Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls to the Pension Service helpline (a) were not answered, (b) involved the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes and (c) were terminated by the Pension Service following the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes in each month between January 2015 and January 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP does not have a specific enquiry line called the Pension Service Helpline, so I have provided the data from the State Pensions enquiries line.
Over the period 1 February to 30 April 2025 a total of 28,775 calls were not answered due to caller abandonment. A monthly breakdown shows February 6,696; March 16,960 and April 5,119. The percentage of calls answered over these 3 months on average shows Feb 92%, March 84% and April 94%, against an expectation of 90%. A total of 67,736 callers were on hold for more than 10 minutes with the monthly breakdown showing February 9,082, March 51,746, April 6,908. No calls were terminated by DWP.
We do not hold the data before June 2023 and therefore have based our answer on the period from 1st June 2023 to 31st January 2025. In this data, calls not answered were due to caller abandonment. No calls were terminated by DWP.
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jun-23 | 336 | 31 |
Jul-23 | 228 | 15 |
Aug-23 | 922 | 259 |
Sep-23 | 4563 | 4054 |
Oct-23 | 7634 | 11403 |
Nov-23 | 5828 | 10297 |
Dec-23 | 1208 | 366 |
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jan-24 | 1676 | 12 |
Feb-24 | 6569 | 4124 |
Mar-24 | 3407 | 163 |
Apr-24 | 15829 | 29090 |
May-24 | 4752 | 3296 |
Jun-24 | 952 | 363 |
Jul-24 | 1947 | 1798 |
Aug-24 | 2854 | 2544 |
Sep-24 | 3131 | 1678 |
Oct-24 | 3478 | 3830 |
Nov-24 | 3671 | 3884 |
Dec-24 | 2321 | 1557 |
The information provided here is based on internal management information which is not intended for publication and has not been quality assured to official statistics standards.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls to the Pension Service helpline (a) were not answered, (b) involved the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes and (c) were terminated by the Pension Service following the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes in (i) February, (ii) March, and (iii) April 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP does not have a specific enquiry line called the Pension Service Helpline, so I have provided the data from the State Pensions enquiries line.
Over the period 1 February to 30 April 2025 a total of 28,775 calls were not answered due to caller abandonment. A monthly breakdown shows February 6,696; March 16,960 and April 5,119. The percentage of calls answered over these 3 months on average shows Feb 92%, March 84% and April 94%, against an expectation of 90%. A total of 67,736 callers were on hold for more than 10 minutes with the monthly breakdown showing February 9,082, March 51,746, April 6,908. No calls were terminated by DWP.
We do not hold the data before June 2023 and therefore have based our answer on the period from 1st June 2023 to 31st January 2025. In this data, calls not answered were due to caller abandonment. No calls were terminated by DWP.
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jun-23 | 336 | 31 |
Jul-23 | 228 | 15 |
Aug-23 | 922 | 259 |
Sep-23 | 4563 | 4054 |
Oct-23 | 7634 | 11403 |
Nov-23 | 5828 | 10297 |
Dec-23 | 1208 | 366 |
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jan-24 | 1676 | 12 |
Feb-24 | 6569 | 4124 |
Mar-24 | 3407 | 163 |
Apr-24 | 15829 | 29090 |
May-24 | 4752 | 3296 |
Jun-24 | 952 | 363 |
Jul-24 | 1947 | 1798 |
Aug-24 | 2854 | 2544 |
Sep-24 | 3131 | 1678 |
Oct-24 | 3478 | 3830 |
Nov-24 | 3671 | 3884 |
Dec-24 | 2321 | 1557 |
The information provided here is based on internal management information which is not intended for publication and has not been quality assured to official statistics standards.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Bereavement Support Payments in covering the (a) immediate and (b) ongoing costs faced by bereaved families.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There has been no recent assessment of the adequacy of Bereavement Support Payment covering (a) immediate and (b) on going costs to bereaved families. The Bereavement Support Payment qualitative research published in 2021 explored how the lump sum and the monthly payments were used.
Bereavement Support Payment is intended to help people through the immediate period following a bereavement. Where longer-term financial support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been specifically designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs. The rate of Bereavement Support Payment is reviewed on a discretionary basis as part of the annual uprating process, but there is no legal requirement to uprate it.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason accessible versions of the Pathways to Work Green Paper were not published at the same time as the original version; and if she will take steps to ensure that accessible versions of documents are published simultaneously in the future.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A full suite of accessible versions were published on 7 April, including web-accessible HTML versions, Large Print, Audio, British Sign Language, Braille and Easy Read. The consultation period closes on the 30 June 2025, allowing for a full twelve weeks after all the accessible versions were released to en-sure all stakeholders have sufficient time to engage. We published the Green Paper ahead of some accessible versions to put detailed information about the matters subject to consultation in the public domain at the earliest opportunity. The production of accessible versions to a high standard requires additional time.Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the eligibility criteria for Universal Credit on (a) young adults under 25 and (b) young adults under 25 who are (i) living independently and (ii) without family support in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are currently no plans to make such an assessment.
To be eligible for Universal Credit a person is usually required to be at least 18 years old but there are circumstances where those aged 16 and 17 may be eligible to claim Universal Credit in their own right, including if they have no parent or cannot live with their parent(s). Young people under 25 who live independently may also be able to get help with their housing costs.
DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.
All jobcentres deliver the Youth Offer and have Youth Employability Coaches in post to support young people aged 18-24 years old. Youth Hubs are currently being explored and are in the planning phase by both Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the eligibility for PIP on the number of people who qualify for (a) a Blue Badge, (b) Housing Benefit and (c) Carer’s Allowance in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Changes to the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not have an impact on Blue Badge holders as no changes are being made to the mobility component of PIP.
The assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility of the impact of the proposed changes on carers was made for England and Wales as a whole.
The impacts can be found in table A4 here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.
Notes:
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 with (a) musculoskeletal disorders and (b) learning disabilities who will be affected by changes to PIP eligibility in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates of the volumes of PIP claimants affected by the reform in the future are forecast for England and Wales only and are not broken down by Local Authority or any other geographic area, nor by specific primary health condition.
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 have lost 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.
The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment daily living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities, by local authority area, is available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.25, while data by primary health condition is in table 2.22.
Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK
Notes:
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 who (a) are currently eligible for PIP and (b) will not be eligible for PIP following her Department's proposed changes to the assessment criteria for that benefit in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates of the volumes of PIP claimants affected by the reform in the future are forecast for England and Wales only and therefore have not been broken down by Local Authority or any other geographic area.
After taking account of behavioural changes, 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 have lost 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.
The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment daily living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities, by local authority area, is available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.25.
Notes:
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department made local-level equality impact assessments on the changes in Winter Fuel Payment eligibility.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, an Equality Analysis was produced and considered as part of the ministerial decision-making process. This was published on 13 September and is available online: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing compensation relating to pre-1997 pensionable service for Pension Protection Fund members to be indexed.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are committed to consider and reflect on what we have heard on the issue of Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme rules on the indexation of pre-1997 pension accruals.
Any change in this area has significant implications on public finances for both the taxpayer funded Financial Assistance Scheme and for the Pension Protection Fund which is levy-funded. These are complex matters requiring a balanced approach for those receiving compensation, levy payers and taxpayers. This is an important issue and one where we will continue to work with the Pension Protection Fund.