Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions on (a) access to employment, (b) levels of economic inactivity and (c) levels of workplace absence.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP publishes annual official statistics to monitor employment outcomes for disabled people including those with ‘Musculoskeletal conditions’. These statistics show that working age (16 to 64) disabled people with ‘Musculoskeletal conditions’ are less likely to be in employment compared to the working age population as a whole. The employment rate for working age disabled people with a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ was 52.3% in 2024/25 compared to 75.4% for all people aged 16 to 64.
Source: The employment of disabled people 2025 (Table LMS004) - GOV.UK and Nomis - Query Tool - annual population survey
In 2024/25 2.0 million people aged 16 to 64 who reported a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ were economically inactive. This represents 39.9% of all people with a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ compared to 19.1% of people without a ‘Musculoskeletal condition’ who were economically inactive.
Source: The employment of disabled people 2025 (Table EIA009) - GOV.UK
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also publishes statistics on Sickness absence in the UK labour market from the same source – the Labour Force Survey. The latest statistics show that in 2024 26.5 million working days were lost in the UK due to a ‘Musculoskeletal condition' which equates to 17.8% of all working days lost.
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the main source of data for people with ‘Musculoskeletal conditions’ in the UK labour market. This includes people with arthritis, back pain, neck and upper limb problems. However, it is not possible to specifically identify those with arthritis from the LFS therefore this data is not readily available from published sources.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have registered for Pension Credit since the announcement of changes to the eligibility requirements for the Winter Fuel Payment in Waveney Valley constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest statistics on Pension Credit application volumes were published on 27 February 2025. This provides an update to the Applications and Awards data, including those awarded and not awarded and also statistics on the number of outstanding Pension Credit applications. The statistics provide weekly information for the period 3 April 2023 up to 23 February 2025. Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK.
We do not hold data at regional or constituency level for applications made.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women born (a) on or (b) after April 6 1950 have been impacted by the changes to pension age in Waveney Valley constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As of the 2021 census, there were approximately 33,700 women who were born in 1950 or later, in the Waveney Valley constituency. Of these, approximately 6,900 were born in the 1950s.
It is not possible to accurately calculate the exact number of women born after April 6, 1950.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on average waiting times for decisions on (a) offline and (b) digital Pension Credit applications.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We are unable to provide Pension Credit average waiting times for decisions separately for offline and digital claims. Average Actual Clearance Times are measured weekly. The table below shows Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) from the end of week commencing 2nd September to the end of week commencing 21st October, in working days.
DWP currently works to a planned timescale of 50 working days to clear Pension Credit claims.
Source | 02/09/24 | 09/09/24 | 16/09/24 | 23/09/24 | 30/09/24 | 07/10/24 | 14/10/24 | 21/10/24 | |
Winter Fuel Payment Dashboard | Pension Credit Claims AACT | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 33 | 37 | 44 | 52 |
Please note.