Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Universal Credit claimants are assessed as having a) negligible and b) negative disposal income after housing and energy costs.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not hold information on the disposable income of households after essential expenditure including energy costs.
Working-age benefits covered by the Secretary of State’s statutory review will be increased by 3.8% from April, in line with the increase in the consumer prices index in the year to September 2025.
The Universal Credit Act 2025 means that the Universal Credit standard allowance will be up-rated by 3.8%, followed by a further 2.3% from April.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 potential merits of automating eligible claimants' entitlement to the disabled child addition to Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the disabled child addition to Universal Credit among eligible claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of households with less than £50 per month in disposable income after essential expenditure.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not hold information on the disposable income of households after essential expenditure including energy costs.
Working-age benefits covered by the Secretary of State’s statutory review will be increased by 3.8% from April, in line with the increase in the consumer prices index in the year to September 2025.
The Universal Credit Act 2025 means that the Universal Credit standard allowance will be up-rated by 3.8%, followed by a further 2.3% from April.
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 the MP hotline can be used by hon. Members for raising non-emergency queries about claimants who have been sent housing payment demands as a result of being migrated from ESA to Universal Credit.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that for some customers, the transition to Universal Credit can feel complex at the outset. To support individuals during this period, dedicated help is available through our Universal Credit helpline, where colleagues can provide guidance and reassurance tailored to their circumstances.
The Department’s MP Hotlines are specifically intended for urgent, non‑complex enquiries where a claimant may be at risk of harm to their wellbeing, facing an imminent loss of income, or experiencing another situation requiring immediate intervention. As such, they are not designed for routine or non‑urgent matters, including standard enquiries relating to managed migration from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit or issues relating to the issuing of housing payment notifications.
Hon. Members wishing to raise non‑emergency enquiries of this type are encouraged to use the Department’s established written correspondence routes. This ensures that all enquiries are properly logged, triaged, and responded to in a way that allows us to provide thorough and appropriate support to constituents.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to include a prominent message prior to starting the benefits claim process online, in print, and by phone to make it clear that free, independent support is available through organisations such Citizens Advice and for claimants to avoid companies who charge for the same support.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Free help and support in applying for Universal Credit is available from Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland. Free help and support for claiming other DWP benefits is widely available, including on GOV.UK, from the Department itself, and from organisations such as Age UK. There is no need for claimants to pay for advice and support with benefit applications.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who are no longer subject to the two-child benefit cap will still be subject to the overall benefit cap.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is published as part of the Universal Credit (removal of the two child limit) Bill. It is available in Table 7 of the Regulatory impact assessment template (2023 reforms)
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 106805, what steps her department is taking to ensure that all local authorities give serious consideration to implementing auto-enrolment for free school meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We want to make sure that every family that needs support can access it.
Local authorities are responsible for managing their own processes for identifying children eligible for free school meals. We know that many schools and local authorities have established very effective ways to encourage eligible families to register.
By introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals from the start of the 2026/27 academic year, this will make it much easier for local authorities, schools and parents to know which children are entitled to receive free meals. Our improvements to the digital system used to review eligibility will also make it easier for parents to understand their entitlement.
As with all government policies, we continue to keep free school meals under review.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many current cases are there where Work Capability Assessments have taken longer than the 13 weeks set out in departmental guidelines.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It might be helpful to explain that the 13 weeks set out in departmental guidelines only applies to the assessment phase of Employment Support Allowance. It is the guideline for when the department expects a decision to be made upon entitlement to Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and is not a deadline for when a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) should be conducted by.
Due to this we have interpreted your question to mean how many ESA new claims the assessment suppliers currently hold that have been waiting for a WCA longer than 13 weeks.
As of 23rd February 2026, there are 6,500 new claims ESA cases that have been awaiting a WCA assessment for over 13 weeks.
Where an assessment takes longer than 13 weeks to complete, we will automatically award arrears from the 14th week of the claim, where appropriate, so that claimants do not lose out.
Please Note
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what analysis his Department has undertaken on the reasons for increases in the numbers of successful applications for Universal Credit in the last three years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People moving from old legacy benefits onto Universal Credit – almost four in every five – account for the vast majority of the increase over the past year. This is a transition we inherited from the previous government, alongside a system that writes people off
We are fixing this. We've already legislated to remove incentives that discourage work, and have redeployed 1,000 work coaches to support thousands of sick and disabled people who were previously left without contact for years.
Alongside this, there has been an increase in the working age population, as a result of population growth and a rising state pension age, as well as an increase in the proportion of the working age population in receipt of incapacity benefits (including ESA and those on the UC Health Journey) over this period.
The latest Universal Credit (UC) statistics published on 17 February 2026 now include a breakdown of those who received a migration notice and have moved from legacy benefits to UC as part of the Move to UC programme, and can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-8-january-2026