Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to speed up the processing of benefit claims; what effect such measures are having on processing times in (a) the UK on (b) the smallest area that can be distinguished which includes Nottingham North constituency.

We are committed to ensuring benefits are processed as quickly as possible.

Over the last three years we have seen a marked improvement. The improvement in the experience of our customers was shared in the recently published Annual Report and Accounts, 2014-15 here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

We are unable to provide data specifically for Nottingham North constituency.