Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 39109 on Social Security Benefits: Disability, what estimate she has made of the number of people who will no longer be in receipt of (a) PIP and (b) Universal Credit Carers element, broken down by geographical region.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has yet been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential impact of her Department's welfare reforms on people in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department works closely with all the Devolved Governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive, on a range of policy matters.
Proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits were set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18 March 2025. The consultation will run for a full 12 weeks, once all accessible versions are published. Social security and employment support are transferred in Northern Ireland, although the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive work closely together to maintain parity between their respective social security systems, to the extent agreed between them. We welcome comments on the consultation from individuals and organisations in Northern Ireland, which will then be shared with the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.
The Government published the OBR-certified costings of individual measures on the day of the Spring Statement on 26 March.
We will work closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure we are helping people in Northern Ireland into work and off benefits, and on the interactions between reserved and devolved areas of responsibility as a result of these proposals.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 29494 on Social Security Benefits: Fraud, if she will make it her policy to (a) record and (b) publish annually the number of benefit fraud investigations which result in benefits being revoked.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is not currently considering changing the data we record or publish about the outcomes of fraud investigations. We are confident that the data we collect and publish in the Annual Reports and Accounts is comprehensive and proportionate – this can be found at the link here: DWP annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 27894 on Social Security Benefits: Criminal Investigation, whether her Department pursues cases where they have no record of (a) financial fraud, (b) error and (c) debt from a claimant.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
A criminal investigation into social security fraud may be pursued in any case where there is a credible allegation and where there are sufficient facts, information, or intelligence, that indicate fraudulent activity may be occurring.
The individual circumstances of the claim will only be considered where they are relevant to a fraud allegation.
Laid - 5 Sep 2024 In Force 21 Oct 2024
These Regulations make an amendment to Chapter 5 of Part 10 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (c. 1) (“ITEPA”), so as to provide that no liability to income tax arises on social security benefits of a description specified in the Regulations.
Found: Income Tax (Exemption of Social Security Benefits) (No. 2) Regulations 2024
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's estimate that there will be an additional 250,000 people in relative poverty after housing costs in 2029-30 as a result of modelled changes to social security on levels of health inequalities; and whether she plans to publish a health impact assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The figure referred to does not take account of increased employment as a result of the Green Paper changes, or of other initiatives such as the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy. Further information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, alongside information published at the Spring Statement.
Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her proposed changes to disability benefits on (a) people who receive social care support and (b) social care support providers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government has already started to bring about change to address health-related economic inactivity. We are injecting almost £26 billion of extra funding next year to get the health and social care system back on its feet and bring down waiting lists.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans to reform the health and disability and employment support system. As we bring forward changes, we will ensure that the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are protected, so that they can live with dignity and security.
For those affected by the changes to PIP eligibility, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. For new claimants on the Universal Credit health element after April 2026, we are proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected.
As we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people that are unable to work due to (a) long-term illness, (b) disability and (c) other circumstances are adequately supported following her planned reforms to the welfare system.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The social security system will always be there for those who can’t work. As part of making changes to the payment rates in Universal Credit, we will ensure that those with the most severe, lifelong conditions who will never be able to work have their incomes protected.
Twinned with this, as we set out in the Pathways to Work, our ambition is to guarantee personalised employment support to anyone claiming out of work benefits (UC and contributory) with a health condition or disability who wants to work but is currently outside the labour market. We propose that this guarantee will have a particular focus on early support, by offering everyone who claims out of work benefits and has a work-limiting health condition or disability, or who has recently been in receipt of PIP, with a support conversation. The support conversation will help identify the best next steps, including a range of personalised and more intensive support for anyone who wants it. We want our offer to be flexible, personalised and built on the evidence.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of social security benefits for people unable to work because of an acquired brain injury.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Aug. 29 2024
Source Page: Nationality of Social Security Scotland benefits applicants: FOI releaseFound: Nationality of Social Security Scotland benefits applicants: FOI release