Asked by: Fred Thomas (Labour - Plymouth Moor View)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP assessments were conducted (a) face-to-face and (b) by phone in each of the last two years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments carried out by (a) face-to-face and (b) telephone in the last two calendar years are readily available on tab T2_32_Assessment_by_Channel, in Tables 2.32a and 2.32b of Pathways to Work: Evidence pack: Chapter 2 reforming the structure.
In addition to face-to-face and telephone, PIP assessments have also been conducted via paper-based and video assessments during the time period requested. These assessment channels are also shown in the tables contained in the evidence pack.
Report Jul. 24 2025
Committee: Work and Pensions Committee (Department: Department for Work and Pensions)Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Disability Living Allowance Tribunal hearings her Department sent a presenting officer to in the last year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested on the proportion of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Tribunal hearings the Department sent a presenting officer to is not readily available within the Department. However, we estimate that 46% of DLA Tribunal hearings had a presenting officer in FY2024/25. This estimate uses DWP internal statistics on total number of DLA Hearings Attended by presenting officers and published statistics on number of DLA disposals cleared at hearing from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Universal Credit Bill on (a) people with ME and (b) other fluctuating conditions; and whether the forthcoming ME delivery plan will consider the potential impact of this Bill.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our reforms are not condition specific. People with ME/CFS will be treated equally to those with other health conditions and disabilities. We are aware of the fluctuating nature of ME/CFS, the wide variety of disability associated with this condition and the specific needs of those individuals.
The Pathways to Work offer announced in the Green Paper will improve the employment support available for disabled people and people with health conditions, including those with fluctuating chronic illnesses such as ME/CFS.
The Department of Health and Social Care published the final ME/CFS delivery plan on 22 July. The plan focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease. The latter includes helping people with ME/CFS to find and maintain employment, where appropriate, through our department’s plans to improve employment support available for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.
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 people were claiming Universal Credit who were (a) in employment and (b) not in employment and whose immigration status was (i) Common Travel Area - UK, Ireland, Right of Abode, (ii) EU Settlement Scheme, (iii) humanitarian, (iv) refugee, (v) indefinite leave to remain, not EU Settlement Scheme, (vii) limited leave to remain, not EU Settlement Scheme, including family reunion, (viii) other and (ix) no immigration status recorded on digital systems in each local authority in each month since June 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recently published new Universal Credit - Immigration Status and Nationality statistics. Further breakdowns of these statistics are not currently available.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with Hewlett Packard on the change in value of pre-1997 pension scheme members’ pensions; and what steps she is taking to support affected pensioners.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Work and Pensions has had no discussions with Hewlett Packard on this issue. Discretionary increases in benefits above the statutory minimum and those required by scheme rules are a matter for the scheme sponsor and trustees.
Most schemes do pay some pre-1997 indexation, because of scheme rules or as a discretionary benefit. Analysis published last year by the Pensions Regulator shows that as of March 2023, only 17 per cent of members of private sector defined benefit pension schemes did not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests#f3a5fe60511a445f91112bd7dd8a64ae
The Government’s pension reforms on the use of surpluses in defined benefit schemes will make it easier for individual schemes to make decisions that improve outcomes for both sponsoring employers and members, which could include discretionary benefit increases. These changes are being taken forward through the Pension Schemes Bill which had its second reading on Monday 7th July.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Birmingham Edgbaston constituency were enrolled on Pension Credit in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025 to date.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As of November 2023, 2,586 pensioner households were in receipt of Pension Credit in Birmingham Edgbaston constituency.
The latest Pension Credit statistics were published in May 2025 and cover the period up to November 2024. These show that as of November 2024, 2,577 pensioner households were in receipt of Pension Credit in Birmingham Edgbaston constituency. This data is available via DWP Stat-Xplore.
The Pension Credit caseload statistics for 2025 are not available yet. The next iteration of Pension Credit caseload statistics will be released on 12th August 2025 as part of the DWP Benefits Statistics quarterly release. This release will cover the quarterly period up to the end of February 2025.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact the Pension Schemes Bill on the savings of people in (a) Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency and (b) East of England.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Pension Schemes Bill could mean nationally an average earner saving over their career may have around £29,000 more in their Defined Contribution pension pot at retirement. In total, around 20 million savers could benefit from the Bill and around 2 million are estimated to be in the East of England. Breakdowns by constituency are not available. See page 52-53 of the Pension Schemes Bill Impact Assessment for further details.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are enrolled on Pension Credit, by (a) religion and (b) ethnic group.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Latest caseload statistics show that as of November 2024, there were 1,391,728 pensioner households in receipt of Pension Credit. This data is available via DWP Stat-Xplore. This can be broken down into constituency and local authority level as well as by various characteristics such as age, gender and partner indicator. However, this cannot be broken down by religion or ethnic group, as this information is not collected as part of the PC claim process.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to eradicate destitution by 2035.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to tackling poverty, including deep poverty across the UK.
The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious child poverty strategy which we will publish in the autumn. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach to delivering lasting change, as reflected in the proposals in our plan for Making Work Pay and our Get Britain Working White Paper. We have also commenced reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have begun this work by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit and announcing the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced.
As a significant downpayment ahead of strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through the Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1bn a year including Barnett impact, investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2bn including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.