Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many vehicles issued under the Motability Scheme were subject to the Expensive Car Supplement in the last year for which figures are available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission to help disabled people with their mobility and transport needs. They own and have oversight of the Motability Scheme which is delivered by an independent commercial company Motability Operations. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the main benefits that provide a gateway to the Scheme. Data about the brands or values of vehicles leased under the Scheme is held by Motability Operations.
Vehicles leased to eligible disabled people as part of the Motability Scheme are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, including the expensive car supplement, if applicable.
We are protecting the taxpayer through changes to the Motability scheme, ensuring it supports disabled people whilst delivering efficient use of taxpayers’ money. This includes the removal of some luxury vehicles from the leasing scheme while maintaining a range of vehicles to support disabled people.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Access to Work applications; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken for those applications on applicants whose ability to work is dependent on timely support, such as community-based NHS staff.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why last year we increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% and we have continued to streamline delivery practices. To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise Access to Work applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks, or cases that are up for renewal.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for decisions on Access to Work claims.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why last year we increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% and we have continued to streamline delivery practices. To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise Access to Work applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks, or cases that are up for renewal.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with total benefit entitlement above the level of the Household Benefit Cap have entitlement above (a) £30,000, (b) £40,000 and (c) £50,000 per year, or the equivalent weekly and monthly amounts.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact on recipients of contributory Employment and Support Allowance once the one-year limit under the proposed new system passes; and on what evidential basis he determined that a one-year limit would be applied to this cohort.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we would be establishing a new, simple and clear Unemployment Insurance benefit through the reform of contributory working age benefits. Following recent consultation, officials are considering the responses and developing the policy for this new benefit, including the duration of entitlement.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the geographic distribution of contributory Employment and Support Allowance recipients affected by the proposed changes; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the merger on regional equality.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we would be establishing a new, simple and clear Unemployment Insurance benefit through the reform of contributory working age benefits. Following recent consultation, officials are considering the responses and developing the policy for this new benefit, including the duration of entitlement.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact on levels of poverty of the proposed merger of contributory Employment and Support Allowance into Universal Credit health-related payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we would be establishing a new, simple and clear Unemployment Insurance benefit through the reform of contributory working age benefits. Following recent consultation, officials are considering the responses and developing the policy for this new benefit, including the duration of entitlement.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of additional households that would become subject to the Household Benefit Cap following the removal of the two-child limit on the Universal Credit Child Element.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of each exemption from the Household Benefit Cap on (a) the number of households subject to the cap and (b) overall welfare expenditure.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation entitled Guarantee our Essentials: reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard time, published on 4 March 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an essentials guarantee for welfare recipients.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A Universal Credit award is made up of a standard allowance rate to provide towards basic living costs, paid according to age and household unit. Additional amounts are added to provide for individual needs such as housing, disability, and childcare costs.
We’ve taken important steps to support people with their living costs. The Universal Credit Act legislates to rebalance Universal Credit by bringing in, for the first time ever, a sustained above inflation increase to the standard allowance for all claimants. This will benefit around 4 million households and is estimated to be worth around £760 annually in cash terms by 2029/30 for a single household aged 25 or over (£250 above inflation) or over £1195 (£400 above inflation) for a couple where one is aged 25 or over with children by 2029/30.
We will also be uprating most working age benefits, across Great Britain in 2026/27, subject to parliamentary approval, in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2025 – an increase of 3.8%.
The Government is also taking action to reduce child poverty through the removal of the two child limit. Removing the two child limit is the fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty over this Parliament and estimated to alone lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.