exporters.

The Department has a dedicated team focused on the implementation of the CPTPP Agreement now it has entered into force. They work closely with the Free Trade Agreement Utilisation (FTAU) team who exist to promote the benefits of the UK’s FTAs. To coincide with entry into force of CPTPP, the department published 70+ new guides for exporters on great.gov.uk. There is an ambitious programme of business engagement on CPTPP which included over 50 DBT-led events across October and November. Following entry into force, FTAU will continue to deliver practical support in utilising the agreement, including through workshops and webinars.

The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts on 22nd July 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024-html). This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%, which meant 22.3% were not settled within the 10-week timescale.

We are deploying around 500 additional staff to manage the increase in volumes.

Please note, if a claim is made by 21 December, Pension Credit can be backdated for three months if the entitlement conditions have been met throughout that period, and if the claimant was eligible, they would also receive a Winter Fuel Payment.

The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts on 22nd July 2024 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024-html). This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%, which meant 22.3% were not settled within the 10-week timescale.

We are deploying around 500 additional staff to manage the increase in volumes.

Please note, if a claim is made by 21 December, Pension Credit can be backdated for three months if the entitlement conditions have been met throughout that period, and if the claimant was eligible, they would also receive a Winter Fuel Payment.

On 28 November we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK, which is the nearest available data to the 30 November.

• This shows we have received around 150,000 applications since the announcement on 29 July 2024 to 17 November 2024.
• In the previous year we received around 67,000 applications for the closest comparable period, 31 July 2023 to 19 November 2023.

Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.

The Department is significantly increasing the resource on Pension Credit to ensure it processes claims as quickly as possible, with approximately 500 additional staff being deployed to support the increase in applications generated from the successful Pension Credit take-up campaign.

The Department currently works to a planned timescale of 50 working days to clear Pension Credit claims.

Average Actual Clearance Times are measured weekly. The table below shows Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) from the end of week commencing 2nd September to the end of week commencing 21st October, in working days.

Please note.

• The data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
• These figures will not align to previous PQ responses due to retrospective updates as the data is sourced from live systems.

HIV remains a key priority for the Government, which has committed to ending new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As such, the Government has committed to commissioning a new HIV Action Plan for 2025-30 which we aim to publish by summer 2025.

The Department, the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England and a broad range of system partners are working together to develop the new HIV Action Plan. The Department are also working with a range of external stakeholders including the voluntary and community sector, and hosting engagement sessions which aim to inform the development of the new Action Plan.

The five objectives of the plan will be to:

• ensure equitable access and uptake of HIV prevention programmes;
• scale up HIV testing;
• optimise rapid access to treatment and retention in care;
• improve quality of life for people living with HIV and address stigma;
• stabilise and support system enablers.

HIV remains a key priority for the Government, which has committed to ending new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. As such, the Government has committed to commissioning a new HIV Action Plan for 2025-30 which we aim to publish by summer 2025.

The Department, the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England and a broad range of system partners are working together to develop the new HIV Action Plan. The Department are also working with a range of external stakeholders including the voluntary and community sector, and hosting engagement sessions which aim to inform the development of the new Action Plan.

The five objectives of the plan will be to:

• ensure equitable access and uptake of HIV prevention programmes;
• scale up HIV testing;
• optimise rapid access to treatment and retention in care;
• improve quality of life for people living with HIV and address stigma;
• stabilise and support system enablers.

In 2022, there were an estimated 99,000 people living with HIV in England, and 108,500 in the United Kingdom, both diagnosed and undiagnosed. Of those, 94% were receiving treatment.

This data is from 2022, and was published by the UK Health Security Agency on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. Estimates for 2023 will be released on 28 November 2024.

In 2022, there were an estimated 99,000 people living with HIV in England, and 108,500 in the United Kingdom. Of those, 5% were unaware of their HIV status.

This data is from 2022, and was published by the UK Health Security Agency on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. Estimates for 2023 will be released on 28 November 2024.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 1177 on 31 July 2024.