Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long does it take to restore the state pension once a prisoner is released.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
State Pension and Pension Credit payments are suspended immediately when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is notified by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that an individual has entered custody for a criminal offence.
A citizen who has served a criminal offence must inform DWP of their release to enable DWP to reinstate their payments. Upon receiving notification from the citizen, reinstatement of State Pension and Pension Credit is usually completed instantaneously. The timing of their first payment will depend upon their regular payment cycle, which is usually 4-weekly but can be changed to weekly upon request.
Of the c13 million citizens receiving State Pension, around 1,400 citizens per annum are subject to suspension of their payments due to imprisonment. In 2025, there were 1,415 State Pension and Pension Credit related cases suspended.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners are affected by the stopping of the state pension on imprisonment.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
State Pension and Pension Credit payments are suspended immediately when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is notified by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that an individual has entered custody for a criminal offence.
A citizen who has served a criminal offence must inform DWP of their release to enable DWP to reinstate their payments. Upon receiving notification from the citizen, reinstatement of State Pension and Pension Credit is usually completed instantaneously. The timing of their first payment will depend upon their regular payment cycle, which is usually 4-weekly but can be changed to weekly upon request.
Of the c13 million citizens receiving State Pension, around 1,400 citizens per annum are subject to suspension of their payments due to imprisonment. In 2025, there were 1,415 State Pension and Pension Credit related cases suspended.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the stopping of a state pension is automatic on imprisonment but reinstatement on release is not.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
State Pension and Pension Credit payments are suspended immediately when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is notified by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that an individual has entered custody for a criminal offence.
A citizen who has served a criminal offence must inform DWP of their release to enable DWP to reinstate their payments. Upon receiving notification from the citizen, reinstatement of State Pension and Pension Credit is usually completed instantaneously. The timing of their first payment will depend upon their regular payment cycle, which is usually 4-weekly but can be changed to weekly upon request.
Of the c13 million citizens receiving State Pension, around 1,400 citizens per annum are subject to suspension of their payments due to imprisonment. In 2025, there were 1,415 State Pension and Pension Credit related cases suspended.
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, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse that would have been incurred had compensation been provided to women affected by changes to the State Pension age in the Chichester constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has made its decision on this case based on due process and careful consideration of the body of evidence. We have decided it would not be appropriate to pay compensation and the detailed reasons for this decision have been placed in the House library.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of eligible pensioners in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency have applied for winter energy payments.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As of winter 2025/26, Winter Fuel Payments are made to all pensioners in England and Wales, with payments subsequently recovered via the tax system from pensioners with an annual income of more than £35,000 who have not previously opted out. This means no lower or middle-income pensioners will miss out, with the vast majority of pensioners – over three quarters – benefitting. Almost all Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically without any need to claim.
A very small number of individuals, for instance those who have deferred their State Pension, may need to contact DWP to claim a Winter Fuel Payment. Claims can be made up to 31 March 2026.
Winter Fuel Payment statistics are published annually, and the next publication for winter 2025/26 will be in September 2026: Winter Fuel Payment statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an independent process to set benefit levels in line with essential costs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Social Security Administration Act 1992 requires the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to review benefit and State Pension rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Where the relevant benefit or State Pension rates have not retained their value, legislation provides that the Secretary of State is required to, or in some instances may, up-rate their value. Following this review, State Pension and benefit rates are increased in line with statutory minimum amounts and others are increased subject to Secretary of State’s discretion.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what protections are in place within the Child Maintenance Service to support parents and children experiencing financial abuse.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and recognises that domestic abuse can take many forms including physical, emotional, or financial abuse, violent or threatening behaviour and coercive control.
CMS has procedures to ensure victims and survivors can use the service safely. All caseworkers receive training to identify abuse and signpost parents to specialist domestic abuse organisations where needed.
A Specialist Case Team manages the most complex cases, reducing the need for victims to repeat their experiences and ensuring tailored support for vulnerable customers.
For Direct Pay cases, CMS can act as an intermediary to exchange bank details, preventing any unwanted contact between parents. CMS can also advise on secure bank accounts with centralised sort codes to reduce the risk of location being traced.
The Government's intention remains to remove Direct Pay and move to a single service in which CMS collects and transfers all payments. This will remove the need for victims and survivors to provide evidence of domestic abuse and eliminate direct contact between parents. CMS will monitor all payments and act swiftly where payments fail, helping to tackle non-compliance and better support victims and survivors. We intend to implement these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration is made when awarding work capability assessment contracts of potential additional costs to the Exchequer involved in contractors awarding bonuses or making performance related salary uplifts.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Functional Assessment Services contracts (including delivery of Work Capability Assessments) are outsourced to four prime contractors. The Department awarded these contracts following fair and open competition to deliver the best value for taxpayers. This included evaluating all of the proposed costs of delivery (including all remuneration to employees).
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 people since the start of 2025 have been awarded PIP after an assessment a) in-person b) over the phone or c) via video call.
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: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 value for money of providing equipment and technology through the Flexible Support Fund, and whether alternative models have been considered.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is clear guidance in place for work coaches to follow when making awards. Work coaches must explore all other potential sources of financial support before using the Flexible Support Fund (FSF), so that spend does not duplicate provision which is funded elsewhere by government, partners or commercial providers. Post-award checks are in place to confirm funded items, including equipment and technology, are being used as intended, with explanations or repayment sought where concerns arise.
A new digital FSF application system, due to launch nationally by the end of March, will strengthen oversight by providing improved data and enabling more detailed scrutiny of awards. This will ensure funding is used appropriately and delivers value for money.