Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average processing time is for a support for mortgage interest claim; and what proportion of claims have been approved over the last two years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In answer to your first question, we do not record processing times for Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) Loans. This is because the start date of the process is not consistently defined or easily identifiable. There is flexibility built into the timings of the process to meet the needs of the customer. As SMI is a loan, those offered the loan can choose to accept or decline at any time and payments can be backdated to the day someone first became eligible.
On your second question, all eligible benefit recipients are offered a loan when they become eligible for SMI and they can choose to accept or decline. We publish the number of households receiving SMI on a bi-annual basis here.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how universal credit payments are being managed to ensure timely support.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The latest monthly statistics on payment timeliness are available in the Households on Universal Credit section of the official quarterly Universal Credit Statistics published on 17 February 2026, with more detailed statistics available in tables 5 and 6 of the Households on Universal Credit dataset on Stat-Xplore.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
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 steps his Department is taking to introduce a digital application process for Disability Living Allowance for children.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We keep all our services under review including Disability Living Allowance (Child). As part of this approach to continuous improvement, we regularly consider opportunities to improve customer service.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will continue to fund the Level 5 Outdoor Learning Specialist Apprenticeship in order to allow (a) the cohort already accepted for the scheme to continue and (b) substantive consultation with the sector to take place.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Over the past decade we’ve seen apprenticeship starts by those aged 16-24 fall by 40% and over half of all apprenticeship starts are now by learners aged 25 and over. At the same time, we have seen the apprenticeship offer increase to over 700 standards, many of which do not support critical skills shortages.
Even with record investment of £3.3bn in 2026-27, the Growth and Skills Levy budget is finite. With 100% of our budget spent last year we need to prioritise in order to deliver foundation apprenticeships and short courses alongside the core apprenticeship offer. We are therefore withdrawing funding from 16 apprenticeships from September 2026, including the Level 5 Outdoor Learning Specialist standard.
These changes will help to create the headroom to invest in our national skills priorities with more opportunities for more young people, and new apprenticeship units to provide a more flexible offer to businesses. We are continuing to fund the related Level 3 Outdoor Activity Instructor apprenticeship which provides an entry route into this profession.
All existing learners on the Level 5 Outdoor Learning Specialist standard will continue to be funded through to completion, and providers have been written to individually to confirm their transition arrangements. Employers who value this apprenticeship standard will also be able to use it on a privately funded basis.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the minimum income floor on farmers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is currently undertaking a review of Universal Credit to ensure it is delivering on its core objectives of tackling poverty and making work pay. As part of that review, we have been engaging with our stakeholders, including those who represent the interests of farmers and have listened to their views and are reflecting on that feedback as part of the review.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 the medical assessment stage of Personal Independence Payment claims in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is committed to ensuring that Personal Independence Payment claimants receive timely assessments and continues to work closely with its suppliers to improve customer experience across all geographical areas, including Nottinghamshire and the wider East Midlands.
We have introduced a range of measures to increase assessment capacity and reduce waiting times. These include ongoing recruitment and training of additional health professionals and a series of process improvements to streamline the assessment journey.
Waiting times can vary by region due to local demand and operational factors. Assessment suppliers actively monitor regional performance to ensure resources are deployed where they are most needed, and additional capacity will be directed where appropriate.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 87358 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations, how many and what proportion of Personal Independence Payment (a) assessments and (b) reassessments were carried out (i) face-to-face, (ii) remotely and (iii) on paper in each month since September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
While this information is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing this data in a future statistical release.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to The Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of moving double-paydays to subsequent assessment periods on (a) working Universal Credit recipients and (b) resourcing within her Department; and what steps she is taking to reduce the impact on (i) claimants and (ii) resources.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recognises that receiving two sets of earnings from the same employer within a single Universal Credit assessment period can create unexpected fluctuations in a claimant’s award. This situation typically occurs when a claimant’s monthly payday falls very close to the end of their assessment period, resulting in two wage payments being reported through HMRC’s Real Time Information (RTI) system in the same month. To address this, the Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020 were introduced, allowing one set of monthly paid earnings to be reallocated to a different assessment period to ensure awards are calculated fairly. This rule only applies where earnings are paid calendar monthly.
The Department’s assessment found that enabling the reallocation of earnings has a positive impact on working UC recipients. By smoothing income across assessment periods, the change reduces financial volatility for the relatively small number of households affected and helps maintain a regular payment cycle. Importantly, it also prevents claimants from losing their Work Allowance in months when double reporting would otherwise occur.
Most cases affected by double earnings are now identified and corrected automatically, minimising any burden on customers and administrative pressure on the Department.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant UIN 87565 what steps his Department is taking to address the challenges it has identified in the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for young people in supported accommodation, and whether a timetable has been set for considering potential reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As confirmed at Autumn Budget, we will be introducing new earned income disregards for those in receipt of Housing Benefit and live in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation. This will help smooth the transition between the Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, and reduce the financial cliff edge for individuals in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation as they move into work or increase their hours.
This will require legislative changes and be accompanied by IT changes made to local authority IT systems. In preparation for this, we have already begun engagement with stakeholders to ensure that the implementation meets the needs of those affected. This is accompanied by clear communications to support local authorities, housing providers and third sector organisations to ensure that eligible customers are aware of and able to utilise this change.
The new disregards will be in place from Autumn 2026.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
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 improve transparency in Child Maintenance Service decision‑making.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to making its decisions clear, accessible, and transparent.
Whenever a decision is made that affects a child maintenance calculation or payment arrangements, CMS issues notifications to customers explaining the outcome. Where the maintenance calculation changes, customers are provided with information setting out how the new calculation has been reached.
CMS is taking steps to improve communications with parents by simplifying content and retiring outdated letters. In addition, the online My Child Maintenance Case service enables parents to view their case details, track changes, check their current position and view digital copies of notifications at any time. CMS are continuing to develop this service to provide even more information to customers.