Department for Work and Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department it administers the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers.



Secretary of State

 Portrait

Liz Kendall
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Shadow Ministers / Spokeperson
Liberal Democrat
Baroness Janke (LD - Life peer)
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)
Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD - Life peer)
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)

Conservative
Mel Stride (Con - Central Devon)
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Ministers of State
Stephen Timms (Lab - East Ham)
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Alison McGovern (Lab - Birkenhead)
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Baroness Sherlock (Lab - Life peer)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Andrew Western (Lab - Stretford and Urmston)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Emma Reynolds (Lab - Wycombe)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no upcoming events identified
Debates
Wednesday 24th July 2024
Household Support Fund
Lords Chamber
Select Committee Docs
Tuesday 28th May 2024
13:15
Select Committee Inquiry
Thursday 7th March 2024
Devolution of employment support

In our July 2023 Report Plan for Jobs and employment support, we considered DWP’s employment support provision following the …

Written Answers
Friday 26th July 2024
Child Benefit
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many exemptions to the two-child benefit limit due to …
Secondary Legislation
Thursday 9th May 2024
Social Security (State Pension Age Claimants: Closure of Tax Credits) (Amendment) Regulations 2024
These Regulations make provision in relation to the abolition of tax credits for certain claimants who have reached the qualifying …
Bills
Tuesday 7th February 2023
Social Security (Additional Payments) Act 2023
A Bill to make provision about additional payments to recipients of means-tested benefits, tax credits and disability benefits.

Department for Work and Pensions Commons Appearances

Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs

Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:
  • Urgent Questions where the Speaker has selected a question to which a Minister must reply that day
  • Adjornment Debates a 30 minute debate attended by a Minister that concludes the day in Parliament.
  • Oral Statements informing the Commons of a significant development, where backbench MP's can then question the Minister making the statement.

Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue

Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category
Jul. 23
Written Statements
View All Department for Work and Pensions Commons Contibutions

Bills currently before Parliament

Department for Work and Pensions does not have Bills currently before Parliament


Acts of Parliament created in the 2024 Parliament

Department for Work and Pensions has not passed any Acts during the 2024 Parliament

Department for Work and Pensions - Secondary Legislation

These Regulations make provision in relation to the abolition of tax credits for certain claimants who have reached the qualifying age for state pension credit (“the qualifying age”). They provide for claimants who are entitled to working tax credit to move to universal credit with transitional protection and for claimants who are entitled to child tax credit to move to pension credit with transitional protection. They also make provision consequential on these changes.
These Regulations amend regulation 99 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/376), which sets out the circumstances in which work search and work availability requirements must not be imposed on a universal credit claimant. Regulation 2 amends paragraph (6) of regulation 99 so that work search and work availability requirements may not be imposed where a claimant has monthly earnings from employment that are equal to, or more than, 18 hours per week at the national minimum wage rate as set out in regulation 4 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/621) (“the national living wage”) or, where the claimant is a member of a couple, their combined earnings from employment are equal to, or more than, 29 hours per week at the national living wage rate, in both cases converted to a monthly amount by multiplying by 52 and dividing by 12.
View All Department for Work and Pensions Secondary Legislation

Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Trending Petitions
Petitions with most signatures
Department for Work and Pensions has not participated in any petition debates
View All Department for Work and Pensions Petitions

Departmental Select Committee

Work and Pensions Committee

Commons Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.

At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries.

Select Committee findings are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee's recommendations.


0 Members of the Work and Pensions Committee
Work and Pensions Committee: Previous Inquiries
Money and Pensions Service Pension stewardship and COP26 PIP and ESA Assessments DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak Work of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment Plan for Jobs and employment support The sale and acquisition of BHS inquiry DWP’s preparations for changes in the world of work Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams Progress with child maintenance reforms Update on auto-enrolment and a range of current pensions issues Fraud and error in the benefits system Employment and Support Allowance and Work Capability Assessments Progress with Personal Independence Payment implementation 2014 Employment support for disabled people: Access to Work One-off evidence session on pension reforms Benefit delivery inquiry Welfare to work inquiry Pension freedom guidance and advice inquiry Tax credit reforms inquiry Local welfare safety net inquiry In-work progression in Universal Credit inquiry Understanding the new State Pension inquiry Bereavement benefits inquiry Pre-appointment hearing for the Pensions Ombudsman Progress with automatic enrolment and pension reforms Financial scrutiny of the Department for Work and Pensions Benefit sanctions policy beyond the Oakley review Progress with disability and incapacity benefit reforms Universal Credit Work Programme: the experience of different user groups Youth unemployment and the Government’s Youth Contract EU Pensions Policy White Paper on Universal Credit Automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and National Employment Savings Trust Governance and best practice in workplace pensions Role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system Support for housing costs in the reformed welfare system School holiday poverty inquiry The work of The Pensions Regulator inquiry Executive pensions inquiry Spending Review inquiry Support for the bereaved Universal Credit and Survival Sex: sex in exchange for meeting survival needs inquiry No DSS: discrimination against benefit claimants in the housing sector inquiry Benefit freeze Overpayments of Carer's Allowance Ongoing work on DWP priorities and performance inquiry Charging for pension transfer advice inquiry Pension auto-enrolment: update inquiry Universal Credit Project Assessment Reviews inquiry Carillion joint inquiry Assistive technology inquiry Pre-appointment scrutiny of the Chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee Defined benefit pensions white paper inquiry The future of the European Social Fund inquiry Two-child benefit limit inquiry Welfare safety net inquiry Benefit cap inquiry Pension costs and transparency inquiry Disability employment inquiry Concentrix and tax credits inquiry Child Maintenance Service inquiry Employment opportunities for young people inquiry Intergenerational fairness inquiry Pensions automatic enrolment inquiry Early drawing of state pension inquiry Recent pensions policy developments The Future of Jobcentre Plus inquiry Support for ex-offenders inquiry Disability employment gap inquiry Pension Protection Fund and Pensions Regulator inquiry Personal Independence Payment inquiry Citizen's income inquiry Victims of modern slavery inquiry DWP Annual Report and Accounts inquiry Self-employment and the gig economy inquiry Benefit cap inquiry Brexit and labour market policy inquiry Universal Credit update inquiry Universal Credit inquiry PIP and ESA Assessments inquiry Pension freedom and choice inquiry Defined benefit pension schemes Access to work cap on support grants inquiry Collective defined contribution pension schemes inquiry Support for carers inquiry The cost of living Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service Defined benefit pensions with liability driven investments Benefit levels in the UK Defined benefit pension schemes Cost of living support payments Disability employment gap Health and Safety Executive Safeguarding vulnerable claimants Norton pension schemes and the Fraud Compensation Fund Statutory Sick Pay Disability employment Devolution of employment support Children in poverty: Measurement and targets Welfare policy in Northern Ireland Assistive technology Benefit cap Benefit sanctions Collective defined contribution pension schemes Defined benefit pensions white paper inquiry Disability employment The future of the European Social Fund inquiry Executive pensions Universal Credit Universal Credit - In-work progression Pension costs and transparency Spending Review Welfare safety net Charging for pension transfer advice Overpayments of Carer's Allowance Pension auto-enrolment: update No DSS: discrimination against benefit claimants in the housing sector Benefit freeze Support for the bereaved The work of The Pensions Regulator Motability Ongoing work on DWP priorities and performance Pension freedom and choice PIP and ESA Assessments School holiday poverty Support for carers Two-child benefit limit Universal Credit and Survival Sex

50 most recent Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department

17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many exemptions to the two-child benefit limit due to rape have been (a) requested and (b) granted since that exemption was introduced.

The requested information is not available. However, figures are published showing the number of households in receipt of an exception for children likely to have been born as a result of non-consensual conception, which for this purpose includes rape or where the claimant was in a controlling or coercive relationship with the child’s other biological parent at the time of conception. Table2, provides this information.

The full statistics tables and supporting narrative are published here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
18th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a maximum workplace temperature.

The Government is committed to modernising health and safety guidance including that addressing workplace temperatures. The Government will work with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to bring forward detailed proposals for consultation on workplace temperature.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department will continue the work of the Department’s Children in Hospital Stakeholder Group.

Supporting parents with care and compassion whilst they navigate some of the toughest moments a parent can face is something all in this house would believe in. We will consider the work done by the previous Government before making a decision on next steps.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
23rd Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) people, (b) children and (c) pensioners were in absolute poverty in (i) May 2010 and (ii) the last month for which figures are available.

Statistics on the total number of people living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are published annually in the Households Below Average Income statistics Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Figures are produced on an annual basis and available for the breakdowns requested.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
23rd Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2024 to Question 706 on Unemployment, what the headline level of economic inactivity was in (a) March-May 2010 and (b) the latest period for which data is available.

The headline UK economic inactivity level was 9.433 million in March-May 2010 (based on people aged between 16 and 64). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK economic inactivity level was 9.383 million.

The headline UK economic inactivity rate was 23.4% in March-May 2010 (this is also estimated on a 16-64 basis). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK economic inactivity rate was 22.1%.

The UK has experienced a rise in economic inactivity since the pandemic. The economic inactivity level has risen by 833,000 since the pre-pandemic level, with economic inactivity due to long-term sickness rising to 2.8m. The UK remains the only nation in the G7 with an economic inactivity rate higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing children and young people with cancer to apply for (a) Personal Independence Payment, (b) Disability Living Allowance and (c) other disability benefits immediately following their diagnosis.

Other than for those who are nearing the end of their life, the extra costs disability benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA), are assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability rather than a diagnosis. PIP has replaced DLA for working age people. DLA is claimed by children under the age of 16 years old. Children and young people who have been diagnosed with cancer and who face extra costs as a result of their ill health can apply for DLA immediately. The qualifying period does not apply to DLA claimants who are terminally ill and do not have to satisfy the three--month qualifying period. They will have their claim fast tracked and are eligible for the higher-rate care component from the date of claim.

The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life, as they will incur additional costs for additional care and support. We enable children and young people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to the extra costs disability benefits with a guaranteed entitlement.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
18th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to change the personal independence payment assessment.

  • We will be engaging with the responses people have made to the previous government's consultation on Personal Independence Payment, which closed on Monday 22 July.
  • We want to thank the many people who invested their time in responding.
  • We will be considering our own approach to social security in due course.
Baroness Sherlock
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of setting a target for the level of food bank usage by the end of this Parliament.

We are committed to tackling poverty and ending the mass dependence on emergency food parcels. We will be considering the best way to achieve these important objectives over the coming weeks and months working through the new Ministerial Taskforce on Child Poverty which will oversee the development of a cross-government Child Poverty Strategy.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to extend the Housing Support Fund.

£500 million is being provided to enable the current Household Support Fund, including funding for Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means Local Authorities in England are receiving £421 million to support those in need locally.

The current Household Support Fund will be in place until 30 September 2024.

As a new government, we are reviewing all policies, including the Household Support Fund.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of women there are who were born after 6 April 1950 in (a) Dunfermline and Dollar constituency and (b) Fife.

The department does not hold the information required to answer this request. Please see below a link to a publication from the National Records of Scotland that holds data pertaining to this request.

UK Parliamentary Constituency Population Estimates (2011Data Zone based) | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

Emma Reynolds
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to meet with representatives from the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.

As a newly formed Government, we need time to review the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation. We will listen to all views, including those of 1950s-born women as we take this work forward.

The WASPI organisation has written to me and I intend to meet with their representatives in due course.

Emma Reynolds
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle unemployment for people aged between 18 and 24.

The Department understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why DWP have a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment, whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances. Existing operations will be reviewed in line with the new government’s priorities.

The Governments Back to Work Plan is critical to growing the economy. This includes implementing a new national jobs and career service to help get more people into work alongside a Youth Guarantee, meaning more quality opportunities for training, an apprenticeship or help to find work for all young people aged 18-21 years old, to prevent them becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age.

DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that (a) War Pensions and (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme awards are not counted as income for the purpose of calculating (i) benefits and (ii) pensions.

There are no plans to change the ways in which War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards interact with State Pensions and benefits. They are already fully ignored in the State Pension and in Universal Credit.

The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; and, Income Support. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in these benefits, and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount. Furthermore, these are legacy benefits, in the process of being replaced by Universal Credit, in which War Pensions and AFCS are ignored.

By default, the first £10 per week of a War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them.

In relation to Pension Credit, the first £10 of any War Pension payments or AFCS award made due to injury or disablement is disregarded. Four additions to the War Disablement Pension are completely disregarded: Constant Attendance Allowance; Mobility Supplement; Severe Disablement Occupational Allowance; and dependency increases for anyone other than the applicant or her/his partner. War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in Pension Credit and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to implement the second bullet point of recommendation two in section seven of the report by the UK Commission on Bereavement entitled Bereavement is everyone's business, published in October 2022.

This recommendation concerns extending Bereavement Support Payment to 6 years or until completion of secondary education for the youngest child, from its current duration of 18 months. However, BSP is not a cost-of-living benefit but is intended to help with the immediate costs of bereavement. Where longer-term income support is needed, individuals can look to benefits such as Universal Credit, which have been specifically designed to provide ongoing assistance with living costs. Whilst we welcome the report, we have no current plans to change the duration of bereavement support payment.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
18th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans for the taskforce on child poverty to make an assessment of the potential impact of ending the (a) the two-child benefit limit and (b) under-occupancy charge on levels of child poverty.

The new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of our ambitious new strategy in line with the Opportunity Mission.

After initial engagement, the formal work to develop the new child poverty strategy will begin and we will publish a Full Terms of Reference in the coming weeks. Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need. Alongside this we will be reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
18th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the (a) terms of reference for the taskforce on child poverty and (b) planned timescale for publishing the outcomes of that taskforce's work.

The new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of our ambitious new strategy in line with the Opportunity Mission.

After initial engagement, the formal work to develop the new child poverty strategy will begin and we will publish a Full Terms of Reference in the coming weeks. Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need. Alongside this we will be reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of children living in poverty in St Helens North constituency in (a) 2024 and (b) 2010.

Statistics on the number of Children living in absolute and relative poverty per constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication and can be found in tabs “6_Absolute_ParlC” and “5_Relative_ParlC” at Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest statistics published on 21 March 2024 cover the years 2014/15 to 2022/23. Figures are not available prior to 2014/15 and are produced on a before housing costs basis only.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
19th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the proposed child poverty strategy will examine the potential impact of (a) trends in the use of food bank usage and (b) the No Recourse to Public Funds policy on levels of childhood poverty.

We are committed to tackling child poverty and ending the mass dependence on emergency food parcels. The new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of our ambitious new strategy in line with the Opportunity Mission.

After initial engagement, the formal work to develop the new child poverty strategy will begin and we will publish a Full Terms of Reference in the coming weeks. We will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
18th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of working age people were unemployed in (a) May 2010 and (b) the last month for which figures are available.

The UK has experienced a recent rise in unemployment. It has also seen a rise in economic inactivity since the pandemic of 833,000 with long-term sickness rising to 2.8m. The UK remains the only nation in the G7 with an employment rate lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The headline UK unemployment level was 2.508 million in March-May 2010 (based on people aged 16 and over). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK unemployment level was 1.528 million.

The headline UK unemployment rate was 7.9% in March-May 2010 (this is also estimated on a 16+ basis). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK unemployment rate was 4.4%.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the UK's progress on implementing the recommendations made in the report entitled Concluding observations on the initial report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2017.

The Government is committed to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and improving disabled people’s lives in all aspects of life.

The previous Government’s latest response to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was submitted in 2022, and published on GOV.UK with accessible formats in December 2022. This report and previous ones can be found here.

As requested by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Government will submit a report by March 2029 with information on how we are implementing the Committee’s recommendations outlined in their latest report published in April 2024. The Government, through the Disability Unit in the Cabinet Office, has already begun considering the recommendations from this report.

Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024.

As a newly formed Government we will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.

This Government respects the work of the Ombudsman. Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.

The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government/we will be in a position to outline its approach.

Emma Reynolds
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to bring forward legislative proposals for a compensation scheme for women who are (a) born in the 1950s and (b) not notified of changes to the age at which they could claim the State Pension.

As a newly formed Government we will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.

This Government respects the work of the Ombudsman. Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.

The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government/we will be in a position to outline its approach.

Emma Reynolds
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
17th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are affected by the under-occupancy charge, what is the financial impact of the charge on those people, and what plans they have to end or reduce that impact.

As of February 2024, 476,000 households in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing element were subject to a removal of spare room subsidy (RSRS) deduction.

The RSRS deductions are based on the claimant's eligible rent for those in the social rented sector. There is a 14 percent reduction for those with one extra bedroom and a 25 percent reduction for those with two or more extra bedrooms. The average weekly deduction for households with one extra bedroom is £15 and £29 for those with two or more extra bedrooms.

Easements are available to support disabled people and carers, families of disabled children, foster carers, parents who adopt, parents of service personnel and people who have suffered a bereavement.

Those unable to meet a shortfall in their rent can seek a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) from their local authority. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.

Any future decisions on this policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the fiscal context.

Baroness Sherlock
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024.

As a newly formed Government we will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.

This Government respects the work of the Ombudsman. Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.

The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government/we will be in a position to outline its approach.

Emma Reynolds
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in securing maintenance from paying parents.

A principle of child maintenance is to increase levels of cooperation between separated parents and encourage parents to meet their responsibilities to provide their children with financial support. Where a family-based child maintenance arrangement is not suitable the Child Maintenance Service offers a statutory scheme for those parents who need it.

The Government is dedicated to ensuring parents meet their obligations to children and the Child Maintenance Service will do everything within its powers to make sure parents comply. Where parents fail to pay their child maintenance, the Service will not hesitate to use its enforcement powers, including deductions from earnings orders, removal of driving licences, disqualification from holding a passport, and committal to prison. The Service is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.

Statistics on child maintenance arrangements and collections are part of the CMS quarterly statistics published on gov.uk in tables 4, 5 and 6 of the National Tables. The below information is from the latest publication for data up to March 2024.

  • In the 12 months up to March 2024 the child maintenance service arranged £1.4 billion child maintenance, an increase from £1.2 billion during the previous 12 months.
  • 61% of all CMS arrangements use Direct Pay, with 37% using Collect and Pay and just over one billion pounds was arranged through the Direct Pay service in the last 12 months (we do not measure the compliance of Paying Parents on the Direct Pay service).
  • Since March 2023, the percentage of parents paying something towards their maintenance through collect & pay has increased to 69% from 65%.
  • In the period April 2023 to March 2024 £316.8 million was arranged through the Collect & Pay service:

o £224.9 million was paid

o £91.9 million was unpaid

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the Child Maintenance Service's treatment of income from foreign assets held by paying parents.

Income, including income from assets as well as earned income, needs to be declared to the UK tax authorities and subject to UK tax in order to be included in the maintenance calculation.

The Government is now considering next steps on the child maintenance service.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the sustainability of job centres in rural areas.

We have interpreted ‘sustainability’ to mean the viability of Jobcentres in rural areas.

DWP has a network of 634 established Jobcentres across the UK. The location of Jobcentres needs to balance customer demand, the range of services it needs to offer and operational efficiency.

If a Jobcentre is relocated, the Department fully assesses the likely impact, including completion of an Equality Assessment.

We will be looking to work with a range of partners, including local areas to further develop and deliver our manifesto commitments which will inform wider thinking on the delivery of employment support.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average disposable income was in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency in each of the last 10 years.

The Department for Work and Pensions produces household income statistics on both a before housing costs and after housing costs basis, published in its Households Below Average Income publication. However, these are not available at constituency level: Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Office for National Statistics produces household disposable income statistics. However, these are also not available at constituency level. The latest regional gross disposable household income statistics can be found here: Regional gross disposable household income, UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Statistics for the total number of people living in relative and absolute poverty are not available at a constituency level.

Statistics on the total number of people in living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs at regional level are published annually in the Households Below Average Income statistics Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Statistics on the number of Children living in absolute and relative poverty per constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication and can be found in tabs “5_Relative_ParlC” and “6_Absolute_ParlC”. These are only produced on a before housing cost basis.

A link to these statistics can be found here: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into women’s State Pension age changes, published on 21 March 2024, if she will take steps to introduce compensation for women affected by changes to the State Pension age.

As a newly formed Government we will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.

This Government respects the work of the Ombudsman. Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.

The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government/we will be in a position to outline its approach.

Emma Reynolds
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of women born in the 1950s who have been impacted by State Pension age changes.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on (a) dedicated work coaches, (b) support elements separate to the work coaches and (c) youth hubs through his Department's Youth Offer in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (c) 2023.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mims Davies
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s on those women in Eastbourne constituency.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into women's State Pension age changes, published on 21 March 2024.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches were employed to support young people in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent work coaches were working specifically to support young people as of 21 May 2024.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

22nd May 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when referencing benefits, they will gross up the value of each benefit to demonstrate a direct and fair comparison with salaries paid to people who are not claiming benefits.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claimants are parents of a child with special educational needs in (a) the UK and (b) Eastbourne constituency.

The information requested is not available and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of parents of children with special educational needs have returned to work due to the provision of Universal Credit in (a) Eastbourne constituency and (b) East Sussex over the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

The information requested is not available and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman report into the changes to Women’s State Pension Age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will bring forward a response to that report before 23 July 2024.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman report into the changes to Women’s State Pension Age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will apologise to the women impacted by the changes to state pension age in that report.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

20th May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to his Department since 2019.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's policy is on communicating future increases to the State Pension age to the public.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

20th May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2024 to Question 24973 on Attendance Allowance: Employment, for what reason his Department does not record the requested data.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the State Pension age on women born in the 1950s in Southend West constituency.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Youth Hubs there were in 2021.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mims Davies
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Youth Hubs there were in 2022.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mims Davies
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Youth Hubs there were in 2023.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mims Davies
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
21st May 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Youth Hubs there are as of 21 May 2024.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mims Davies
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities