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 steps his Department is taking to support Universal Credit claimants to repay overpayments resulting from administrative errors in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP strives to set affordable, and sustainable repayment plans and encourages customers to make contact if they are unable to afford the proposed repayment rate. In most cases, deductions from the UC standard allowance are capped at 15%.
When a customer makes contact due to financial hardship, the repayment rate may be reduced or, depending on the customer’s financial circumstances, a temporary suspension of repayment can be agreed. Where an individual considers that recovery is not appropriate given their circumstances, they should contact the Department. A request for a waiver can be made and we will consider a number of factors included in the department’s Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide in line with HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money guidance.
Independent financial advice is also available from organisations such as National Debtline Free Debt Advice and Support | National Debtline and MoneyHelper https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk
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 steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) accuracy of Universal Credit assessments and (b) prevent overpayment errors for working single parents in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to ensuring the accuracy of Universal Credit (UC) assessments and minimising overpayment errors for all claimants.
Improving Accuracy of Assessments
We have strengthened internal quality assurance processes and agent performance monitoring to ensure UC assessments are completed accurately, including:
We also continue to refine our data-sharing arrangements with other government departments to ensure timely and accurate information is used in assessments.
Preventing Overpayment Errors
The Department has introduced several measures to reduce overpayments, including:
These efforts have contributed to a reduction in the UC overpayment rate from 12.4% in 2023/24 to 9.7% 2024/25. The Department remains committed to further reducing error rates and improving outcomes for all UC claimants.
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 steps his Department is taking to support parents financially in order to improve birth rates in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government provides a range of state-funded support for new parents depending on individual circumstances. Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave and pay is available to working parents through their employers, and pregnant working women who do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay may be eligible for Maternity Allowance. Parents also have access to Child Benefit. Families who are not working or who are on low incomes can claim Universal Credit and may also be eligible for Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) and Healthy Start vouchers for food and milk. More information about benefits and financial support available to new parents can be found on www.gov.uk via the Childcare and Parenting link on the home page.
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 steps his Department is taking to support people with endometriosis in the workplace in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including women with endometriosis, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell.
It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025.
In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new additional funding by 2030. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.
The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, stated our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. Furthermore, it outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
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 steps his Department is taking to help reduce sickness absence rates in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to supporting people to remain in or return to work, particularly those experiencing health-related barriers. In Surrey, this commitment is being delivered through several targeted initiatives as part of the Government’s wider Pathways to Work reforms, which aim to improve employment support for people with health conditions and disabilities.
DWP's current offer to employers includes a digital information service, www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/ which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees to remain in work. This includes guidance on health disclosures and having conversations about health, plus guidance on legal obligations, including statutory sick pay and making reasonable adjustments.
Another intervention is the WorkWell pilot, which supports people both in and out of work. It provides low intensity holistic support for health and disability related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. WorkWell is being delivered in 15 areas across England, including Surrey Heartlands. Participants get a holistic assessment, and a tailored support plan that can include employer liaison; advice on workplace adjustments; health and wellbeing support; confidential support from specialist employment and skills advisors to explore new career opportunities in Surrey; and access to local mental health or physical activity support services within seven days. Participants in Surrey can be referred through primary care hubs, Jobcentre Plus, community-based services, or they can self-refer.
Employer led occupational health services provide expert advice on fitness for work, return-to-work plans, and workplace adaptations, helping individuals remain in work and return to work after sickness absence. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care’s OH reform programme has focused on increasing access to and uptake of occupational health services.
Together, these measures form part of a broader strategy to reduce sickness absence, improve productivity, and support economic growth in Surrey and across the country.
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 assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available to people with Parkinson’s in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition.
Entitlement to PIP focuses on the functional impacts of a person’s health condition or disability on their daily life. It is assessed on the basis of needs arising and not on the condition itself, so is available to individuals when they meet the PIP qualifying criteria.
PIP is non-contributory, non-means-tested and can be worth up to £9,747.40 a year, tax free. Receiving a qualifying rate of PIP can act as a ‘passport’ to extra money or higher amounts of other means-tested benefits, such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, and Housing Benefit. It can also provide access to council tax reductions and a Disabled Person's Railcard.
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing housing benefit for young people in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Most young people in receipt of support with housing will receive this support through the Housing Element of Universal Credit. However, there are some groups of customers receiving their rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, individuals living in supported housing or temporary accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit.
Maintaining rent support through Housing Benefit for customers (including young people) in this type of housing has meant that they are not subject to the same restrictions that apply in general needs housing. This approach recognises the higher costs that can be associated with these types of housing.
Any amendment to the Housing Benefit rules would apply to all of these groups and could result in Housing Benefit outstripping the provision provided by Universal Credit or undermining the work incentives.
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 assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available for children living in poverty in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. It is unacceptable that 9.5% of children in Surrey Heath constituency are in relative poverty (before housing costs). The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
As a significant downpayment ahead of Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through 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. We are also establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2 billion including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.
We’ve also committed to rolling out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority by April 2026 and creating up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028. Backed by £500m funding, this vital support will relieve pressure on parents and give half a million more children the very best start in life. And last month, 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.
These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.
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 steps her Department is taking to reduce child poverty in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. It is unacceptable that 9.5% of children in Surrey Heath constituency are in relative poverty (before housing costs). The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
As a significant downpayment ahead of Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through 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. We are also establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2 billion including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.
We’ve also committed to rolling out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority by April 2026 and creating up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028. Backed by £500m funding, this vital support will relieve pressure on parents and give half a million more children the very best start in life. And last month, 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.
These commitments come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.
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 steps her Department is taking to support older people in financial hardship in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the financial security and dignity they deserve. The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people and together with the private and workplace pensions system provides for security in retirement. That’s why we have made a commitment to the Triple Lock for the entirety of this Parliament which will see the forecast annual spend on people’s State Pensions rise by around £31 billion.
In April this year, the basic and new State Pensions increased by 4.1%, benefitting 12 million pensioners by up to £470 this year. That’s up to £275 more than if pensions had been up rated by inflation. The standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit, which provides a vital safety net for around 1.4m pensioners on the lowest incomes, also increased by 4.1%. Pension Credit can passport pensioners to a range of extra support including help with rent, council tax reduction, fuel bills (via the Warm Home Discount scheme and Cold Weather Payments) and a free TV licence for those over 75. We have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit campaign across Great Britain since Autumn 2024. Our drive to maximise Pension Credit take-up has seen the Department receive around 285,600 claims from July 2024 to May 2025 with almost 60,000 extra awards on the comparable period the previous year. Further promotional activity is planned from this Autumn through to the end of the financial year, as part of a nationwide campaign aimed at eligible pensioners, their friends and their families – including those in Surrey Heath.
The Household Support Fund also continues to provide support to those most in need, including older people in financial hardship. The Government has extended it in England until 31 March 2026 with funding of £742 million – and additional corresponding funding for the devolved administrations.