Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will take steps to amend the social security payment regulations to enable the direct transfer of (a) Personal Independence Payment and (b) Disability Living Allowance to competitors to Motability.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.
The department works closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. We will continue to ensure the Scheme meets the transport needs of disabled people.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will subject Motability to competitive tendering for the right to run the scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission so is responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme.
The department works closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. We will continue to ensure the Scheme meets the transport needs of disabled people.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the total cost to his Department of the annual mailshot run on behalf of Motability to eligible claimants; and how much Motability contributes to the Department for this mailshot.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not undertake an annual mailshot run on behalf of Motability to eligible customers. There is no cost to DWP in this regard.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has (a) invoiced Motability for and (b) received from Motability under the Social Security (Expenses of Paying Sums in Relation to Vehicle Hire) Regulations 2016, in each of the years since these regulations were introduced.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
(a) The DWP invoiced the Motability scheme for the following amounts under the Social Security (Expenses of Paying Sums in Relation to Vehicle Hire) Regulations 2016.
Year | Total |
16/17 | £0.8m |
17/18 | £1.1m |
18/19 | £0.9m |
19/20 | £1.0m |
20/21 | £0.8m |
21/22 | £0.6m |
22/23 | £0.9m |
23/24 | £1.1m |
24/25 | £1.4m |
Figures rounded to nearest £0.1m.
(b) DWP were fully reimbursed for the amounts above.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will remove the two-child benefit cap in the Autumn Budget.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to tackling child poverty. The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy which we will publish in the autumn.
Commitments made at the 2025 spending review, and since then, are the latest steps in our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets – a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, building on expansion of free breakfast clubs, the national minimum wage boost and the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average savings per claimant to his Department from passing costs previously covered by Access to Work to employers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such transfer has been made. No changes have been made to Access to Work policy, and we will announce any changes prior to them being implemented. We will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the consultation on the Pathways to Work Green Paper has closed.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 potential impact of the implementation of the guidance entitled Access to Work: staff guide, published on 1 September 2025, on levels of support provided to successful applicants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The externally published staff guide replicates the internal guidance with some redactions, eg fraud referrals and any internal business processes. This is updated incrementally to mirror any changes to the internal guidance. The guidance published on 1 September was merely updating/clarifying information and reflecting minor changes to procedures, so would be considered to have little or no overall impact on the scheme.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a written response the Reverse Gear report published by the Adam Smith Institute on 11 September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has no plans to publish a response to the Reverse Gear report.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming Universal Credit by their preferred language.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information is not held. Universal Credit claims can only be made in English and Welsh.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 potential impact of removing the two-child benefit cap on child poverty in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Taskforce recognises the importance of place, including differences between urban and rural locations, as a driver of child poverty. Children and families in rural areas have played an important role in the development of the Child Poverty Strategy, including through their participation in our research with parents and carers, and with children – which included an emphasis of the importance and role of place in shaping their experiences. Strengthening local support is also one of the pillars through which we are developing the Strategy.
No assessment has been made of the impact of removing the Two Child Limit policy in West Dorset or on families in rural areas. However, statistics on the number of households and children in receipt of Universal Credit affected by the Two Child Limit policy are available by local authority and parliamentary constituency on the GOV.UK website, the latest being for April 2025: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK.
This government is committed to tackling child poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy which we will publish in the autumn. We are considering all available levers, including social security reforms, to give every child the best start in life. The causes of child poverty are wide-ranging and deep-rooted, and so it is right that the Taskforce carefully considers and assesses the available levers as it develops this Strategy.
In the meantime, we are pressing ahead with action.
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.
In August, we confirmed funding of £600m for the Holiday Activities and Food programme for the next three years, ensuring that children and young people can continue to benefit from enriching experiences and nutritious meals during the school holidays.