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.
In our July 2023 Report Plan for Jobs and employment support, we considered DWP’s employment support provision following the …
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: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.
Department for Work and Pensions does not have Bills currently before Parliament
A Bill to make provision about additional payments to recipients of means-tested benefits, tax credits and disability benefits.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 23rd March 2023 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to provide for certain social security rules which apply where life expectancy is 6 months or less to apply instead where life expectancy is 12 months or less
This Bill received Royal Assent on 25th October 2022 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision about additional payments to recipients of means-tested benefits, tax credits and disability benefits.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 28th June 2022 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision relating to the up-rating of certain social security benefits payable in the tax year 2022-23.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 17th November 2021 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision about pension schemes
This Bill received Royal Assent on 11th February 2021 and was enacted into law.
A Bill To make provision relating to the up-rating of certain social security benefits.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 23rd November 2020 and was enacted into law.
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).
Implement Universal Basic Income to give home & food security through Covid-19
Gov Responded - 30 Mar 2020The government should implement an immediate Universal Basic Income trial for all UK residents to ensure home and food security through the coronavirus Covid-19 crisis, to support the needs of those that need to self-isolate as well as the public health at large, and the wider economy.
Increase State pensions to £380 a week, and lower retirement age to 60
Gov Responded - 21 Sep 2022 Debated on - 12 Dec 2022The British State pension is far too low. We want the Government to increase the basic state pension to £19,760 a year (£380 a week), and extend this to anyone aged 60 or over. This should lift thousands out of poverty, and give our elderly folk more spending power and help grow the economy.
End reviews of PIP and ESA awards for people with lifelong illnesses
Gov Responded - 10 Sep 2021 Debated on - 4 Sep 2023People with a lifelong illness should not be subject to regular reviews for eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). People suffering lifelong conditions should not have to prove they are still ill every couple of years.
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.
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.
It is the customers responsibility to choose whether to make an application for Universal Credit. There is no evidence to suggest any actions the Department has taken or should have taken are influencing that choice.
We are unable to comment on individual cases.
Claims for Access to Work payments can be submitted via our online portal or through the post and this is clearly explained in customer letters. Approved claims submitted through the proper channels are typically processed within 10 days.
The Department plans to send Migration Notices to over 1 million households by 31 March 2025.
We intend to publish constituency level data at a future date.
DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work, and we are committed to reducing economic inactivity.
Over the last year, we have announced a wide range of additional measures building on our extensive employment support, breaking down barriers to work for those we know are more likely to experience economic inactivity.
We spend around £30bn annually on housing support for low-income renters in the private and social rented sectors.
From April we are investing £1.2bn increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents, ensuring 1.6m private renters gain on average almost £800 in 2024/25 in additional support towards rental costs. This significant investment will cost £7bn over five years.
Discretionary Housing Payments are available for those who need additional support. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7bn for DHPs to local authorities.
Retirement saving has been transformed with over 11 million employees put into workplace pensions since 2012.
We are committed to the expansion of Automatic Enrolment in the mid-2020s. Our reforms will benefit younger workers and increase overall amounts being saved, with 3m people saving £2bn extra a year.
The Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 2004 require persons providing facilities for adventure activities in return for payment to hold a licence granted by the licensing authority in accordance with the regulations. Persons are not required to hold a licence where facilities are provided by a voluntary association to its members or members of other voluntary associations by agreement between the associations. Since 2007 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been the licensing authority for the regulations.
In 2018 HSE consulted stakeholders as part of a review of the delivery and scope of adventure activity licensing. In preparation for that consultation HSE considered and decided against extending licensing to include exempt persons such as voluntary organisations. This was on the basis that:
In the last five years, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not initiated any prosecutions relating specifically for ill-fitting Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provided to women workers.
The requested information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) clearances split by condition, including ADHD, can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.
Data on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) clearances by condition is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The average waiting time from application to decision in February 2024 was 40.8 days.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
The Government has an ambitious programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, to start, stay and succeed in work.
These include: the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; a digital information service for employers; Disability Employment Advisers and increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.
In the Spring Budget 2023, the government set out a package of measures to tackle the leading health-related causes keeping people out of work, including specific initiatives for people with MSK conditions. This includes introducing employment advisers within MSK services, including to support people with MSK conditions to thrive in work and scaling up MSK physical activity hubs in the Community, building on the example of delivering physical activity interventions in local leisure and community centre venues.
The Government also announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 to: double the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme; launch WorkWell in approximately 15 pilot areas to provide light touch work and health support; explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support; and establish an expert group to advise on a framework for Occupational Health provision.
In October 2022 we published the Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health Toolkit for employers and further education institutions which encourages employers to support adolescents and young adults with MSK conditions. The Musculoskeletal health toolkit for employers was developed in partnership with Business in the Community and provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.
The government has taken steps to increase public awareness of support available to people living with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as arthritis.
For example, the Musculoskeletal health: applying All Our Health - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) guide is a government resource to help health and care professionals prevent poor MSK health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice. NHS England’s NHS England » Musculoskeletal health page also highlights the importance of MSK health and suggests resources for healthcare professionals, patients and carers to use.
In October 2022, government published the MSK Health Toolkit for employers and further education institution, developed in partnership with Business in the Community, which provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.
There are multiple risk factors that can heighten an individual’s susceptibility to MSK conditions, including physical inactivity and being underweight, overweight or obese. The ‘Better Health’ campaigns and resources highlights the effects of weight and physical activity and supports people to make and sustain changes to improve their health. The campaign provides free, accessible and evidence-based resources including digital tools, such as NHS Weight Loss, Food Scanner, Couch to 5K and Active 10 apps.
Since announcing the MCS in January 2023, we have been working with a range of stakeholders to identify what would make the most difference in tackling the six major conditions groups, which includes MSK conditions. We expect to publish the MCS in Spring of this year. Government also announced funding for scaling up MSK Physical Activity Hubs and embedding employment advice within MSK pathways as part of £400m of funding in Spring Budget 2023 and we are working with a range of stakeholders on these projects.
Beyond this, World Arthritis Day (WAD), observed annually on 12 October, spreads awareness of the existence and impact of rheumatic and MSK disorders.
The Government announced measures to address economic inactivity, as part of the 2023 Spring Budget. This included £12 m over a period of four years, from April 2024, to scale up Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physical Activity Hubs in the Community.
The MSK Physical Activity Hubs in the Community project will seek to build on local practice and explore how to enable people with MSK conditions to access supportive physical activity interventions within local leisure and community settings. This project will also explore how to build in vocational advice.
We are currently engaging with stakeholders to expand our understanding of existing practice and inform our approach to this project.
The Government has an ambitious programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, to start, stay and succeed in work.
These include: the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; a digital information service for employers; Disability Employment Advisers and increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.
In the Spring Budget 2023, the government set out a package of measures to tackle the leading health-related causes keeping people out of work, including specific initiatives for people with MSK conditions. This includes introducing employment advisers within MSK services, including to support people with MSK conditions to thrive in work and scaling up MSK physical activity hubs in the Community, building on the example of delivering physical activity interventions in local leisure and community centre venues;
The Government also announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 to: double the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme; launch WorkWell in approximately 15 pilot areas to provide light touch work and health support; explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support; and establish an expert group to advise on a framework for Occupational Health provision.
In October 2022 we published the Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health Toolkit for employers and further education institutions which encourages employers to support adolescents and young adults with MSK conditions. The Musculoskeletal health toolkit for employers was developed in partnership with Business in the Community and provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.
An employer has the same health and safety responsibilities for people working from home, including those with disabilities, as for any other workers. Employers must protect their workers from health and safety risks from working on a computer or laptop (display screen equipment or DSE) at home and should check to see if the Display Screen Equipment Regulations apply. HSE guidance provides more information: Managing home workers' health and safety - Overview – HSE
Separately, the Chance to Work Guarantee will remove reassessments for the majority of Universal Credit (UC) or Employment and Support Allowance claimants (ESA) with no work-related requirements. The purpose of the Guarantee is to encourage claimants who have been assessed without work-related requirements to try work without the fear of reassessment, within existing permitted work rules in ESA and work allowance rules in UC.
Information about Access to Work (AtW) is widely available in Jobcentres and across government, including a range of online resources. Our stakeholders actively promote the scheme to groups and customers that might benefit from support.
Our new online application and payment portals mean that it is now easier for customers to apply for and claim the support they need.
Information about Access to Work (AtW) is widely available in Jobcentres and across government, including a range of online resources. Our stakeholders actively promote the scheme to groups and customers that might benefit from support.
Our new online application and payment portals mean that it is now easier for customers to apply for and claim the support they need.
The Access to Work process assesses the needs of the individual to ensure they have the appropriate support they need to access and stay in work. This includes providing support for people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions. We do not specifically promote the scheme to any one type of disability or long-term health condition.
The Department does collect information on Access to Work recipient's primary medical condition, however we do not hold information to the level required to identify people with arthritis and/or musculoskeletal conditions. Therefore we are not able to make an estimate of the number of people living with arthritis and/or a musculoskeletal condition that have received support through the Access to Work scheme. Information on Access to Work volumes and expenditure by primary medical condition are published annually in the official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Department does collect information on Access to Work recipient's primary medical condition, however we do not hold information to the level required to identify people with arthritis and/or musculoskeletal conditions. Therefore we are not able to make an estimate of the number of people living with arthritis and/or a musculoskeletal condition that have received support through the Access to Work scheme. Information on Access to Work volumes and expenditure by primary medical condition are published annually in the official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) clearances split by condition, including ADHD, can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.
As part of the Armed Forces Covenant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiatives which help current and former Armed Forces personnel and their families. This includes the role of the Armed Forces Champion in every Jobcentre Plus District, who provide specialist support to members of the Armed Forces community and build Work Coach capability in our Jobcentres. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.
Although there is no specific assessment carried out, the Department regularly evaluates the role to ensure we deliver the best service possible and we have had, and continue to receive positive feedback from customers and external stakeholders regarding their experience of working with Armed Forces Champions.
As announced in the 2023 Autumn Statement, DWP is looking to extend the Restart Scheme for an extra two years with final referrals being made in June 2026.
Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, 880,000 Universal Credit (UC) households received at least one advance payment of UC and between 1 April 2023 and 30 November 2023, 610,000 UC households received at least one advance payment of UC.
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
2. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
3. Data up to November 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.
4. This analysis includes New Claims, Change of Circumstances and Benefit Transfers as these are an advance of a Universal Credit payment. Budgeting Advances have been excluded since these are loans to help with emergency household costs and not an advance of Universal Credit payment.
5. Households with more than one advance payment in the stated time period have only been counted once.
Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, 880,000 Universal Credit (UC) households received at least one advance payment of UC and between 1 April 2023 and 30 November 2023, 610,000 UC households received at least one advance payment of UC.
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
2. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
3. Data up to November 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.
4. This analysis includes New Claims, Change of Circumstances and Benefit Transfers as these are an advance of a Universal Credit payment. Budgeting Advances have been excluded since these are loans to help with emergency household costs and not an advance of Universal Credit payment.
5. Households with more than one advance payment in the stated time period have only been counted once.
The DWP is not an economic forecaster. This sits with the OBR who have forecast total hours worked in the economy will increase over the next 5 years.
Means-tested benefits have no specific disregard of payments made by the Republic of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme to those living in Great Britain and DWP currently has no plans to change this policy.
Financial support is available through the welfare system for working age people.
I can confirm that a full response was issued to the MP’s parliamentary email address as a PDF attachment on 15 February 2024 from our complaint’s resolution team (CMPT12024-07318 (ST105404) I have checked the email address used and it is correct.
Following the review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, HMRC proposed changes to 25 statistics publications in a public consultation that ran from 24 October 2022 to 16 January 2023. In response to the user consultation the annual Income Tax, NICs, tax credits and child benefit statistics for non-UK nationals release was discontinued. The consultation suggested the statistics to be of limited value to users, due to the decrease in data coverage as tax credits claimants move across to Universal Credit, and the lack of timeliness in the data.
Separately the DWP reviewed the ‘Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP working age benefit recipients’ statistics and announced in July 2022 that it would be ceasing publication of these statistics as they no longer met the purpose for which they were created. The statistics reflected the nationality status of the benefit claimants at the point of National Insurance number (NINo) registration, which does not necessarily reflect the nationality at the point of claiming the benefit, as the allocation of a NINo can be made many years, or even decades, before an individual claims a benefit. Therefore, benefit recipients who were non-UK nationals and subsequently obtained British citizenship would have been counted in those statistics as non-UK nationals.
The proposals and outcomes from the consultation on changes to HMRC statistics publications are published on GOV.UK.
HMRC does publish information on non-UK nationals in PAYE employment by nationality, region and industry on GOV.UK.
None of the teams or systems referenced carry out surveillance in the benefits system.
DWP measures fraud and error in the welfare system via annual national statistics published each May.
The Department has a target to save at least £1.3 billion in 2023-24 from its dedicated counter fraud and error resource. Further information on this is included in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) Report, available on GOV.UK. The ARA report for financial year 23/24 is expected to be published Summer 2024.
Please be assured that assessments of bias have been conducted for all IRIS machine learning models and the screening to date has not identified any areas of concern. The outcomes will be published in summer 2024 within DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts.
The department always ensures appropriate safeguards are in place. There are detailed Data Protection Impact Assessments and Equality Analysis that accompany our machine learning models, and these are live documents that are kept updated. We also work closely with legal colleagues to ensure our use of machine learning is legal and proportionate. As an additional safeguard, all decisions on claims are made by DWP case workers based on all the facts and individual circumstances of the claim.
Please be assured that assessments of bias have been conducted for all IRIS machine learning models and the screening to date has not identified any areas of concern. The outcomes will be published in summer 2024 within DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts.
The department always ensures appropriate safeguards are in place. There are detailed Data Protection Impact Assessments and Equality Analysis that accompany our machine learning models, and these are live documents that are kept updated. We also work closely with legal colleagues to ensure our use of machine learning is legal and proportionate. As an additional safeguard, all decisions on claims are made by DWP case workers based on all the facts and individual circumstances of the claim.
The department’s forms are designed to be accessible for people who use assistive technology. Our online PDFs are compliant with Work Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 accessible standards. Claim form design and standards are regularly tested to ensure they continue to meet user needs.
DWP seeks to identify individuals who require additional support to enable them to access our services, providing a tailored service and ensuring appropriate support is quickly made available.
Jobcentre Plus provides access to services for claimants who need face-to-face support.
Help to Claim is a service delivered independently by Citizens Advice and in partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland, for those who are claiming Universal Credit.
DWP Visiting supports those who are unable to complete requirements through any of the other channels.
The table below shows the average length of time taken to process an Access to Work application in each month since January 20022.
Month | Mean Working days to process application |
Jan-22 | 37 |
Feb-22 | 40 |
Mar-22 | 38 |
Apr-22 | 38 |
May-22 | 49 |
Jun-22 | 56 |
Jul-22 | 60 |
Aug-22 | 58 |
Sep-22 | 61 |
Oct-22 | 63 |
Nov-22 | 62 |
Dec-22 | 62 |
Jan-23 | 61 |
Feb-23 | 58 |
Mar-23 | 63 |
Apr-23 | 56 |
May-23 | 50 |
Jun-23 | 41 |
Jul-23 | 47 |
Aug-23 | 47 |
Sep-23 | 45 |
Oct-23 | 45 |
Nov-23 | 42 |
Dec-23 | 42 |
Jan-24 | 42 |
Feb-24 | 41 |
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
The table below shows how many applications the Access to Work scheme rejected from January 2023 to February 2024.
Month | Cases Not Approved |
Jan-23 | 3357 |
Feb-23 | 2952 |
Mar-23 | 3819 |
Apr-23 | 2492 |
May-23 | 3029 |
Jun-23 | 3709 |
Jul-23 | 3705 |
Aug-23 | 3695 |
Sep-23 | 3392 |
Oct-23 | 3566 |
Nov-23 | 3268 |
Dec-23 | 2642 |
Jan-24 | 3435 |
Feb-24 | 3068 |
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
People on ‘long-term sickness benefits’ have been assumed as those in the main phase of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Universal Credit (UC) Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups. The Department regularly publishes Benefit Combination statistics on Stat-Xplore and these were extended inFebruary 2024 to include additional information for those on ESA and the UC Health Journey, so can now be used to provide the information, from quarter ending May 2019 to the end of the latest quarter, August 2023.
The figures can be obtained from the ‘Benefit Combinations - Data from May 2019 for England and Wales’ dataset using the ‘Additional Claim Details’ options. The ‘ESA Phase of Claim’ and ‘UC Health Journey’ options should be used to identify quarterly totals for ESA Support Group (SG), ESA Work-related Activity Group (WRAG), Universal Credit Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups, and those on one benefit but not the other using the ‘Not On’ options. The ‘Geography’ option can then be used to filter by the relevant Westminster Parliamentary Constituency.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Using the Benefit Combinations data on Stat-Xplore, the number of people on long-term sickness benefits in the Wolverhampton South East constituency is provided in the table below:
| Aug 2019 | Aug 2020 | Aug 2021 | Aug 2022 | Aug 2023 |
Total | 4,150 | 4,440 | 4,690 | 5,080 | 5,830 |
Source: Stat-Xplore
Notes:
The department does not hold the information requested.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by January 2024 data was held on the status of approximately 71% of the GB UC caseload. It should be noted that Armed Forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past. The table below shows the proportion of claimants who have disclosed their Armed Forces status.
UC caseload month | Proportion of caseload with a recorded status | Currently serving | Served in the past | Not served | Prefer not to say | No recorded status | ||
July 2022 | 51% | 3,000 | 39,000 | 2,800,000 | 21,000 | 2,800,000 | ||
August 2022 | 53% | 3,200 | 40,000 | 2,900,000 | 22,000 | 2,700,000 | ||
September 2022 | 54% | 3,200 | 41,000 | 3,000,000 | 22,000 | 2,600,000 | ||
October 2022 | 56% | 3,300 | 43,000 | 3,100,000 | 23,000 | 2,500,000 | ||
November 2022 | 57% | 3,300 | 44,000 | 3,200,000 | 24,000 | 2,500,000 | ||
December 2022 | 58% | 3,400 | 45,000 | 3,300,000 | 25,000 | 2,400,000 | ||
January 2023 | 59% | 3,500 | 46,000 | 3,400,000 | 25,000 | 2,300,000 | ||
February 2023 | 61% | 3,500 | 48,000 | 3,500,000 | 26,000 | 2,300,000 | ||
March 2023 | 62% | 3,600 | 48,000 | 3,500,000 | 27,000 | 2,200,000 | ||
April 2023 | 63% | 3,700 | 50,000 | 3,600,000 | 28,000 | 2,200,000 | ||
May 2023 | 64% | 3,800 | 50,000 | 3,700,000 | 28,000 | 2,100,000 | ||
June 2023 | 65% | 3,900 | 51,000 | 3,800,000 | 29,000 | 2,100,000 | ||
July 2023 | 66% | 4,000 | 52,000 | 3,900,000 | 30,000 | 2,100,000 | ||
August 2023 | 66% | 4,000 | 53,000 | 3,900,000 | 30,000 | 2,000,000 | ||
September 2023 | 67% | 4,000 | 54,000 | 4,000,000 | 30,000 | 2,000,000 | ||
October 2023 | 68% | 3,900 | 54,000 | 4,100,000 | 30,000 | 2,000,000 | ||
November 2023 | 69% | 3,900 | 55,000 | 4,200,000 | 31,000 | 1,900,000 | ||
December 2023 | 70% | 3,900 | 57,000 | 4,300,000 | 31,000 | 1,900,000 | ||
January 2024 (provisional) | 71% | 4,000 | 58,000 | 4,400,000 | 32,000 | 1,900,000 |
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
Increases in the numbers of claimants with a recorded status of “currently serving” or “served in the past” do not necessarily mean the overall numbers of claimants who are currently serving or have served in the past have increased and may reflect increases in the number of claimants for whom data is held as data coverage improves over time.
Notes:
1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. Figures in the table have been rounded according to the Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy.
3. In line with the latest published People on UC official statistics, provisional figures relating to January 2024 are provided. These figures will be subject to revision in subsequent releases.
4. These figures are based on the Official Statistics UC caseload definition. Some previous figures have used an alternative caseload definition based on assessment period end dates.
5. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
The TCR process is led by specialised agents to find incorrectness on claims and put it right. Prior to starting a claim review, agents will preview the claim to make sure it meets the criteria for selection. Claims selected for review are not endorsed on the grounds they are likely to contain fraud or error. It is only once a claim review is complete that an agent can determine the outcome. Performance for the financial year 22/23 is included in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) Report, available on GOV.UK. The ARA report for financial year 23/24 is expected to be published Summer 2024.
We do not categorise claims as discontinued. A claim may be deselected for review if it does not meet the criteria.
The government is providing an additional £500m to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.
The government is providing an additional £500m to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.
The pension industry stakeholder roundtables planned this spring will explore interpretations of fiduciary duty in relation to climate change and responsible investments. Following these the Department will ensure a briefing session is held in which interested Parliamentarians will have the opportunity to provide insight and discuss the conclusions drawn from these events.
We have no immediate plans to introduce such a marker. Where a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimant is a veteran, then relevant information on the functional impact of their medical condition will be gathered as part of the claiming process, either through the medical assessment, or by the DWP decision maker.
PIP is based on the needs of the individual and current or previous occupation is unrelated to entitlement.
The Government believes it is vital that employers support their workers affected by symptoms of the menopause and we are raising awareness of this alongside the Government’s Menopause Employment Champion.
It is important for individual businesses to decide how to record staff absences and support their own workers. The Government has shared guidance and best practice on the Menopause Resources Hub on the Help to Grow portal.