Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were underpaid the State Pension due to incorrectly updated National Insurance records in the 2022-23 financial year; and what the total amount is that these people are owed.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This response covers both missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and UC National Insurance issues.

The exercise to correct National Insurance records for those individuals impacted by errors in their HRP record is underway. The HRP corrections exercise started with HMRC dispatching letters in late 2023. Cases subsequently notified from HMRC started being processed in DWP in early 2024.

In the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023, the central estimate was around 187,000 cases who may have an underpayment of State Pension and for whom we expect to correct, with a total underpayment estimate of £1,043 million.

We intend to publish an update on the exercise in this year’s Annual Report and Accounts.

DWP has corrected the UC data issue for the cases impacted for the tax years up to and including the tax year 2022/2023. This data has been shared with HMRC. As HMRC updates NI records, these updates are sent to DWP. Any State Pension entitlement will be reassessed, and any underpayment addressed accordingly.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value was of an underpayment of the State Pension due to incorrectly updated National Insurance records in the 2022-23 financial year.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This response covers both missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and UC National Insurance issues.

The exercise to correct National Insurance records for those individuals impacted by errors in their HRP record is underway. The HRP corrections exercise started with HMRC dispatching letters in late 2023. Cases subsequently notified from HMRC started being processed in DWP in early 2024.

In the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023, the central estimate value of an underpayment was £5,000 for alive cases above state pension age and £3,000 for deceased cases.

We intend to publish an update on the exercise in this year’s Annual Report and Accounts.

DWP has corrected the UC data issue for the cases impacted for the tax years up to and including the tax year 2022/2023. This data has been shared with HMRC. As HMRC updates NI records, these updates are sent to DWP. Any State Pension entitlement will be reassessed, and any underpayment addressed accordingly.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department are responsible for manually updating records relevant to eligibility for the State Pension.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value was of Universal Credit claim overpayments in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP measures its overpayments via annual national statistics published each May. However, we do not produce an estimate for the average value of a Universal Credit overpayment.

We estimate that the total value of Universal Credit overpayments in 2022-2023 was £5,540m: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2022 to 2023 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of fraud and error was (a) prevented upfront and (b) detected after the event in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Our estimate is that the Department prevented up front £17.1bn of fraud and error and detected £0.6bn after the event in the financial year 2022/23.

Further details can be found in the Annual Report and Accounts 2022/23, link below.

Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 for the year ended 31 March 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

DWP will update these figures in the Annual Report and Accounts for financial year 23/24, expected to be published in Summer 2024.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value was of underpayments of the Personal Independence Payment due to recipients’ failure to update their medical need in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP measures its underpayments via annual national statistics published each May. However, we do not produce an estimate for the average value of a benefit underpayment.

Our estimates relating to PIP underpayments in 2022-23 can be found at the link below:

Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2022 to 2023 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Table 6 provides the total estimated value of PIP underpayments in 2022-23.

Table 8 provides the estimated value of PIP underpayments due to claimant error. All claimant error underpayments were due to errors where the claimant’s condition had got worse, and they failed to inform the department (Functional Needs).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value was of an underpayment of the Personal Independence Payment in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP measures its underpayments via annual national statistics published each May. However, we do not produce an estimate for the average value of a benefit underpayment.

Our estimates relating to PIP underpayments in 2022-23 can be found at the link below:

Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2022 to 2023 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Table 6 provides the total estimated value of PIP underpayments in 2022-23.

Table 8 provides the estimated value of PIP underpayments due to claimant error. All claimant error underpayments were due to errors where the claimant’s condition had got worse, and they failed to inform the department (Functional Needs).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the National Audit Office entitled Department for Work and Pensions Accounts 2022-23, published on 6 July 2023, whether his Department has taken recent steps to amend the methodology it uses to estimate the financial impact of its counter-fraud activities.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We review the methodology as part of publishing our annual accounts each year and will report on any agreed changes in the Annual Report and Account 2023/24 expected to be published in Summer 2024, following discussion with National Audit Office.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the financial impact of his Department's counter-fraud activities in the 2023-24 financial year.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP will publish details of the Department’s counter-fraud activities in the Annual Report and Accounts for financial year 23/24, expected to be published in Summer 2024.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 3.21 of the report by the National Audit Office entitled Department for Work and Pensions Accounts 2022-23, published on 6 July 2023, how many and what proportion of the incorrect National Insurance records have (a) been and (b) not yet been updated.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

To date we have processed over 23 million pieces of data to HMRC and less than 1% (0.88%) needs data validations. We expect this will be completed by Summer 2024.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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 increase the number of claims processed within planned processing timescales.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has seen a sustained increase in applications and demand for DWP services as a result of the pandemic and subsequent cost of living pressures, as well as ongoing publicity campaigns such as Help for Households and Pension Credit take-up.

Whilst we have seen an overall improvement in claims processed within planned timescales, and we expect that overall performance to continue to improve in the 24-25 figures, we acknowledge that across our services more needs to be done to improve the number of claims processed within the planned timescales.

Through recruitment in 23-24 we have started 17,166 people in new roles (and have further candidates due to start in Q1 of 24-25). This level of recruitment has resulted in a net increase in our Service Delivery resource levels to meet customer demand. We also have utilised our existing contracts with external partners to increase our service delivery capacity.

Across our service lines we continue to focus on productivity improvement activities, as well as continuing to modernise our benefit services through our digital transformation and Service Modernisation programmes, which mean an increasing number of claims can now be made online and through self-service. The Department strategy is to continue our modernisation programme, enable our people to focus on supporting more vulnerable customers who are unable to self-serve or need additional support.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department were working on programmes supporting disabled people into work as of 23 April (a) 2010 and (b) 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold this information centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Improving the lives of disabled people is a priority for this Government. This includes supporting more disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work. In recognition of this, the Joint DWP and DHSC Work & Health Directorate was set up in 2015 in recognition of the significant link between work and health and to reflect the shared agenda of boosting employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions. This not only benefits people’s health and wealth, but also the UK economy through increased productivity and reduced economic inactivity.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 33 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts, what proportion of Jobcentres provide access to the Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies programme as of 23 April 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As well as providing employment support, Jobcentre Work Coaches can signpost to NHS Talking Therapies, which can be accessed via self-referral.

Jobcentres do not provide direct access to Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies.

Employment Advisers and Work Coaches often work together to support NHS Talking Therapies clients - who are in contact with JCP - to find work, return to work from sick leave and remain in work.

The Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies programme is currently being rolled out across England. All NHS Talking Therapies providers in England are on track to have Employment Advisers in post during 2024/25.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 33 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, how many people received support from the Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies programme (a) nationally and (b) by region in the last 12 months.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

NHS Talking Therapies data (including on employment support) is published monthly by NHSE. There is a slight lag in the publication, so the last 12 months for which data is available is March 2023-February 2024.

For the period March 2023-February 2024:

(a) NHSE data shows that 47,280 individuals started employment support in NHS Talking Therapies (this service is in England only)

(b) The following table breaks this down by NHS regions:

Source: NHS Talking Therapies Monthly Statistics Including Employment Advisors - NHS England Digital

Caveats:

• Numbers above are for clients who first started employment support in the reporting period (measured by month).
• The total above is aggregated from the monthly data (across 12 months), using the EA040 variable (Count_FirstESApptInMonthRefs)
• The Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies programme is currently being rolled out across England. All NHS Talking Therapies providers in England are on track to have Employment Advisers in post during 2024/25. This may account for some of the regional differences noted above.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a comparative estimate of the number of people who were economically inactive and waiting for NHS treatment by (a) nation and (b) region as of (i) 23 April 2010 and (ii) 23 April 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information available on the number of people who were economically inactive and waiting for NHS treatment is given below.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published waiting times for a hospital appointment, test or to start receiving treatment through the NHS for those who are economically inactive as part of the Opinions and Lifestyles Survey. This data is available for Great Britain and is not available at lower-level geographies and the earliest available data is for 22 November to 18 December 2022 therefore a comparison with 2010 at a national and regional level cannot be made.

The latest Opinions and Lifestyle Survey data shows that the number of economically inactive adults aged 16 years and over in Great Britain is 6.9 million, excluding those who are retired (18 October 2023 to 1 January 2024). Economically inactive adults will, for example, include adults who are studying, have caring responsibilities or are long-term sick. Of this population, between 2.1 million (30%) and 2.6 million (38%) are currently waiting for a hospital appointment, test, or to start receiving medical treatment through the NHS.

Data source: The impact of winter pressures on different population groups in Great Britain: NHS waiting lists (18 October 2023 to 1 January 2024)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department held discussions with organisations representing disabled people on the disbanding of the Work and Health Programme.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Stakeholder engagement has been a key part of the design processes for the range of new programmes to enhance employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions being funded through the Back to Work Plan announced at Spring Budget and Autumn Statement 2023 – including Universal Support.

This has included a range of organisations representing the types of people who are eligible for the current Work and Health Programme. We will continue to engage with relevant organisations as the planning for and roll out of these new and expanded programmes progresses.

Any further announcements regarding the Work and Health Programme will be made in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value was of a benefits underpayment in the 2022-2023 financial year.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP does not produce an estimate for the average value of a benefit underpayment.

We estimate that the total rate of benefit expenditure underpaid in 2022-2023 was £3.3bn: Fraudand error in the benefit system Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to Universal Credit claims are awaiting a hearing (a) nationally, (b) by region, (c) by Tribunal Office and (d) by hearing venue; what the average length of time between such appeals being (i) lodged and (ii) heard is (A) nationally, (B) by region, (C) by Tribunal Office and (D) by hearing venue; and in how many cases the length of time waited has exceeded this average (1) nationally, (2) by region, (3) by Tribunal Office and (4) by hearing venue as of 22 April 2024.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The tables below set out the number of Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit appeals awaiting a hearing (a) nationally, (b) by region, and (d) by hearing venue as at end of December 2023 (the latest period for which data are available). There are no separate data collated at (c) tribunal office level.

Information about the average length of time between appeals being lodged and heard; and in how many case the length of time waited has exceeded this average is not held centrally.