Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
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 waiting times for Pension Credit applications.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) published on 22nd July 2024 DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%. The next publication of the ARA will include claims processed in the financial year 2024 to 2025 and is due for publication in the summer.
The Department is working hard to meet its published timeliness standard of processing claims and reduce Pension Credit processing times, DWP deployed over 500 additional people. As a result, the Department is clearing more cases. The latest Pension Credit published statistics show DWP cleared 211,600 Pension Credit claims from 29 July 2024 to 9 February 2025, representing an 87% increase in clearance compared to 112,900 cleared Pension Credit claims for the comparable 2023/24 period (31 July 2023 to 11 February 2024). Subsequently, our latest published statistics up to February 2025 show outstanding volumes have reduced Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK. Escalation arrangements are also in place for cases where individuals are identified as being vulnerable or in immediate hardship.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to reduce waiting times for Access to Work applications.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Demand for the Access to Work Scheme has been growing. In 2023-2024, 67,720 people were approved for Access to Work provision. This is around a 32% increase compared to the previous year. Alongside this, there is a significant delay in processing Access to Work applications. As of February 2025, there were 62,000 applications outstanding.
We are committed to reducing waiting times for Access to Work. We have streamlined delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. We will also consider further changes within the existing policy framework to reduce waiting times.
In March 2025, the department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which consults on the future of Access to Work. The backlog, coupled with significant increases in expenditure in recent years requires us to consider how resources should be best directed to ensure the service is sustainable.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
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 implementing face-to-face Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since July 2024, there has been no change in policy regarding assessing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims remotely. We remain committed to enabling a multi-channel assessment approach, but as announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we will be carrying out more face-to-face assessments.
As part of the Functional Assessment Service (FAS) process, the feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance, for all cases. Where a paper-based review is not possible the claimant will be invited to an assessment.
Before an invitation to an assessment is sent, consideration will be given to claimants who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances. Other claimants who can undertake any assessment type will be allocated to the next available appointment; however, this can be changed if the claimant informs us that a reasonable adjustment is appropriate in their circumstances.
The department audits FAS suppliers to ensure that the correct PIP assessment channel type has been selected for the claimant. This provides assurance that claimants are routed to the most appropriate assessment type.