Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she will provide local authorities with (a) their allocation of the Household Support Fund for 2025-26 and (b) guidance for the use of that fund.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor announced that the Government will provide £1 billion, including Barnett impact, to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England and maintain Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) in England and Wales in 2025-2026.
The Household Support Fund scheme guidance and individual Local Authority funding allocations for the forthcoming extension will be announced as soon as possible ahead of the scheme beginning on 1 April 2025.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people in (a) Witham constituency and (b) Essex who (i) are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment and (ii) will be eligible for the payment under the proposed changed eligibility requirements; and what the estimated value of those payments is.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In winter 2023 to 2024, a) 21,661 pensioners in Witham constituency (2024 boundaries) and b) 353,463 pensioners in Essex received a Winter Fuel Payment. This is based on the Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
It is estimated that around a) 1,681 pensioners in Witham Constituency and b) 34,541 pensioners in Essex will receive Winter Fuel Payment following the changes in eligibility criteria for Winter Fuel Payment. This is based on February 2024 Pension Credit statistics which are available via DWP Stat-Xplore. It is possible to use the Pension Credit statistics to give a minimum estimate of the number who may be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments.
Please note that we do not hold information on the estimated value of these payments.
The estimates for Essex have been calculated by combining the data for the following 14 Local Authorities in Essex: Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock, Braintree, Brentwood, Basildon, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Tendring and Uttlesford.
The above estimation would not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up that we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or Local Authorities.
The published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals in respect of whom Pension Credit is paid will be higher (i.e., taking account of households where a claimant has a partner and / or dependents.)
In addition, while Pension Credit claimants constitute the majority of those that will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, pensioners who claim other qualifying means-tested benefits will also be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. It is not, however, possible to include those on other qualifying means-tested benefits in these figures.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of changing the eligibility criteria for the winter fuel payment on (a) the number of additional patients that will require NHS treatment as a consequence of that decision and (b) other NHS services in Essex.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.
Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control. This means that the Winter Fuel Payment will be better targeted to low-income pensioners who need it.
The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1st October 2024 until 31st March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.
The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the unemployment rate in Essex.
Answered by Jo Churchill
In Essex, and across the country, our Jobcentre teams are supporting people back into work and helping those in work to progress. We have comprehensive range of support in place and are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering sector based work academy programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, job fairs, and work trials.
The Essex Jobcentre team continue to build partnerships with local employers to fill vacancies. Throughout November, claimants in Witham were invited to Chelmsford Jobcentre for recruitment events linked to The Range and One Beyond, filling vacancies in retail and hospitality. During January the team are working with local employers in the education, healthcare, security, retail and social care sectors, with bespoke events to help fill vacancies.
Claimants in Essex also have access to an extensive range of SWAPs, across a range of sectors, with opportunities planned for January in the large goods vehicle industry, energy, and animal care sectors. We continue to encourage claimants to participate in events at the London Stansted Airport Academy to support further airport recruitment.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, what funding will be provided to each local authority in the 2024-25 financial year for the Household Support Fund; and what his planned timetable is for (a) informing local authorities of their allocations and (b) providing guidance on the use of that funding.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3412.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 5.12 of the Autumn Statement, published on 17 November 2022, when he plans to issue the (a) allocations to local authorities from and (b) guidance on the Household Support Fund; and if he will issue guidance on the use of these allocations by local authorities to support victims of domestic abuse and violence.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
As outlined in the Autumn Statement, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year.
This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion.
In England, this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which will help those most in need with the cost of essentials.
The guidance, details and individual Local Authority allocations for this forthcoming extension will be announced in due course before the scheme begins on 1 April 2023.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many EU nationals have claimed each type of benefit in each year since 2000.
Answered by Lord Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The nationality and immigration status of claimants is not currently recorded on benefit payment systems.
However, the Department has published statistics relating to access to income-related benefits for EEA and non-EEA migrants in the ad hoc publication “Analysis of migrants’ access to income-related benefits”, published last year and available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/analysis-of-migrants-access-to-income-related-benefits
The Department has also published statistics on working age benefit recipients by nationality at point of National Insurance Number (NINO) registration. This information is included in the “Statistical Bulletin on Nationality at point of National Insurance Number registration of DWP working age benefit recipients: data to November 2017”, available at:
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 54 of the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, how many non-UK EU nationals (a) currently living in the UK and (b) expected to be living in the UK over the next 15 years will qualify for universal credit.
Answered by Lord Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 196900 on 4 December.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 54 of the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, how many non-UK EU nationals (a) currently living in the UK and (b) expected to be living in the UK over the next 15 years will qualify for social security support from the public purse; what benefits those people will be eligible for; and what estimate he has made of the cost of providing those benefits.
Answered by Lord Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) provide data on the population of the UK by country of birth and nationality. In addition, overall population projections for the UK (though not split by nationality) are made. These can be accessed at:
The ONS estimate that there around 3.7m EU nationals living in the UK as of 2017/18. However, they do not have figures on the number of EU nationals expected to be resident in the UK in 15 years’ time.
In the Political Declaration we have agreed to consider addressing social security coordination in the light of future movement of persons.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-UK EU nationals (a) are in receipt of universal credit and (b) will be in receipt of universal credit in each of the next 10 years.
Answered by Lord Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The nationality and immigration status of claimants is not currently recorded on benefit payment systems.
However, the Department for Work and Pensions has published statistics on working age benefit recipients by nationality at point of National Insurance Number (NINO) registration. This information is known as “Nationality at point of National Insurance Number registration of DWP benefit claimants” and is included in the “Statistical Bulletin on Nationality at point of National Insurance Number registration of DWP working age benefit recipients: data to November 2017”, available at: