Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it has ever been her Department's policy to treat moving into employment as a change of circumstances which triggers a reassessment for (a) personal independence payment and (b) the work capability assessment; and whether her Department has made an estimate of how many claimants may have been subject to reassessment due to a change in circumstances associated with a change in employment status.

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

Being in work, of itself, is not a change of circumstances for the purposes of triggering an award review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or the Work Capability Assessment determination. We are legislating for this approach and believe it is the right approach to give customers the confidence to try work at any time without fear of reassessment and enable more people to move into work.

Given that employment status is not linked to reassessment, we are not able estimate how many claimants may have been subject to reassessment due to a change in circumstances associated with a change in employment status.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of levels of annually managed expenditure savings due to planned increases in the proportion of face to face (a) PIP and (b) Work Capability Assessments in each of the next five financial years.

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

The department has not yet made an estimate of the impact on Annually Managed Expenditure of the planned increases in the proportion of face-to-face assessments for PIP and Work Capability Assessments.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households were exempted from the benefit cap for the latest period for which data is available, by (a) reason for exemption and (b) amount they would otherwise have had capped.

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

The requested statistics are not readily held by the Department and to produce them would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average award is for pension credit claimants with a non-CTA immigration status.

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

The requested statistics are not held by the Department.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were in receipt of Pension Credit for each of the last five financial years, by immigration status.

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

The requested statistics are not held by the Department.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how his Department's capital budgets (a) were allocated in each financial year since 2023-24 and (b) have been allocated for each of the next five financial years.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Capital budget for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) for FY2023-24 and 2024-25 are available via the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee - Estimate memoranda - Committees - UK Parliament, published on the UK Parliament website.

Additionally, the Capital budget allocated for DESNZ for the next five financial years is available in the Spending Review 2025 document. Detailed information on the Capital budget commitments across DESNZ programmes is included within these documents.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) proportion and (b) amount of Universal Credit expenditure was for adults with non-Common Travel Area immigration status in the latest period for which information is available.

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

Universal Credit awards are paid to households, which may include both British and foreign nationals who are eligible. Therefore, the information requested is not readily available at the required quality and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.