Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since 21 March 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and National Records Scotland (NRS) publish annual data on deaths by sex and age group on their websites.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of restricting access to the limited work capability component of Universal Credit for those under the age of 22 on (a) armed forces early service leavers and (b) people who have been medically discharged from the armed forces.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our recent Pathways to Work Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, we announced a broad package of reforms to the health and disability benefit and support system. Importantly, no changes are proposed to Armed Forces Independence Payments (AFIP), which continue to provide support to some of the most severely disabled veterans.
For those in receipt of PIP who may be affected by the proposed eligibility changes, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to ensure health and eligible care needs are met. We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment process, bringing together experts, stakeholders, and individuals with lived experience. We will provide further details as plans progress.
As we develop proposals further, we are carefully considering the potential impacts, including on veterans and their families, as part of our broader response to the Green Paper consultation. We would encourage organisations supporting and representing veterans, such as the Royal British Legion, the Soldiers', Sailors', and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA), and many others, to contribute their views on how best to support wounded, injured, and sick veterans.
I have also asked my officials to work with their counterparts in the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) to organise a dedicated consultation event for armed forces stakeholders, likely to take place in June. We are also providing detailed briefings on the proposals to Ministry of Defence (MoD) and OVA officials. Once we have completed the consultation we will be building up to a White Paper, where we will once again engage with MoD and the OVA in advance of collective agreement.
We are also welcoming views on raising the age at which someone can access the Universal Credit health element to 22 as part of our Green Paper consultation.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned restructuring of the health component of Universal Credit on (a) armed forces veterans and their dependents and (b) armed forces veterans with limited access to employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our recent Pathways to Work Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, we announced a broad package of reforms to the health and disability benefit and support system. Importantly, no changes are proposed to Armed Forces Independence Payments (AFIP), which continue to provide support to some of the most severely disabled veterans.
For those in receipt of PIP who may be affected by the proposed eligibility changes, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to ensure health and eligible care needs are met. We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment process, bringing together experts, stakeholders, and individuals with lived experience. We will provide further details as plans progress.
As we develop proposals further, we are carefully considering the potential impacts, including on veterans and their families, as part of our broader response to the Green Paper consultation. We would encourage organisations supporting and representing veterans, such as the Royal British Legion, the Soldiers', Sailors', and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA), and many others, to contribute their views on how best to support wounded, injured, and sick veterans.
I have also asked my officials to work with their counterparts in the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) to organise a dedicated consultation event for armed forces stakeholders, likely to take place in June. We are also providing detailed briefings on the proposals to Ministry of Defence (MoD) and OVA officials. Once we have completed the consultation we will be building up to a White Paper, where we will once again engage with MoD and the OVA in advance of collective agreement.
We are also welcoming views on raising the age at which someone can access the Universal Credit health element to 22 as part of our Green Paper consultation.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she will take to support people with (a) Multiple Sclerosis and (b) other fluctuating or progressive neurological conditions under the proposed reforms to PIP.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I recognise the vital role played by carers and family members in supporting individuals with MS. Through the Green Paper we are consulting on the support needed for those who may lose any entitlements because of proposed changes to PIP daily living and what this support could look like. We will also work closely with the DHSC and others on how the health and eligible care needs of those who would lose entitlement to PIP could be met outside the benefits system.
In the Green Paper, we committed to a review of the PIP assessment which I will be leading. Through the review, we want to make sure that the PIP assessment is fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors - and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence.
We outlined our commitment to improving the PIP assessment in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. We will take action to get the basics right and improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits. This includes recording health assessments as standard to build greater trust in the system. The aim is to create greater transparency, using recordings as a learning opportunity to consider potential improvements to the quality of the assessment process.
I will work closely with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, those who support them, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.
The scope and timing of the review will be developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. I have now begun the first phase of this work, inviting stakeholders with a range of experience and expertise to roundtables to consider the scope and timing. I will then publish the Terms of Reference for the review in due course.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 ensure that (a) carers and (b) family members of people with Multiple Sclerosis are (i) supported and (ii) recognised in the context of proposed changes to disability-related benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I recognise the vital role played by carers and family members in supporting individuals with MS. Through the Green Paper we are consulting on the support needed for those who may lose any entitlements because of proposed changes to PIP daily living and what this support could look like. We will also work closely with the DHSC and others on how the health and eligible care needs of those who would lose entitlement to PIP could be met outside the benefits system.
In the Green Paper, we committed to a review of the PIP assessment which I will be leading. Through the review, we want to make sure that the PIP assessment is fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors - and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence.
We outlined our commitment to improving the PIP assessment in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. We will take action to get the basics right and improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits. This includes recording health assessments as standard to build greater trust in the system. The aim is to create greater transparency, using recordings as a learning opportunity to consider potential improvements to the quality of the assessment process.
I will work closely with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and others, to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, those who support them, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.
The scope and timing of the review will be developed in close collaboration with stakeholders. I have now begun the first phase of this work, inviting stakeholders with a range of experience and expertise to roundtables to consider the scope and timing. I will then publish the Terms of Reference for the review in due course.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 impact of the proposed changes to PIP on people living with Multiple Sclerosis.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.
Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 impact of welfare changes on the mental health of claimants in (a) South East Cornwall constituency, (b) rural areas and (c) coastal areas.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.