Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of take up of Pension Credit; and what discussions they have had with the BBC about publicising eligibility for Pension Credit alongside advertising to the same group their eligibility for free television licences.

The Department assesses levels of take-up of Pension Credit on an annual basis. Latest official statistics on the take-up of income-related benefits at Great Britain level, including Pension Credit, can be found in the publication “Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up in 2018 to 2019”, is available on the gov.uk website.

As well as regular meetings to discuss Pension Credit and the implications of the new television licence arrangements, DWP officials have worked with the BBC to ensure that the BBC’s letters to all existing free TV licence holders informing them of the new arrangements included information on how to claim Pension Credit. The Minister for Pensions and I are engaging with the BBC to discuss what more we could do together to increase take-up of Pension Credit.