Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 92953 on State Retirement Pensions: Women, if he will make an estimate of the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's findings (HC 638) on 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: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's findings (HC 638) on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has made no such assessment.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
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 women to have died since the publication of the Government’s Response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Investigation into and Reports on the Women’s State Pension age on 17 December 2024; what plans she has for a compensation scheme for women adversely affected by the State Pension age changes; and whether she will make it her policy to enter into alternative dispute resolution.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The decision not to set up a compensation scheme is now subject to live litigation and the High Court has granted permission for a full hearing.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Trussell document entitled Guarantee our essentials, published in June 2025, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report's estimates of the total amount needed to afford essentials for adults in a household of (a) £120 for a single adult and (b) £205 for a couple.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Fifty-seventh Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 2022-23 on AEA Technology Pension Case, HC 1005, published on 14 June 2023, and to Questions 329 and 330 of the oral evidence given by the Minister for Pensions to the Work and Pensions select committee on 10 January 2024, HC 144, what steps she is taking to implement a redress scheme.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In its response to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the AEA Technology case, the department agreed to consider the PAC recommendation to ‘ensure that people have an adequate route of appeal when considering complaints about their occupational and personal pensions, through a review of the Ombudsman’. Progress on the PAC and subsequent WPC recommendations were paused due to the General Election. The department remains committed to providing the PAC with an update once the Cabinet Office has considered how it would like departments to scope and schedule a new series of reviews for public bodies.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people previously diagnosed with (a) Down Syndrome and (b) other severe learning difficulties will be required to undergo a further assessment when their (i) personal independence payment and (ii) employment support allowance are migrated to universal credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People claiming Employment Support Allowance are being migrated to Universal Credit, but anyone on Personal Independence Payment will remain on it. Customers who move to UC following the receipt of a migration notice from ESA have their LCW or LCWRA moved with them to UC.
So, for the vast majority of cases there is no need for a new WCA.
The Work Capability Assessment is a functional assessment that applies to both UC & Employment and Support Allowance. Receipt of other benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) do not provide an automatic passport to LCW or LCWRA as the assessment criteria are different. Therefore, customers in receipt of PIP only, may be referred for a WCA if they declare a health condition when making their claim to Universal Credit.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q329 of the oral evidence given to the Work and Pensions Committee by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions on 10 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on formulating an adequate means of redress for Atomic Energy Agency Technology pensioners; and what his time-scale is for implementing remedial action.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Following the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) on the 10 January, The Department of Work and Pensions officials have met with their Cabinet Office counterparts who have responsibility for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Conversations with Cabinet Office are ongoing. This is a complex issue requiring further consideration, therefore there is no set timescale.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
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 retired Atomic Energy Agency Technology personnel who have died in the last (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years without having resolved matters relating to their pensions.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on members of the Atomic Energy Agency Technology pension scheme.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the financial (a) impact upon and (b) assistance available to people of working age forced to leave their jobs following a diagnosis of terminal illness; and if she will make it her policy to enable such people to have early access to their state pension.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Government wants to do all it can to alleviate the pressures on those nearing the end of their lives, and on their families.
The main way that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does this is through special benefit rules, sometimes referred to as “the Special Rules”. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. For many years, the Special Rules have applied to people who have 6 months or less to live and now they are being changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live.
Once the change has been fully rolled out across all benefits, each year, between 30,000 and 60,000 people may benefit from these changes to the Special Rules. This will mean that the Government is spending approximately £115 million a year more on people who are nearing the end of their lives.
There are no plans to allow early access to State Pension.
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it, including when they near or reach retirement. Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work or are on a low income but are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason UK pensioners who have (a) fully contributed throughout their working lives and (b) moved abroad after retirement have their state pension frozen at the rate which applied when they emigrated; and if she will (i) review the ethical basis of and (ii) take steps to bring an end to that practice.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions overseas is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. There are no plans to change this policy.
This Government continues to take the view that priority should be given to those living in Great Britain when drawing up expenditure plans for pensioner benefits.