Department for Work and Pensions

The Department looks into every case where an overpayment is calculated before the overpayment is finalised and debt recovery commences.

Where overpayments do occur, the Department has a duty to the taxpayer to protect public funds and to ask for money to be paid back. We remain committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and will always look to negotiate sustainable and affordable repayment plans

In March 2025 there were 1,662,380 Universal Credit (UC) customers in the Searching for Work conditionality regime, and at the end of March 25 the number of full time equivalent (FTE) Work Coaches was 17,160.

Not all UC claimants have a Work Coach. We have provided the number of customers in the Searching for Work conditionality regime as most of this group do.

The average number of people assigned to each Work Coach is not a metric used by the Department and the Department has complex models to estimate the resource required in Jobcentres at a national level. These models cover activities across all DWP customer groups and job roles.

The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.

Notes on the figures:

Work coach FTE figures are management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and are not quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They are not routinely published, but as the Department holds the information, we have released it in this PQ to answer the question asked.

Work Coach figures include both Universal Credit Work Coaches and Existing Benefit Work Coaches. They do not include Work Coach Team Leaders and Disability Employment Advisers.

The number of Universal Credit claimants includes those who have started Universal Credit (completed the Universal Credit claim process and accepted their Claimant Commitment) and have not had a closure of their claim recorded for this spell, up to the 'count date', and is correct as of the second Thursday in March 2025. This figure is provisional and may be subject to revision in future releases of the data.

Inclusion in a specific Labour market regime is based on an individual's circumstances on the count date.

FTE data is correct as at the end of March 25. These figures were derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment.

All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 and cover Great Britain.

We strongly value the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to representative organisations that support them, and that is why we have brought forward this Green Paper and the consultation.

The consultation welcomes the views of voluntary organisations, and we hope many will respond before the consultation closes on the 30 June 2025. Our programme of accessible public events will further facilitate input, including in-person and online, and will help us hear from disabled people and representative organisations directly.

We are also exploring other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders in our reforms. In addition to the consultation, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific policy development areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.

As we develop proposals further, we will consider how to best to involve voluntary and community organisations in the planning and implementation of reforms, including in our employment support package.

We strongly value the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to representative organisations that support them, and that is why we have brought forward this Green Paper and the consultation.

The consultation welcomes the views of voluntary organisations, and we hope many will respond before the consultation closes on the 30 June 2025. Our programme of accessible public events will further facilitate input, including in-person and online, and will help us hear from disabled people and representative organisations directly.

We are also exploring other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders in our reforms. In addition to the consultation, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific policy development areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.

As we develop proposals further, we will consider how to best to involve voluntary and community organisations in the planning and implementation of reforms, including in our employment support package.

The Department does not hold the data requested.

Monthly statistics for the number of People and Households sent a Migration Notice for Move to Universal Credit in Great Britain by geography including by Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and by legacy benefit type are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore - Log in

People invited to Move to Universal Credit statistics are currently available from July 2022 to December 2024 in the People invited to Move to Universal Credit dataset. Households invited to Move to Universal Credit statistics are also available in the Households invited to Move to Universal Credit dataset.

In addition there are a number of ready-made tables by various breakdowns available in the Move to Universal Credit tables.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access Introduction to the Stat-Xplore User Guide on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide - GOV.UK

The Department does not hold data on the number of foreign nationals residing outside of the UK and in receipt of the UK State Pension. However, the Department does hold data on the number of individuals in receipt of the UK State Pension residing outside of the UK. As of August 2024, this was 1.1 million.

Source: DWP Stat-Xplore.

The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) published on 22^nd July 2024 DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%. The next publication of the ARA will include claims processed in the financial year 2024 to 2025 and is due for publication in the summer.

The Department is working hard to meet its published timeliness standard of processing claims and reduce Pension Credit processing times, DWP deployed over 500 additional people. As a result, the Department is clearing more cases. The latest Pension Credit published statistics show DWP cleared 211,600 Pension Credit claims from 29 July 2024 to 9 February 2025, representing an 87% increase in clearance compared to 112,900 cleared Pension Credit claims for the comparable 2023/24 period (31 July 2023 to 11 February 2024). Subsequently, our latest published statistics up to February 2025 show outstanding volumes have reduced Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK. Escalation arrangements are also in place for cases where individuals are identified as being vulnerable or in immediate hardship.

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.

As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.

The estimated total number of people in receipt of State Pension in the 2025-26 to 2028-29 financial years is available in the following table. This is from the latest Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables published following Spring Statement 2025. This covers State Pension recipients in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and outside the UK. Figures are rounded to nearest one thousand and represent a mid-financial year average. Source: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2025 - GOV.UK

As forecasts of private pension receipt are not produced, this response has reference to the State Pension only.

On 27 February 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025. This also includes information on Pension Credit claims that have been cleared but not awarded benefit. Pension Credit Applications and Awards - February 2025. The Department does not hold this information at constituency level.

The next update of the Pension Credit applications and awards data is due to be published on 29^th May 2025.

Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.

On 27 February 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025. This also includes information on Pension Credit claims that have been cleared but not awarded benefit. Pension Credit Applications and Awards - February 2025. The Department does not hold this information at constituency level.

The next update of the Pension Credit applications and awards data is due to be published on 29^th May 2025.

Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.

The estimated number of people aged 16 to 64 in the UK who had a long-term (4 weeks or more) sickness absence from work due to respiratory illness, e.g. asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD], bronchitis or pneumonia, between January and December 2024 (the latest data available) was 60,000. This represents around 4% of people who had a long-term sickness absence.

Source: Annual Population Survey (APS) - unpublished

Businesses in the hairdressing and beauty sector, which includes barber shops, hairdressers and beauty salons are required to comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated regulations, which place duties on businesses to assess the risk of infection for employees and others affected by their work including members of the public.

While Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the policy lead for the hair and beauty sector, responsibility for enforcing health and safety legislation at individual businesses rests with the local authority where the premises are located. HSE is not currently engaged in discussions with the industry about the use of hair dye, however it’s use and the precautions necessary when using it are captured by the requirements of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended).

Where there is evidence that risks are not being properly managed, local authorities are able to intervene and take appropriate enforcement action to ensure that employees and customers are protected.

As set out in the Green Paper, we will ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work will see their incomes protected. We will also ensure this group face no future reassessment. We will set this out in the forthcoming Bill.

We will bring in a permanent, above inflation, rise to the standard allowance in Universal Credit for the first time ever by raising the standard allowance above inflation from 2026/27 until 2029/30. This is in stark contrast to the freeze between 2016/17 and 2019/20 and is a permanent increase to give families certainty. To the lowest income and working families up and down the country this will be crucial.

We have also uprated benefit rates for 2025/26 in line with inflation and are introducing a new Fair Repayment Rate, allowing 1.2 million households to keep more of their Universal Credit.

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.

The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

The Pathways to Work Green paper is clear that in taking forward reforms, the Government is considering the appropriate rules for those in specific circumstances, such as being at end of life. It is also clear that after April 2026, the Government is proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected.

We are currently consulting on how we should determine which individuals or groups of individuals should be exempt from the requirement to participate in conversations or any work-related requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.

We are currently consulting on how we should determine which individuals or groups of individuals should be exempt from the requirement to participate in conversations or any work-related requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.

We are consulting on delaying access to the health element of UC within the reformed system until someone is aged 22, on the basis that the savings generated would be reinvested into work support and training opportunities for this age group to support them into employment and improve their life chances, and that this would remove any potential disincentive to work during this time.

We are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do. The consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation.

The Department does not centrally record whether PIP claimants are in receipt of adult social care support.

The information is not available. The Universal Credit system is usually only informed of a terminal illness diagnosis through an application for the Special Rules for End of Life.

No estimate has been made.

No such assessment has been made.

The Universal Credit system permits Department for Education to check eligibility for Free School Meals and Department of Health and Social Care to check a citizen’s entitlement to Healthy Start vouchers.

The latest figure for the number of Work Coaches expressed as Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) in the Department is 17,160 as at the end of March 2025.

Notes:

• The number of Work Coaches has been derived from DWP's Activity Based Model (ABM). This model gives an estimated Full Time Equivalent (FTE), based on a point in time estimate by Line Managers, as recorded on our internal systems each month.
• Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 FTE.
• The number of Work Coaches refers to staff involved in conducting regular engagement with claimants, hence the data does not include Work Coach Team Leaders or Disability Employment Advisers.
• The number of staff employed is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

Relevant departments are currently considering the Committee’s concluding observations in detail. The Government will give written responses to three priority areas that the Committee has identified for specific follow-up by 2027.

The Government will respond to the rest of the recommendations before the UK’s next reporting cycle starts in 2030.

No assessment has been made on the potential implications for policies of the report published by the University of York entitled The Impact of Chiropractors on Workplace Productivity in NHS MSK Pathways.

No estimate has been made. The information requested on (a) full time and (b) part time work is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The June 2024 Green Paper Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper - GOV.UK included an estimate that around 16% of PIP claimants are in work.

No estimate has been made. The information requested on (a) full time and (b) part time work is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The June 2024 Green Paper Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper - GOV.UK included an estimate that around 16% of PIP claimants are in work.

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and moving away from the current one-size-fits-all approach. We are creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.

The core objective of Universal Credit is to support customers to prepare for work, to enter work, or to earn more, and it is right that there are obligations in place in return for financial support through the benefit system.

Legislation sets out the types of requirements that can be applied to a customer dependant on the conditionality group they are in. To ensure these requirements are realistic and achievable, they are set in discussion with the customer and tailored to their capabilities and circumstances.

A sanction – which is a reduction in the amount of Universal Credit paid – is only applicable where a customer does not carry out their agreed requirements without good reason.

The weekly earnings limit in Carer’s Allowance (CA) was increased to £196 net earnings in April 2025. This is the largest cash increase ever since CA was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. Over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive CA between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as a result. Going forward the earnings limit will be pegged to 16 hours work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels, and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This will provide more certainty on the hours they can work for those unpaid carers with a job on the NLW.

As my Rt hon friend the member for Leeds West (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) said at the Autumn Budget, we also need to look at the current “cliff edge” earnings rules. A taper, for example, could further incentivise unpaid carers to do some work. It could also reduce the risk of significant overpayments. However, introducing a taper in CA is not without challenges and could significantly complicate the benefit as it currently stands and would mean a major rebuild of the CA computer system. DWP is undertaking some scoping work to see whether an earnings taper in CA might be a feasible option in the longer term. But any taper will be several years away.

The weekly earnings limit in Carer’s Allowance (CA) was increased to £196 net earnings in April 2025. This is the largest cash increase ever since CA was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. Over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive CA between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as a result. Going forward the earnings limit will be pegged to 16 hours work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels, and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This will provide more certainty on the hours they can work for those unpaid carers with a job on the NLW.

As my Rt hon friend the member for Leeds West (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) said at the Autumn Budget, we also need to look at the current “cliff edge” earnings rules. A taper, for example, could further incentivise unpaid carers to do some work. It could also reduce the risk of significant overpayments. However, introducing a taper in CA is not without challenges and could significantly complicate the benefit as it currently stands and would mean a major rebuild of the CA computer system. DWP is undertaking some scoping work to see whether an earnings taper in CA might be a feasible option in the longer term. But any taper will be several years away.

Automatic enrolment has succeeded in transforming pension saving with over 11 million employees having been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension since 2012. These statistics are available from The Pensions Regulator and are updated on a monthly basis. However, this is not split by age

Automatic enrolment declaration of compliance report.

DWP publish statistics annually on pension participation by age. The latest statistics show 86% of 22-to-29-year-olds who are eligible for Automatic Enrolment are saving into a workplace pension as of 2023, up from 35% in 2012 (when AE was being rolled out). This is comparable to a participation rate of 88% for all eligible individuals aged (22 to 66). Further data on workplace pension participation and saving trends are available on GOV.UK.

Future pension income depends on many individuals factors across an individual’s life time, further analysis on future pensioner incomes by year of retirement are available on GOV.UK.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced plans to launch a review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead.

To make sure we get this right, we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details about the timing of the review as plans progress.

If a paying parent believes that the Child Maintenance (CM) liability should cease because a qualifying child (QC) no longer meets the statutory definition of a qualifying young person but checks with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) disagree, the CM caseworker can ask the receiving parent to provide;

1. verbal confirmation of the QCs status if they agree that the paying parent’s statement is correct, or

2. where they disagree with the paying parent, a letter from the school or college confirming the QCs status, or

3. written confirmation from an employer that the QC has started work.

Where the paying parent believes that Child Benefit is claimed fraudulently, the paying parent will be signposted to report the fraud to HMRC at Gov.UK.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) makes automated monthly requests to HMRC asking for all children aged 16 to 19 who are included in its caseload, to establish whether Child Benefit is still in payment.

The CMS has a Financial Investigations Unit (FIU), that can investigate complex cases. This is a specialist team which can request information to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given by either parent.

If a paying parent believes that the Child Maintenance (CM) liability should cease because a qualifying child (QC) no longer meets the statutory definition of a qualifying young person but checks with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) disagree, the CM caseworker can ask the receiving parent to provide;

1. verbal confirmation of the QCs status if they agree that the paying parent’s statement is correct, or

2. where they disagree with the paying parent, a letter from the school or college confirming the QCs status, or

3. written confirmation from an employer that the QC has started work.

Where the paying parent believes that Child Benefit is claimed fraudulently, the paying parent will be signposted to report the fraud to HMRC at Gov.UK.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) makes automated monthly requests to HMRC asking for all children aged 16 to 19 who are included in its caseload, to establish whether Child Benefit is still in payment.

The CMS has a Financial Investigations Unit (FIU), that can investigate complex cases. This is a specialist team which can request information to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given by either parent.

We have interpreted this to refer to measures undertaken across the Department’s estate in support of broader sustainability and decarbonisation objectives.

DWP is forecast to achieve the challenging energy efficiency related targets set out in the Greening Government Commitments (GGC), which finished in April 2025. While we await final clearance on the latest iteration GGC framework, we continue to prioritise energy efficiency across our operational estate.

The DWPs strategy for improving energy efficiency includes:

• Strategic asset acquisition – Ensuring energy performance is a key consideration in the procurement and leasing of new assets.
• Decarbonising existing estate – Through technologies such as solar PV, decarbonisation of heating systems, LED lighting upgrades, minimum design standards for all works undertaken and building management system (BMS) enhancements.
• Operational optimisation – Including active monitoring, smart controls, management system development and behavioural interventions to reduce consumption and improve performance.

Looking ahead to this financial year, we intend to expand and accelerate these activities, subject to available resources, building on successful projects and continuing to embed energy efficiency as a core principle of our estate strategy

Please see below details of electronic devices reported lost or stolen to the Department for the period 5 July 2024 – 22 April 2025. The Department does not distinguish between lost and stolen when recording details.

The Child Maintenance Service is dedicated to ensuring parents meet their obligations to children and will do everything to encourage cooperation between separated parents and encourage parents to meet their responsibilities to provide their children with financial support.

Child Maintenance Regulations provide that “offsetting” is a process that allows the Child Maintenance Service to adjust child maintenance payments and arrears in specific scenarios between the Paying Parent and the Receiving Parent.

Child Maintenance role reversal offsetting occurs when a qualifying child changes the parent they live with. This means that the Receiving Parent and the Paying Parent reverse their roles in relation to the qualifying child, so that the Receiving Parent becomes the Paying Parent and vice versa. The potential for a debt against debt offset arises where the former Paying Parent (now the Receiving Parent) owed arrears to the former Receiving Parent (now the Paying Parent) at the point their roles were reversed, and the new Paying Parent fails to pay their current liability, so that they now owe arrears to the new Receiving Parent.

When deciding whether it is appropriate to offset ongoing payments against arrears, caseworkers must consider the length of time that the parent who owes the arrears will be without their ongoing maintenance payments because the payments they are due to receive will be stopped or reduced in comparison with the arrears that they owe. It is essential that caseworkers carefully consider the effect that this may have on the welfare of all children potentially affected.

We are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do.

In the Green Paper, we have announced that we will set up collaboration committees to develop parts of our reforms further. This will involve bringing together disabled people and other experts with civil servants around specific issues to collaborate, provide ideas, challenge, and input into recommendations.

We intend to run a number of accessible virtual and face-to-face events on the Green Paper to hear from stakeholders, including disabled people and their representative organisations, directly. The Department will be holding a consultation event in Northen Ireland and is working with officials there on the planning stages.

No assessment has been made.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Since 2021, food bank use has been measured in official statistics by the number of individuals living in families that have used foodbanks in the past 30 days and 12 months. These are published on Stat-Xplore ( https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/), including breakdowns by Economic Status of the Adult, in the Households Below Average Income dataset. The latest statistics were published on 21 March 2025 and are for the financial year 2023/24. We monitor this data closely.

We are committed to tackling food poverty and ending mass dependence of emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food poverty landscape. We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need and are extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food.

Those who are economically inactive due to ill health or other disadvantages will be supported into work through the inactivity trailblazer programme. Additionally, Greater Manchester’s Working Well programme offers support to residents at risk of or currently experiencing long-term unemployment, their WorkWell service offers support to residents facing difficulties in remaining in work due to ill-health, and the Adult Skills Fund gives residents access to training courses to enhance their career opportunities. These programmes cover north Greater Manchester, including Rochdale.

The local Jobcentre network offers a suite of skills courses aimed at improving engagement and motivation, supporting the hardest to help, removing barriers to employment, enhancing job search skills, providing skills for work, vocational skills, and in-work support. These courses are designed to address various needs, from overcoming complex barriers to employment to improving job searching techniques and providing ongoing support for those in work. This approach allows us to provide intensive support for those with complex needs, remove final barriers to employment, and help individuals become proficient in job searching techniques. We are confident that these initiatives significantly contribute to improving employment opportunities and supporting residents in North Greater Manchester, Heywood and Middleton North constituency.

Jobcentre teams are working in partnership with Rochdale Local Authority with a specific focus on employer activity to support local residents into employment. In recent months the Jobcentre team have worked jointly with Rochdale AFC to deliver a Jobs Fair for local residents. Some recent Sector Based Work Academies include working jointly with Rochdale Training to move residents into NHS jobs and Realise Training to support residents into the Security sector. Locally, the Get Rochdale Working team at the Local Authority support with local initiatives including Jobs fairs, Apprenticeships, Work experience and volunteering.

Within the Jobcentres there is a Movement to Work Offer providing meaningful placements to young people 16-30 years old not currently in education, employment or training (NEET). These placements are designed to provide skills, experience and support to open lasting opportunities for those involved.