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 many Universal Credit overpayments arising from official error were identified in each month since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 many Universal Credit claims failed the Habitual Residence Test in each month since 1 July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a list of organisations represented at his Department's conference on food poverty on 14 and 15 January 2026.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP Food Poverty Conference took place at the Abbey Centre on 15 January 2026.
Our aim was to bring together a range of local authorities, other government departments, charities and academics to share and discuss a range of good practice happening on the ground to respond to increasing need in relation to food poverty.
We received a high level of interest in the conference. Due to venue capacity, places were offered on a first come first served basis.
We saw over 30 local authorities represented from different regions across England. Examples include the Greater London Authority, Medway Council, Bristol City Council, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, North Yorkshire Council, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and East Lindsey District Council. Local government sat alongside over a dozen national third sector organisations – such as Trussell, Feeding Britain, Sustain and Community Shop – as well as officials from across five government departments, including DWP, DfE, Defra, DHSC and MHCLG.
We’ve been encouraged by the positive feedback on the conference and the strong engagement shown across sectors. As a result, we are exploring the possibility of hosting a second conference online later in the year to enable more organisations to participate. We will provide further details as plans materialise.
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 many Universal Credit awards were made following the application of an exception to a No Recourse to Public Funds condition in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 estimate his Department has made of the amount paid in Universal Credit to claimants recorded as non-UK nationals by month since 1 July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 the average time was between the date refugee status was first recorded and first payment for Universal Credit claimants with refugee status in 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not centrally held by DWP, and to obtain 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, how many households are claiming housing benefits, either housing benefit or the housing element of Universal credit, in each Broad Market Rental Area (a) in total, (b) in the private rented sector and (c) in the social rented sector.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the number of households receiving the Universal Credit (UC) Housing Element in the Private Rented Sector by Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/).
Information on Housing Benefit (HB) caseload is available on Stat-Xplore disaggregated by Local Authority, but not by BRMA.
Housing support for social rented sector households claiming either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit is not determined within BRMAs. BRMAs only apply to housing support in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Warinder Juss (Labour - Wolverhampton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the impact of State Pension age changes for 1950s-born women living in Wolverhampton West.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age.
Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 adequacy of enforcement correspondence issued by the Child Maintenance Service in cases involving very small arrears, including where that correspondence refers to bailiff action, licence removal and imprisonment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) missed payment and arrears notifications do reference potential enforcement action that can be considered, should a paying parent continue to miss or avoid making child maintenance payments. This is to ensure the paying parent fully understands the potential consequences if their non-compliance persists.
The notification also asks the paying parent to contact CMS immediately, so we can work with the parent paying to negotiate a sustainable and feasible repayment plan. For small arrears, payments can spread over an appropriate timescale negating the need for enforcement action. Only, where this is not possible will CMS consider the use of our wider enforcement powers.
CMS uses a small‑value threshold (de minimis) before taking certain enforcement actions. This is to make sure any charges to customers are fair and not excessive. Therefore, enforcement action is not likely to be taken against very small arrears.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
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 cost of removing the three month waiting period for Child Disability Living Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no plans to remove the three month qualifying period for Child Disability Living Allowance and no estimate has been made of the cost of doing so. The three month qualifying period is not a waiting period. Its purpose is to help establish that the disability or health condition, and the resulting care, supervision or mobility needs are of a long-standing nature. This ensures that disability benefits are targeted to support those with long term health conditions or disabilities.
Children applying for DLA do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to the benefit. The case manager will always look at whether, and for how long, the person has required the necessary level of help for care and/or mobility purposes before the date of claim and consider whether some or all of the qualifying period has already been completed.
Children claiming DLA under the special rules for end of life do not have to satisfy the three month qualifying period. Their claim is fast tracked, and they are eligible for the higher-rate care component from the date of claim.