Written Question
Thursday 9th May 2024
Asked by:
Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question
to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the suspension of foreign media access in Burkina Faso.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
- Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK opposes the recent decision of the Burkinabe government to suspend international media outlets, including the BBC and the Guardian, following their coverage of a Human Rights Watch report which alleged the authorities had been involved in attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso. On 29 April, the UK and USA issued a joint statement condemning the alleged violence against civilians and the media suspensions. We are clear that societies are strengthened, not threatened, by well-informed public and strong, independent media. We will continue to raise our concerns on media freedom and democratic space with authorities in Burkina Faso.
Written Question
Tuesday 7th May 2024
Asked by:
Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question
to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has (a) made an assessment of the adequacy of resources available to the BBC World Service in advance of the next Spending Review and (b) had recent discussions with the BBC on the potential impact of its resourcing decisions on the UK's soft power.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
- Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The World Service is two-thirds funded by the Licence Fee, with the remainder provided by government. The FCDO is providing £283 million to the World Service over the current Spending Review (SR) period, plus an exceptional uplift of £20 million as part of the Integrated Review Refresh (2023). Government funding for the World Service after 2024-25 will be determined as part of the next SR. The BBC is operationally independent and therefore responsible for setting its own budgets.
The FCDO engages regularly with the BBC at all levels. The Foreign Secretary meets the BBC Chair annually to discuss World Service performance and progress towards targets. [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-02-01/HLWS232]
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Jobseeker’s Allowance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Disability Living Allowance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Employment and Support Allowance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Personal Independence Payment claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2013.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new State Pension claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Pension Credit claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of new Child Maintenance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2012.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.
Written Question
Wednesday 1st May 2024
Asked by:
Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question
to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Universal Credit claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2012.
Answered by Paul Maynard
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Jobseekers Allowance | 88.6% | 86.8% | 80.6% | 53.1% | 82.5% | 87.1% | 67.8% | 58.7% |
Employment and Support Allowance | 84.6% | 85.3% | 73.3% | 96.1% | 70.9% | 42.5% | 47.4% | 39.5% |
State Pension | 87.9% | 73.7% | 86.8% | 86.7% | 76.2% | 45.6% | 72.0% | 96.2% |
Pension Credit | 71.0% | 55.2% | 53.4% | 44.8% | 88.2% | 74.3% | 45.7% | 77.7% |
Disability Living Allowance (child) | 96.8% | 96.5% | 96.2% | 91.3% | 92.1% | 35.6% | 4.6% | 3.5% |
Personal Independence Payment | 85.1% | 77.2% | 72.3% | 40.4% | 23.0% | 6.8% | 38.4% | 51.7% |
Child Maintenance Service | 82.8% | 87.4% | 88.3% | 91.6% | 84.3% | 84.3% | 79.4% | 79.6% |
Universal Credit | | | 80.4% | 85.2% | 90.9% | 85.7% | 84.4% | TBC |
Comments to note:
- Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.
Service Performance Context:
Jobseekers Allowance
- From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.
Employment and Support Allowance
- ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.
State Pension
- Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.
Pension Credit
- 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.
Disability Living Allowance (Child)
- Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
- Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
- During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
- We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.
Personal Independence Payment
- PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
- PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.
Child Maintenance Service
- Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.
Universal Credit
- Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.
- The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.
- Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.
Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)
Jobseekers Allowance | Within 10 working days |
Employment and Support Allowance | Within 10 working days |
State Pension | Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started. |
Pension Credit | Within 50 working days |
Disability Living Allowance (Child) | Within 40 working days |
Personal Independence Payment | Within 75 working days |
Child Maintenance Service | Payment within 12 weeks |
Universal Credit | % Full Payment 1st Assessment Period |
Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.