Richard Burgon

The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and protect disabled people.

The Office of Budget Responsibility has committed to produce an assessment of the labour market impacts of the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper at the time of the autumn budget.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The information you requested can be found in Table 2.28 in the Pathways to Work: Evidence Pack: Chapter 2.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be found on Stat Xplore. The requested data can be found in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ dataset. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

For data on claimants in receipt of PIP by local authority area there is a pre-populated table with the latest data. For data by constituency, you can filter by using the ‘Geography’ filter to select ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituency 2024’.

PIP has been devolved to Scotland since April 2020 and existing claims are currently being moved to the Scottish replacement benefit Adult Disability Payment.

We have committed to introducing a new requirement whereby, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, people must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.

A high number of people get PIP by having multiple but low-level functional needs across several activities. These could individually be managed with small interventions or the addition of aids or appliances. This change will focus PIP more on those with the greatest needs, ensuring those who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them, still get support.

Through the Green Paper we are consulting on how best to support those who may lose any entitlement because of this change.

The most recently available data on Access to Work (AtW) outturn expenditure is available in the Access to Work official statistics. Expenditure on Access to Work elements, for financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24 was:

This includes expenditure on all AtW elements, including the Mental Health Support Service (MHSS), but excludes expenditure on the Transitional Employer Support Grant (TESG). Further information on AtW expenditure, including breakdowns of expenditure by AtW element type, is published in the Access to Work official statistics and currently covers financial years 2007/08 through to 2023/24.

The most recently available data on AtW grant expenditure forecast under the current policy is published here for 2025/26 and 2026/27: Access to Work grant expenditure forecasts - GOV.UK. These figures do not align with figures from the AtW official statistics as they exclude grant expenditure on MHSS and include expenditure on TESG.

The department has budgeted £385m for grants in 2025/26 based on the current expenditure forecast. The budget for 2026/27 has not been set.

The budget is subject to significant change due to the uncertainty in the forecast and based on affordability and departmental funding pressures

We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and protect disabled people. There are some measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the 18 March 2025 that we will not be consulting on.

Key reforms to improve the system, such as our ‘Pathways to Work’ support offer, reducing assessments for those with severe conditions and recording assessments, are needed urgently and not consulted on in this Green Paper.

This also includes changes to PIP. It is right that we bring this forward via Primary Legislation so that Parliament can fully debate and vote on these changes. In the Green Paper, we are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by this change, and we intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

It is important that all claimants to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are able to access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying and communicating with the Department and its providers. We have a variety of reasonable adjustments to make the claims process and communications easier for some of our most vulnerable customers.

The process is kept under continual review to ensure it meets the needs of claimants and helps the Department provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s entitlement. Since PIP was created, the Department has introduced, for example, dial-in-for third parties, a digital PIP 2 questionnaire and evidence upload function, email as a reasonable adjustment and telephone and video assessments in addition to paper-based and face-to-face assessments.

In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we outline plans to improve the experience for people who use the health and disability benefits system, including exploring ways to use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe conditions to undergo a full PIP functional assessment.

Over the longer term, the Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services to improve the customer experience. The Programme will transform the entire PIP service, introducing an option to apply and track applications online.

We are exploring a case management model - a personalised approach for customers from initial contact through to the end of the application, including signposting to other benefits and services. This approach will help the Programme to better understand our customers, tailor their service, and help to build customer confidence and trust that their case is being progressed appropriately.

The Health and Disability Green Paper published on 18^th March 2025 outlines why we think removing the Work Capability Assessment and moving to using an amended version of the PIP assessment to determine what financial support people receive for health and disability in the Universal Credit system is the correct decision for the reformed system. We will be publishing estimated impacts on claimants for the changes announced on 18 March 2025 on the day of the Spring Statement or shortly after.

We understand that for some people, work is simply not possible. We will work through how, without a WCA, these people can be identified and appropriate protections put in place, such as considering award reviews. Engagement with employment support will be determined on a personal basis, according to needs.

Following the Green Paper consultation, we will bring forwards a White Paper in autumn 2025 to set out our full proposals.

Making an estimate of future disability poverty rates is difficult to do robustly. It would involve both projecting forward the impact of economic conditions on every household’s income and individual circumstance, and future trends in disability prevalence and distribution.

Statistics on the number of people in families with a disabled person are published annually in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics publication, available here: Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK. The latest statistics show that in 2022/23 there were 6.2m (24%) people in families where someone is disabled in relative poverty after housing costs (AHC).

Data for 2023/24 will be published on 27th March 2025.

The average weekly Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award for the 2023-24 financial year can be found in the table below.

Source: PIP Administrative Data

Notes:

• Figures provided are for England and Wales only.
• The averages provided are calculated using the daily living and mobility awards during the last month that each claimant was on the caseload in the 2023-24 financial year.
• These figures include claims made under normal rules and special rules for terminal illness and include new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
• Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

As part of the Strategy's development, the Taskforce is considering the potential impact of policies across government on child poverty.

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

As part of the Strategy's development, the Taskforce is considering the potential impact of policies across government on child poverty.

Estimates of the levels of fraud and error in the benefit system for the financial year 2023-24 can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system, Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2024 - GOV.UK

Estimates of the levels of fraud and error in the benefit system for the financial years requested can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK

Please see the requested information in the attached document.

Mandatory Reconsideration clearances can fluctuate for many reasons, but we expect to recover the current backlog of cases by March 2025.

The role of a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) decision maker is to make a robust decision, supported by the law and available evidence.

In law there is no time limit within which a MR decision must be made. This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not the speed of clearance. Decisions should always be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.

Mandatory Reconsideration clearances can fluctuate for many reasons, but we expect to recover the current backlog of cases by March 2025.

The role of a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) decision maker is to make a robust decision, supported by the law and available evidence.

In law there is no time limit within which a MR decision must be made. This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not the speed of clearance. Decisions should always be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.

From April 2025, around 12.5 million people receiving either the basic or new State Pension will see it increased by 4.1%, in line with our commitment to the Triple Lock. Some people will receive an increase of 1.7% (in line with price inflation) on other elements of their State Pension, including Protected Payments and additional State Pension.

Under both the basic and new State Pensions, the amount people are entitled to, and the annual increases, vary according to the individual’s National Insurance record, but both reflect the National Insurance contributions they have made.

Whilst we aim to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey, Mandatory Reconsideration is a key element of the Department’s decision-making process. It offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additional information which may be relevant to their claim.

We recognise that the most recent data shows an increase in Mandatory Reconsideration clearance times, from 37 calendar days in December 2023 to 71 calendar days in July 2024. To address this, we are recruiting Mandatory Reconsideration Decision Makers and have made overtime available to increase productivity.

Whilst we aim to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey, Mandatory Reconsideration is a key element of the Department’s decision-making process. It offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additional information which may be relevant to their claim.

We recognise that the most recent data shows an increase in Mandatory Reconsideration clearance times, from 37 calendar days in December 2023 to 71 calendar days in July 2024. To address this, we are recruiting Mandatory Reconsideration Decision Makers and have made overtime available to increase productivity.

Computers allocated to DWP staff in jobcentres are equipped with the suite of software that comes with the operating system, augmented by specialist software as determined through the reasonable adjustments process on an individual basis to meet the specific needs of the staff member in question.

As part of its commitment to make services accessible to all customers, the Department provides computers for customer use in Jobcentres. All the computers have assistive technology built into those Operating Systems such as screen readers and screen magnification and are managed separately from the wider DWP IT estate.

The Department also provides a range of other items in Jobcentres such as alternative keyboards. Computers for customer use with assistive technology are currently in 634 permanent jobcentres.

As part of our reforms to jobcentres outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we will explore how we can use assistive digital technology and modern premises design to support greater accessibility and inclusiveness. We will also ensure we offer a range of channels to meet people’s differing needs, whether online, on the phone or in person.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December to PQ17569 in relation to poverty and living standards.

We are committed to tackling poverty and raising living standards.

We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.

Alongside this, we are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do. We started this work with the announcement of the Fair Repayment Rate in the Budget and will continue to work with stakeholders as the review progresses.

We are taking further steps to tackle poverty through our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 to boost the pay of 3 million workers.

The Child Poverty Taskforce also continues its urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change. The taskforce is exploring a range of metrics and will make decisions alongside the publication of the strategy in Spring 2025.

Estimates of the levels of fraud and error in the benefit system for financial year 2023-24 can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK

Below is an extract:

The Department will publish the figures for 2024 – 25 in the upcoming year.

The savings from the Eligibility Verification Measure (EVM) come from both fraud and error, and it is not possible to separate the components.

The measures referred to have now been scrutinised by the Office for Budget Responsibility and included in the Budget (table 2.1 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/672b98bb40f7da695c921c61/Autumn_Budget_2024_Print.pdf) that sets out the year by year savings and estimates £1.5bn over five years from 25/26.

The proportions coming from a) fraud and error which comes from EVM and b) debt which comes from the new debt recovery powers in each year is as follows:

Ministers across Government value the insights that can be gained from meeting with people with experience and the organisations that represent them. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions demonstrated this recently, sharing her experience of visiting a severe mental illness Individual Placement and Support programme.

The Individual Placement and Support employment model is internationally recognised as one of the most effective ways to support people with mental health problems to gain and keep paid employment. IPS services offer intensive, individually tailored support to help people choose and find the right job, with ongoing support for the employer and employee to help ensure the person sustains their employment.

Policy responsibility for the severe mental illness Individual Placement and Support programme rests with Ministerial colleagues at the Department for Health and Social Care.

The Department’s current paid marketing activity to promote Pension Credit which includes radio, national and regional press, paid social media and GP and Post Office screens, has been live since 16^th September and is ongoing. It is not possible to provide an accurate cost for this paid activity until it is concluded.

Starting this month pensioners in England and Wales will receive a letter informing them of the change in eligibility to the Winter Fuel Payment and encouraging them to check their eligibility for Pension Credit. Similar letters to pensioners in Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow during November.

In November we will also be writing to approximately 120,000 pensioners who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit. We will be inviting these pensioners to claim Pension Credit by the 21 December, which is the latest date for making a successful backdated Pension Credit claim and still qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment.

No such estimate has been made.

For Pension Credit claims received up to 22 September 2024, the following report contains weekly figures: Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

No such estimate has been made.

Estimates for pensioner households who are eligible for but not receiving Pension Credit in 2022/23 can be found at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022. NHS England is also expected to confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.

As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.

Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.