Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to increase take-up of Carer’s Allowance among eligible carers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Carer’s Allowance (CA) offers financial support and recognition to unpaid carers in England and Wales who are unable to work full-time due to their caring responsibilities.
Information and guidance on CA entitlement is available through multiple channels, including Jobcentre Plus offices, gov.uk, and third-party organisations such as Citizens Advice, Carers UK and Carers Trust.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the average processing time for Personal Independence Payment claims in the latest three-month period.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The most recent available data on the average actual clearance times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims can be found in Tables 1 and 2 of the latest release of the Personal Independence Payment: Clearance/outstanding times and customer journey statistics for England and Wales. The collection can be found here: Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. Then navigate to the latest release.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce average waiting times for Access to Work applications and renewals.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reducing waiting times for Access to Work. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims by 27% and applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing are prioritised.
The Green Paper launched a consultation on the future of Access to Work which has now concluded. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the current clearance times for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit claims.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Monthly statistics on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments, by assessment month and decision time, are published on Stat-Xplore . They are available for claim starts to March 2025. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for child maintenance enforcement actions.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will do everything it can to address the non-payment of child maintenance and ensure appropriate enforcement action is taken in a timely manner.
Enforcement action can include deductions from earnings orders, or from bank accounts. Where that is not effective, CMS can apply to Court for a liability order, which legally recognises the debt. That is currently required before other enforcement action can be taken, including removal of driving licenses, disqualification from holding a passport, and committal to prison.
We are working to introduce administrative liability orders (ALO) which will replace the current requirement for the CMS to apply to the court for a liability order. Introducing a simpler administrative process will enable the CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and will get money to children more quickly.
Once it is introduced, we expect the new liability order process in the majority of cases to take around 6 weeks. Changes will mean the CMS can use its strong enforcement powers more quickly to go after those who wilfully avoid their financial obligations to their children.
We are working with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to establish a process for implementing ALOs and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament as soon as possible
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accuracy of automated decision-making tools used in benefit administration.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department uses automated decision-making in some areas, as described in our Personal Information Charter. Customers are told when an automated decision has been made in relation to their case, along with information on the steps they would need to take if they want to exercise their right to ask for a human to review that decision.
Using automated decision-making allows us to improve accuracy, speeds up delivery and frees up colleagues’ time so they can support the people who need it most.
DWP has a legal requirement to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place when carrying out automated decision-making. The Department carries out regular checks to ensure our systems are working as intended, and any new features go through rigorous testing.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Department has made of the level of access to face-to-face support for claimants with limited digital skills.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
If a work coach becomes aware a claimant lacks digital skills, they are able to refer to provision for Foundation Digital Skills, and then onto Essential Digital Skills training. In England, this is paid for by the adult skills budget.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Department has made of the impact of digital-only communications on claimant engagement and error rates.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP are continuing to explore the choice of contact channel to reduce the cost of benefits administration and meet the needs of our customers for faster communication. This is based on customer research. While some customers are already able to access messages digitally this is not the only way in which we communicate with those customers. In the future we expect to expand the scope of our digital communications, but with a customer preference capability to allow customers to control which channel they choose and take account of accessibility needs. All new services and capabilities are assessed for impact on error rates
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of fraud and error detection systems used in Universal Credit administration.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Over the last year, we have seen a statistically significant decrease in the Universal Credit overpayment rate from 12.4% to 9.7% of expenditure - this represents a 21% fall in the overpayment rate, equivalent to £1.7bn in terms of FYE 2025 Universal Credit expenditure. This compares to the Universal Credit overpayment peak of 14.7% of expenditure in FYE 2022.
On Wednesday 26 November the Office for Budget Responsibility also published an updated Universal Credit fraud and error forecast which shows the rate of Universal Credit overpayments is expected to drop to 7.5% of Universal Credit expenditure by 2028/2029.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of Jobcentre staffing levels to support claimants with complex needs.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that as a department we come into contact with some claimants who have complex needs or are vulnerable. The department already has processes in place to support and safeguard people who use our services, and we will continue to provide this support as changes are taken forward.
The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.