Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who are receiving the maximum permitted benefits under the benefit cap have one or more children with a disability in East Thanet constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Households receiving disability benefits are exempt from the benefit cap.
Households are exempt from the benefit cap if somebody in the household is receiving, for example, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment. Universal Credit customers that receive the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element or Employment and Support Allowance customers in receipt of the support component are also exempt.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who are receiving the maximum permitted benefits under the benefit cap have one or more adults with a disability in East Thanet constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Households receiving disability benefits are exempt from the benefit cap.
Households are exempt from the benefit cap if somebody in the household is receiving, for example, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment. Universal Credit customers that receive the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element or Employment and Support Allowance customers in receipt of the support component are also exempt.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who are receiving the maximum permitted benefits under the benefit cap have three or more children in East Thanet constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who are affected by the benefit cap are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are currently available up to November 2024. These statistics include the number of children in the household and are available by various geographies including Westminster parliamentary constituency.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access general guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receive the maximum amount of permissible benefits under benefit caps in East Thanet constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Official Statistics on the number of households in Great Britain on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who are affected by the benefit cap are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore and are currently available up to November 2024. These statistics include the number of children in the household and are available by various geographies including Westminster parliamentary constituency.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access general guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 52414 on Personal Independence Payment, how many recipients of PIP are forecast by her Department to lose their PIP Daily Living Entitlement after all PIP reassessments have taken place over the projected six year timeframe.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It would take 10 years for all claimants on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to be assessed under the new criteria as many claimants receive 10-year awards. For claimants receiving PIP when the 4-point policy is introduced in November 2026, we estimate that by 2036/37, 440,000 claimants will not receive the daily living component of PIP who would have under current rules, after behavioural effects are taken into account.
No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has taken into account expected behavioural changes in its numbers and determined that 370,000 (1 in 10) current PIP recipients may lose entitlement by 2029/30 at their next award review after changes to PIP eligibility come into effect in November 2026. We use the same methodology as the OBR to provide the comparable figure for 2036/37.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 2024/25 to £31bn in 2029/30.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people who receive (a) enhanced daily living Personal Independence Payment awards and (b) standard daily living Personal Independence Payment awards did not score four or more points on any individual activity descriptor in 2024-25.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who received a standard Daily Living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities can be found in Table 1 below.
There will be no immediate changes. Our intention is the changes will start to come into effect from November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time.
Table 1: Proportion of PIP claimants who are in receipt of the standard daily living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities
Daily Living Award | Proportion of PIP claimants who scored <4 points |
Enhanced | 13% |
Standard | 87% |
Source(s): PIP administrative data
Notes:
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who receive (a) enhanced daily living Personal Independence Payment awards and (b) standard daily living Personal Independence Payment awards did not score four or more points on any individual activity descriptor in 2024-25.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the volume of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who received a standard Daily Living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities can be found in Table 1 below.
The number of people currently on PIP and did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious.
No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time.
After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will lose their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
We have launched a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30.
Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants who are in receipt of the standard daily living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities
Daily Living Award | Volume of PIP claimants who scored <4 points |
Enhanced | 203,000 |
Standard | 1,121,000 |
Source(s): PIP administrative data
Notes:
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when her Department plans to lay statutory instrument to remove the one-metre rule requiring planning permission to install heat pumps in England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Further announcements on permitted development rights for domestic air source heat pumps will be made in due course.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the potential implications of the development of the Land Use Framework for the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
When published, the Land Use Framework will seek to address the delivery challenges faced by communities, businesses, developers, landowners and farmers when considering how to make the best use of their land. It will be a cross-Government strategic document, setting out the evidence, data and tools needed to protect our most productive agricultural land and identify the best areas for nature’s recovery, while making sure appropriate plans are made as to where to build 1.5 million new homes, and the energy infrastructure needed to achieve Clean Power by 2030.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential implications of the development of the Land Use Framework for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
When published, the Land Use Framework will seek to address the delivery challenges faced by communities, businesses, developers, landowners and farmers when considering how to make the best use of their land. It will be a cross-Government strategic document, setting out the evidence, data and tools needed to protect our most productive agricultural land and identify the best areas for nature’s recovery, while making sure appropriate plans are made as to where to build 1.5 million new homes, and the energy infrastructure needed to achieve Clean Power by 2030.