Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost of Universal Credit payments were in each year between 2022 and 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Expenditure on Universal Credit was:
£40.6billion in the 21/22 financial year
£41.9billion in the 22/23 financial year
£52.1billion in the 23/24 financial year
Figures are taken from DWP's Spring Statement 2025 Benefit Expenditure and Caseload publication table 1a
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62940 on Occupational Money Purchase Schemes, what steps she is taking to encourage awareness of collective defined contribution schemes by (a) employers and (b) employees.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
My officials and I have been engaging extensively with a range of stakeholders to produce the legislative framework needed to accommodate whole-life CDC schemes with multiple unconnected employers, including with numerous employers. Regulations to implement this will be brought forward in the autumn.
We have ensured that the Money and Pensions Service’s MoneyHelper guidance, which is available to any member of the public, provides information on CDC schemes.
The Government has also published ‘Workplace pensions: a roadmap’ which sets out plans to support the growth of CDC provision.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 62538 on State Retirement Pensions: Northern Ireland, what the total cost to the public purse was of all payments of the State Pension in Northern Ireland in 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold complete information on State Pension payments in Northern Ireland, as some of these are administered by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.
The annual cost of State Pension payments administered by DWP to people resident in Northern Ireland is estimated to be around £4.34 million in 2024. This is based on latest figures for the quarter ending November 2024. Source: DWP Stat-Xplore.
This figure reflects State Pension payments made by DWP to people living in Northern Ireland and does not include any State Pension payments administered under the devolution settlement by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of collective defined contribution schemes in operation as of 31 December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As of the 31 December there was one collective defined contribution scheme in operation in the UK, the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the annual cost of State Pension payments to people resident in Northern Ireland in 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The annual cost of State Pension payments administered by DWP to people resident in Northern Ireland is estimated to be around £4.34 million in 2024. This is based on latest figures for the quarter ending November 2024. Source: DWP Stat-Xplore.
This figure reflects State Pension payments made by DWP to people living in Northern Ireland and does not include any State Pension payments administered under the devolution settlement by the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 effectiveness in reducing levels of (a) fraud and (b) error in benefit awards.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) sets out DWP’s approach to reducing fraud and error in the benefit system. The 2023/24 ARA can be found here:
ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2023-24 (publishing.service.gov.uk) and states that in 2023/24 DWP has estimated to have saved around £18 billion through preventative activity through frontline controls and detection by counter fraud teams. The 2024/25 ARA will be published shortly providing an up-to-date assessment including our progress in reducing the overall overpayment rate from 3.6% in 2023/24 to 3.3% in 2024/25, with the Universal Credit overpayment rate falling by 21% from 12.4% to 9.7% over the same period.
The Department has committed to significant fraud, error and debt measures at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spring Statement 2025, which OBR has estimated will deliver an additional £9.6bn savings over the next five years.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Pension Schemes Bill will be introduced before the summer recess 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Pension Schemes Bill was introduced on Thursday 5 June 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with employers organisations on the viability of multi-employer Collective Defined Contribution pension schemes.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department worked closely with a wide range of organisations, including those representing the interests of employers, in developing the policy and legislation to accommodate unconnected multiple employer collective defined contribution schemes.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total amount paid per week is to people who have started claiming Pension Credit since the changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment were announced.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest available data shows that, for all Pension Credit recipients, at August 2024, the average weekly amount of Pension Credit paid was £83.01. (Source: Stat-Xplore).
The next iteration of the DWP Benefit Statistics publication has a provisional release date of 13 May 2025 which will include data up to November 2024 and will be published on Stat-Xplore. DWP benefits statistics: May 2025 - Accredited official statistics announcement - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2025 to Question 23268 on State Retirement Pensions, what information her Department holds on the number of people who are (a) eligible for the Category D pension payment and (b) live in the UK who have not yet applied for the pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP is responsible for the State Pension administered in Great Britain while the Department for Communities is responsible for the State Pension administered in Northern Ireland.
As of the quarter ending August 2024, there were a total of 89,360 people in receipt of the Category D pension payment. This represents 87,938 people in Great Britain and 1,418 overseas.
Source: DWP Stat-Xplore Please note that numbers do not sum due to rounding.
No estimate is available for those living in the UK who have not yet applied for the Category D pension. Those who are ordinarily resident in Great Britain on their 80th birthday and who meet the required residency conditions will receive the increase automatically without having to make a claim if their basic State Pension is less than £101.55 a week (£105.70 from April 2025). Those who are getting no State Pension at age 80 or who get Graduated Retirement Benefit only, will need to make a claim.