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Written Question
Childcare: Flexible Support Fund and Universal Credit
Thursday 20th March 2025

Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)

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 (a) assess the take-up levels of the (i) childcare element of Universal Credit and (ii) Flexible Support Fund to pay upfront childcare costs and (b) increase this number.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Universal Credit (UC) childcare element statistics are published quarterly. In the latest month for which data is available (November 2024), 177,000 UC households were paid the UC childcare cost element. In November 2024, 29% of households on Universal Credit with pre-school children and in which all claimants had earnings received the childcare element. For households with any child aged 16 or under, the figure is 13%.  This proportion has remained broadly consistent for around two years. We will continue to monitor this closely.

Take-up of the upfront childcare offer is assessed from monthly data on the number of upfront childcare transactions and their value, compared to an estimated number eligible. This data is shared with operational leaders to support conversations on how to increase take-up.

Recent initiatives to increase take-up of upfront childcare costs awards through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) include improved internal FSF guidance to work coaches. Imminent changes to Gov.uk and the Childcare Choices websites will highlight support for upfront childcare costs from DWP. We are also finalising the implementation schedule for UC Journal messages to customers with children, highlighting childcare support and the simplification of the application process.

Written Question
Pension Credit
Monday 7th October 2024

Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Table 2, page 9, footnote 2 of his Department's report entitled Fixing the foundations: Public spending audit 2024-25, published in July 2024, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people that will receive Pension Credit over (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fixing the Foundations showed Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) Winter Fuel Payments (WFP) savings of £1.4bn, for 2024/2025, for Great Britain. These included an assumption about increased take-up of Pension Credit which is in line with the highest levels it has achieved historically. Final savings will be certified and published by the Office for Budget Responsibility at the Autumn Budget on the 30th October, taking account of any behavioural response and associated impact on the estimated number of people who will receive Pension Credit in upcoming years.

Scheduled Event - Monday 6th February
View Source
Commons - Motion - Main Chamber
Draft Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2023
Department: Department for Work and Pensions
MP: Laura Trott
Speech in General Committees - Tue 15 Nov 2022
Draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022

"I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Murray. The regulations were laid before the House on 17 October. I am pleased to introduce this instrument that, subject to approval, will create the …..."
Laura Trott - View Speech

View all Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks) contributions to the debate on: Draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022
Speech in General Committees - Tue 15 Nov 2022
Draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022

"I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. The standards will be consulted on by MaPS and the FCA, but it is absolutely intended that they will be as user friendly as possible. A lot of testing will take place to ensure that that is the case.

The regulations, in …..."
Laura Trott - View Speech

View all Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks) contributions to the debate on: Draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022
Speech in General Committees - Tue 15 Nov 2022
Draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022

"I am grateful for both Opposition parties’ support for these important regulations.

I will write to the hon. Member for Reading East on some of the specifics, but will just cover some of his points. On the steps being taken to ensure data accuracy on dashboards, it is obviously crucial …..."
Laura Trott - View Speech

View all Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks) contributions to the debate on: Draft Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 08 Nov 2022
State Pension Triple Lock

"I thank all hon. Members for their valuable contributions to the debate.

Since 2010, pensioner incomes have gone up, absolute pensioner poverty has gone down and we have corrected the historic inequalities towards women in the state pension. That is a record that we on the Government Benches can be …..."
Laura Trott - View Speech

View all Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks) contributions to the debate on: State Pension Triple Lock
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 08 Nov 2022
State Pension Triple Lock

"We absolutely recognise that this is a very difficult time for pensioners. That is why we put a substantial package of support in place, which I will come on to later.

The Secretary of State set out, when opening the debate, that the results of his uprating review will be …..."
Laura Trott - View Speech

View all Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks) contributions to the debate on: State Pension Triple Lock
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 08 Nov 2022
State Pension Triple Lock

"We have been absolutely clear about our record since 2010. I have been clear that I cannot pre-empt the decisions of the Secretary of State. The point is that we on the Government Benches have put plans in place to help pensioners this winter. We are not waiting until next …..."
Laura Trott - View Speech

View all Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks) contributions to the debate on: State Pension Triple Lock
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 08 Nov 2022
State Pension Triple Lock

"My hon. Friend, on this as with so many other things, is absolutely right. I will make some progress now on my speech.

At the heart of the 2016 reforms we made to the state pension was a correction of some of the historic unfairness in the previous system, particularly …..."
Laura Trott - View Speech

View all Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks) contributions to the debate on: State Pension Triple Lock