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Written Question
Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit: Northern Ireland
Friday 11th July 2025

Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) Universal Credit and (b) PIP awards in Northern Ireland will remain indexed to inflation until 2029-30 under proposed welfare reforms.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Social security is a transferred matter in NI, but there is a long-standing principle of parity between the social security systems of the Northern Ireland Executive and that of the UK Government. In line with this principle, the Universal Credit Bill makes provision for Northern Ireland equivalent to that for Great Britain

The Government is committed to protecting the benefit awards of the most vulnerable and addressing the basic adequacy of Universal Credit. The Universal Credit Bill will make the first ever, sustained, above inflation increase to the standard allowance of Universal. For example, the standard allowance for a single 25 year old is expected to rise from £96 per week, to £106 per week in 2029/30.

For customers already in receipt of the Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) element of Universal Credit, the combined rate of the Universal Credit standard allowance and LCWRA will rise at least in line with inflation every year for the next four years. Those who meet the Severe Conditions Criteria or where Special Rules for End of Life apply will also receive this protection, no matter when they start claiming the benefit. From 6 April 2026, the LCWRA rate will be reduced and frozen until 2029/30 for those newly defined as LCWRA.

The Universal Credit Bill does not make any changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in Great Britain or Northern Ireland. PIP is transferred in Northern Ireland and decisions about indexation are a matter for the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Food and Energy: Prices
Friday 11th July 2025

Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of food price and energy inflation on (a) low-income households, (b) pensioners and (c) disabled people.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

We know increased costs in essential areas are worrying and cause hardship for many families with children. That is why the Government is taking a comprehensive approach—supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations.

Food, energy and credit costs are a function of a variety of factors including international agricultural commodity prices, the exchange rate, wholesale energy prices, and interest rates. The best way to help with the cost of living is by reducing overall inflation. The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to 2%. The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut Bank Rate four times since August. The effective interest rate – the actual interest paid by a borrower - on new a 2-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen 46 basis points since the election (May 2025 vs June 2024).

The government is committed to helping those in need due to the rising cost of living. An uplift to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance will see it rise to 5% above inflation by 2029-30. The government is also investing £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact) in a multi-year settlement for crisis support, which includes funding for councils to support some of the poorest households so that their children do not go hungry outside of term time. From the start of the 2026 school year, the government will expand Free School Meals to all pupils with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This will put £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.

The most recent Ofgem energy price cap, in place until September is 7% lower than the previous cap, reducing annual energy bills for a typical home by £129. Additionally, the Warm Home Discount is being expanded to every billpayer on means-tested benefits, meaning 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills next winter, helping reduce energy costs for around 6 million households.

From this winter (2025-26), pensioners with incomes up to and including £35,000 will benefit a Winter Fuel Payment. This will mean that the vast majority — over three quarters, or 9 million pensioners in England and Wakes — will benefit. This change ensures that the means-testing of winter fuel payments has no effect on pensioner poverty.

The government’s top priority is to deliver strong, sustainable growth that raises living standards across the UK. A growing economy plays a key role in providing greater financial security for households and helping to make food, energy and credit more affordable.


Written Question
Food and Energy: Prices
Friday 11th July 2025

Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce the burden of (a) food costs, (b) energy bills and (c) credit costs on households.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

We know increased costs in essential areas are worrying and cause hardship for many families with children. That is why the Government is taking a comprehensive approach—supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations.

Food, energy and credit costs are a function of a variety of factors including international agricultural commodity prices, the exchange rate, wholesale energy prices, and interest rates. The best way to help with the cost of living is by reducing overall inflation. The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to 2%. The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut Bank Rate four times since August. The effective interest rate – the actual interest paid by a borrower - on new a 2-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen 46 basis points since the election (May 2025 vs June 2024).

The government is committed to helping those in need due to the rising cost of living. An uplift to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance will see it rise to 5% above inflation by 2029-30. The government is also investing £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact) in a multi-year settlement for crisis support, which includes funding for councils to support some of the poorest households so that their children do not go hungry outside of term time. From the start of the 2026 school year, the government will expand Free School Meals to all pupils with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This will put £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.

The most recent Ofgem energy price cap, in place until September is 7% lower than the previous cap, reducing annual energy bills for a typical home by £129. Additionally, the Warm Home Discount is being expanded to every billpayer on means-tested benefits, meaning 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills next winter, helping reduce energy costs for around 6 million households.

From this winter (2025-26), pensioners with incomes up to and including £35,000 will benefit a Winter Fuel Payment. This will mean that the vast majority — over three quarters, or 9 million pensioners in England and Wakes — will benefit. This change ensures that the means-testing of winter fuel payments has no effect on pensioner poverty.

The government’s top priority is to deliver strong, sustainable growth that raises living standards across the UK. A growing economy plays a key role in providing greater financial security for households and helping to make food, energy and credit more affordable.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Northern Ireland
Friday 11th July 2025

Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

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 freezing the health element of Universal Credit for new claimants from April 2026 on (a) poverty rates, (b) the cost of living and (c) workforce participation in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Upper Bann constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) are administered in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities (DfC). DfC is responsible for producing analysis on how proposed reforms would impact claimants in Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit: Northern Ireland
Friday 11th July 2025

Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to (a) PIP and (b) Universal Credit on (i) community cohesion and (ii) equitable access to benefits in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) are administered in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities (DfC). DfC is responsible for producing analysis on how proposed reforms would impact claimants in Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Bournemouth East
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth 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 the uplift to the basic standard allowance of Universal Credit on the incomes of low income households in Bournemouth East constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department does not have constituency level estimates of the forecasts available.

The latest published data on UC, in November 2024, shows that, in Bournemouth East, there were approximately 10,225 households on UC that were not subject to the benefit cap.

The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill was introduced to Parliament on 18 June 2025 and, subject to parliamentary approval, it will increase the Universal Credit Standard Allowance above inflation every year from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Based on current forecasts, the increase to the Standard Allowance in Universal Credit is estimated to be worth £725 a year by 2029/30 in cash terms for a single person aged 25 or over, which is around £250 more a year than if it were only uprated by inflation.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Mel Stride (Conservative - Central Devon)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people impacted by the changes to PIP proposed in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill she estimates will (a) lose eligibility to PIP entirely, (b) be eligible for the UC health element under the current system and (c) be eligible for the UC health element under her Department’s proposals to replace the Work Capability Assessment with the PIP passporting mechanism.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out the Government’s intention to abolish the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). This reform will move away from categorising individuals into binary groups of ‘can work’ or ‘can’t work’. Instead, eligibility for additional financial support in Universal Credit (UC) due to health conditions will be determined through a single assessment - the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment - focused on the impact of disability on daily living, rather than on capacity to work.

This change will decouple entitlement to the UC health element from employment status, giving people confidence that taking steps towards or into work will not put their benefit entitlement at risk.

Any changes to PIP eligibility will follow a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading. This review is being co-produced with disabled people, representative organisations, clinicians, experts, MPs, and other stakeholders to ensure a wide range of voices are heard. Its aim is to ensure the PIP assessment is fair, robust, and fit for the future and the review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

As the review is ongoing, the Department has not yet developed estimates of how many people will (a) lose eligibility to PIP, (b) be eligible for the UC health element under the current system, or (c) be eligible under the proposed PIP-based system. These figures will be made available in due course, alongside supporting analysis.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Young People
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)

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 removing the Universal Credit health element on claimants under the age of 22.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, the Government invited views on the proposal to raise the minimum age for accessing the Universal Credit (UC) health element to 22. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now considering responses.

No final decisions have been made.


Written Question
School Meals: South East
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure pupils are able to access high quality meals in schools in (a) Eastbourne and (b) the South East.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the school food standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.

School governors and trustees have a statutory duty to ensure compliance with these school food standards. To improve understanding of the school food standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account, the department, along with National Governance Association, developed an online training course on school food for governors and trustees.

Additionally, the department has announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. Giving half a million more children access to a nutritious meal during the school day will lift 100,000 out of poverty and lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Health
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the impact assessment on the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, published on 30 June 2025, how many of those moved into relative or absolute poverty are due solely to changes of the Universal Credit Health Element.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made on this basis. The Poverty Impact assessment published ahead of the Bill Committee Stage shows a 50,000 reduction in the number of people below the poverty line.