Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the cost of living on the adequacy of benefit levels in the most recent review period.

The Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to review State Pension and benefit rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Where the relevant State Pension or benefit rates have not retained their value, legislation provides that the Secretary of State is required to, or in some instances may, up-rate their value. Following this review, State Pension and benefit rates are increased in line with statutory minimum amounts and others are increased subject to Secretary of State’s discretion.

This statutory annual review has now concluded, and a Written Statement was published on the 26 November setting out the proposed new State Pension and benefit rates for 2026-27. As we have set out, we will be uprating most working age benefits across Great Britain in 2026/27, subject to parliamentary approval, in line with the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2025 – an increase of 3.8%.