Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receive the basic state pension and the additional state pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In Great Britain in 2025/26, around 8.1 million individuals were forecast to receive the basic State Pension (this is the State Pension under the pre-2016 system), with around 6.9 million of these individuals forecast to receive the Additional State Pension*. These estimates all refer to pensions administered by DWP for State Pensions accrued in Great Britain.
*The Additional State Pension is an earnings-related element of the pre-2016 State Pension and could include Additional Pension, State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and State Second Pension (S2P) elements.
Source: Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables 2025
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people on the basic State Pension have inherited part of the additional State Pension from their deceased spouse or partner.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department does not hold published readily accessible data on the number of individuals in receipt of the Basic State Pension who have inherited part of the Additional State Pension from a deceased spouse or partner.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Oral Statement on 11 November 2025 entitled Pensions, if he will publish the research findings from the Department's 2007 evaluation on the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Report no.447 “Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts” is publicly available and can be accessed at:
As confirmed in the Written Statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 11 November, a copy of DWP Research Report no.447 “Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts” has also been deposited in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Oral Statement on 11 November 2025 entitled Pensions, whether the 2007 report on the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters is the one referenced in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report entitled Women's State Pension Age: our findings on the Department for Work and Pension's communication of changes.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s reports titled “Women’s State Pension age: our findings on the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication of changes”, published 19 July 2021, and “Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues”, published 21 March 2024, both refer to findings from DWP’s ‘Evaluation of Automatic Pension Forecast’ research.
In retaking the decision, we will review the evidence from DWP’s ‘Evaluation of Automatic Pension Forecasts’ Research Report, no.447 alongside evidence previously considered. The process to retake the decision has already begun.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the 2007 report on the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters is the one referenced in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report entitled Women's State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s reports titled “Women’s State Pension age: our findings on the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication of changes”, published 19 July 2021, and “Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues”, published 21 March 2024, both refer to findings from DWP’s ‘Evaluation of Automatic Pension Forecast’ research.
In retaking the decision, we will review the evidence from DWP’s ‘Evaluation of Automatic Pension Forecasts’ Research Report, no.447 alongside evidence previously considered. The process to retake the decision has already begun.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners receive the full state pension as their only income.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department does not hold readily available information to identify how many pensioners receive the full State Pension as their only income. Information is, however, available from Departmental survey data which shows, in 2023/24, around 1.1m pensioner families in the UK received the State Pension and other state benefits as their only source of income. This information is published in the Pensioner Incomes series.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
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 young people who had dropped out of further education were trying to find work or training on 20 October 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold data on the number of people who have dropped out of further education and are searching for work or training.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to distribute funding for people not in education, employment or training through the Youth Guarantee scheme in each region.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are developing a Youth Guarantee to ensure young people aged 18-21 can access high-quality training, apprenticeships, and personalised support to find work.
As a first step, we are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers across England who are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities.
In August 2025, we confirmed we are extending the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers for a further year, to continue supporting young people in 2026/27.
The insights gained from the Trailblazers will inform the future design and delivery of the Youth Guarantee.