Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vikki Slade and Andrew Western

Monday 27th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

2. What steps he is taking to improve his Department’s response times.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Andrew Western)]

Our annual report and accounts 2024-25 states that, in that year, we answered some 43 million calls—up from 37 million in the previous year. Our call-answering rate increased to 86%, and the average answering time improved by one minute and 12 seconds. However, we do of course want to make further improvements where we can. We have continued to prioritise the service by focusing extra resources, and are currently making a systematic effort to clear agent work queues to free up capacity. We hope to see that progress lead to further improvements very soon.

[Vikki Slade]

I am glad that the call answering has speeded up, but, like those of many other Members, my office is constantly dealing with very long delays on the part of the DWP. Back in September 2024, my constituent Jackie appealed against a personal independence payment assessment for her husband, who died a couple of months later. In January, she received a letter saying that she had been overpaid by £7,000. I became involved in the middle of last year, when it was established that the figure was £75. The DWP confirmed that in January, but in April—so we are now nearly two years on—my constituent received a letter saying that she now owed £4,086. Given the radical plans to cut civil service numbers, what steps will the Secretary of State and his team take to deliver a better service in order to ensure that constituents such as Jackie do not suffer emotional or financial distress?

[Andrew Western]

I would be happy to look into that case if the hon. Lady writes to me. I am sorry if she feels that her constituent has been let down. We are taking additional steps—beyond those relating to call handling—to look at responsiveness more broadly. I apologise: it was not clear from the wording of her original question that she was referring to correspondence as well as telephony.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vikki Slade and Andrew Western

Monday 26th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Western]

I confess that my hon. Friend has had more conversations with the Department for Education on this subject than I have, because he met the Secretary of State recently to discuss this. He will be pleased, I am sure, to know that the Department for Work and Pensions, working with UKHospitality, piloted skills passports in the hospitality sector last year, and that the role of my noble Friend the Skills Minister sits directly between the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions specifically so that the sort of joined-up work to which he refers can take place.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Samee is a charity working in Dorset to support disabled young adults into self-employment. It has celebrated 10 years and supported 2,700 people, and it has what it tells me is the world’s only supported self-employed internship. Young people who have learning disabilities have great skills for self-employment. However, they cannot access the work because they cannot get a unique tax reference because they take more than 12 months to get to the relevant earnings levels. What is the Minister doing to help young people into self-employment so that they can fulfil their destiny?

[Andrew Western]

The hon. Member raises an important point. Can I begin by commending that charity in her constituency? There is an acknowledgment among the ministerial team that we need to look particularly at the support available for people looking to move into self-employment, and I would be happy to meet her to discuss the work of the charity further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vikki Slade and Andrew Western

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Andrew Western)]

I understand the point that my hon. Friend makes. The treatment of maternity allowance in universal credit was subject to a judicial review, which upheld the policy of treating it as unearned income when calculating universal credit and of treating SMP paid by employers as earnings, in common with other statutory payments made by employers. My hon. Friend may be interested to know that, depending on individual circumstances, additional financial support—for example, child benefit and the Sure Start maternity grant—may be available to parents.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

My constituent Tirath is currently being pursued by the Child Maintenance Service for £20,000, despite having successfully appealed the claim in 2022. He is now at risk of losing his professional status as a pharmacist because of this process. Will the Minister encourage the CMS to investigate that case urgently or to meet with me to discuss it?

[Andrew Western]

I am very sorry to hear about the plight of the hon. Member’s constituent. If she would like a meeting with me, I am very happy to give her that, and I am also happy to look into the matter, as she suggests.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vikki Slade and Andrew Western

Monday 17th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

T7. My constituent Sarah left an abusive relationship but, after she applied for maintenance, her ex-partner denied parentage, putting the children through DNA tests; delayed matters; claimed special expenses; and then declared nil earnings, despite having just bought a house with a mortgage—all accepted with no investigation. He is now being asked to pay back his arrears of thousands of pounds at £1 per month. What is being done to review the burden of proof on income, to support parents and children who are being financially abused even after they have left relationships?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Andrew Western)]

As the hon. Lady may know, the Department recently consulted on a range of proposals for future improvements to the child maintenance service, such as how we can protect people from financial abuse and better support victims of domestic abuse. I am obviously not familiar with the specifics of the case she references, but I would be more than happy to follow up if she writes to me about it.