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Written Question
Social Security Benefits
Monday 4th November 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 11035 on Social Security Benefits, if her Department will resume its annual publication entitled Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP working age benefit recipients.

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

Decisions regarding the development and publication of Official Statistics are the responsibility of the Chief Statistician. There are no plans to resume publication of ‘Nationality at point of National Insurance number (NINo) registration of DWP working age benefit recipients’ statistics.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing the eligibility of non-UK / Irish claimants to claim benefits. An individual’s specific nationality, either at the time of NINo registration or at the time of benefit claim, does not play a role in this. Eligibility differs by benefit but is usually determined by an individual’s immigration status, alongside their ability to meet the requirements of the Habitual Residence Test (for income-related benefits), the Past Presence Test (for disability benefits), and / or having the necessary National Insurance contributions (for contributions-based benefits).


Written Question
Social Security Benefits
Monday 4th November 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 11035, on Social Security Benefits, for which benefit lines the Department holds data on the nationality of claimants at the point of National Insurance number registration.

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

Information on the nationality of claimants at the point of National Insurance number (NINo) registration is not used for benefit purposes so is not held on any benefit lines. As detailed in the background information and methodology, the administrative data generated from the Adult NINo Allocation and Registration service is analysed to produce the quarterly statistical publication on ‘National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK’. The administrative data which underpins this publication is the Migrant Workers Scan (MWS) and it is sourced from the HMRC National Insurance and PAYE Service (NPS) which is not used for benefit purposes.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing the eligibility of non-UK / Irish claimants to claim benefits. An individual’s specific nationality, either at the time of NINo registration or at the time of benefit claim, does not play a role in this. Eligibility differs by benefit but is usually determined by an individual’s immigration status, alongside their ability to meet the requirements of the Habitual Residence Test (for income-related benefits), the Past Presence Test (for disability benefits), and / or having the necessary National Insurance contributions (for contributions-based benefits).


Written Question
Social Security Benefits
Tuesday 29th October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2024 to Question 9771 on Social Security Benefits, for which benefit lines the Department records data on the birthplace of people claiming (a) out of work and (b) other benefits.

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

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.


Written Question
Employment and Support Allowance
Tuesday 29th October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming Employment and Support Allowance were (a) born and (b) not born in the UK.

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

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.


Written Question
Universal Credit
Tuesday 29th October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming Universal Credit were (a) born and (b) not born in the UK.

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

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment
Tuesday 29th October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming the Personal Independence Payment were (a) born and (b) not born in the UK.

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

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.


Written Question
Jobseekers Allowance
Tuesday 29th October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance were (a) born and (b) not born in the UK.

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

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.


Written Question
Income Support
Tuesday 29th October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming Income Support were (a) born and (b) not born in the UK.

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

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.


Written Question
Housing Benefit
Tuesday 29th October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming Housing Benefit were (a) born and (b) not born in the UK.

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

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits
Wednesday 23rd October 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming out of work benefits were (a) born in the UK and (b) not born in the UK.

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

The Department does not consistently record data on the birthplace of those claiming out of work benefits across all benefit lines. DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s place of birth does not play a role in this. The Department therefore does not consistently collect information on place of birth at the point of benefit claim.