Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that future reforms to Personal Independence Payment are accompanied by the publication of impact assessments on (a) mental health and (b) poverty.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have launched the Timms Review to ensure Personal Independence Payment is fair and fit for the future. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.
The Review will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026, and we have committed to holding a general debate in Parliament on its outcomes in government time.
The Government routinely considers impacts to inform ministerial decisions, and information on impacts will be published in line with usual practice, including alongside any legislation.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s 2025 report entitled Women’s state pension age: our findings for the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication of changes.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in his oral statement on 11 November 2025, we have decided to retake the decision made last December as it relates to the communications on state pension age.
The work is underway, and we will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to take steps to provide compensation to women impacted by changes to the state pension age.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in his oral statement on 11 November 2025, we have decided to retake the decision made last December as it relates to the communications on state pension age.
The work is underway, and we will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is he taking to simplify the pension credit application process.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is committed to modernising the Pension Credit service and regularly reviews the user experience to balance simplification with ensuring accurate awards.
A key objective of DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme is to make services more user-friendly and accessible. We are streamlining application routes by using information held internally to reduce the number of questions customers need to answer.
Claims can be made online, by telephone, or by post. The most popular method is online, where claims can be made 24/7 with help from a family member, friend, or third party. The online form now requires a maximum of 48 questions, and for some customers as few as 35. On average, it takes just 16 minutes to complete, with around 90% of new customers applying online or by phone.
For telephone claims, callers are guided through the process by an agent. We will continue to keep the Pension Credit application process under review to ensure it remains simple and accessible.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help increase the uptake of Pension Credit among eligible pensioners.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit taken-up campaign, promoting Pension Credit to eligible pensioners and their family and friends through adverts on television and radio; on social media and on digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices, as well as in the press. The latest burst of the campaign began in September, and further promotional activity is planned until the end of the financial year.
We are making better use of data to directly target potentially eligible households. Since February, all new Housing Benefit claimants who may be eligible have been invited to apply for Pension Credit. In September, the Department conducted a trial in partnership with Age UK and Independent Age targeting 2,000 households in England identified using HMRC and DWP data.
We are also undertaking research specifically looking into the factors that motivate people to make a claim as well as why some older people do not claim benefits to which they could be entitled, in order to build the evidence of what works to increase take-up.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the effectiveness of the Special Rules for End of Life fast-tracking benefits system.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). 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 or serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the fast-tracked access to benefits via SREL is maintained, while continuing to keep the effectiveness and efficiency of current system delivery under review.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care entitled Inquiry into the financial impact of a terminal diagnosis, published on 9 September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life. 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 or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. The recent UC bill ensures that all Special Rules for End of Life claimants will receive the higher LCWRA rate, no matter when they make their claim.
The Department values the insights and perspectives provided by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care and has noted the many recommendations made in the report.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help improve the financial security of people at the end of life.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it.
The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who have 12 months or less to live to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods and, in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ask the Pensions Commission to consider expansion of access to the State Pension for people of working age with terminal illnesses.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Terms of Reference for the Pensions Commission, which set out the scope for the Commission, were published on the 21st July. As set out in their Terms of Reference, the Commissioners will consider what is required in the long term to deliver financial security in retirement through a pensions framework that is stronger, fairer and more sustainable. The Commissioners will engage with a wide range of issues relevant to their terms of reference and will publish their findings in due course.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with (a) Citizens Advice, (b) disabled people and (c) carers as part of the upcoming Timms Review.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to co-producing the Timms Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This will include carers' organisations so that the voices of unpaid carers are heard.
I have been engaging widely over the summer, including with welfare rights organisations, to consider how to approach the review and how it can best be co-produced. I will share more details on this and how disabled people and other stakeholders will be involved in the review as plans progress.