Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 help support welfare claimants with learning difficulties during the migration process to Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provides tailored support for customers with learning difficulties during their migration to Universal Credit. This includes the Citizens Advice Help to Claim service, face-to-face assistance in Jobcentres, and a dedicated helpline.
Customers may also receive help from friends, family members, or approved third parties. Additionally, we offer an Enhanced Support Journey, alternative formats, and home visits to ensure the process is accessible and that customers feel supported throughout their transition.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets does the Department have for resolving housing arrears under Universal Credit, and how are these monitored.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Rent is a contractual arrangement between tenant and landlord. DWP is not party to this arrangement and does not monitor whether the contractual liability is being honoured. If a customer is vulnerable or in arrears we can, if it is deemed to be in their interest, arrange for payment to be made direct to the landlord and for an amount to be sent towards arrears. There are no Departmental targets with respect to the amount of arrears outstanding.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what action is being taken to simplify Universal Credit housing cost processes for vulnerable claimants and reduce waiting times.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Processes for declaring and verifying Universal Credit housing cost are designed to be simple and ensure timely and accurate payments. For Private Rented Sector (PRS) claimants, we ask for evidence of housing cost liability via secure upload, with alternatives for those claimants who can’t, or choose not to, verify in this way.
For the vast majority of Social Rented Sector (SRS) cases (around 95%), we verify housing costs through the landlord portal, which provides a direct response within a few days. For the small proportion of SRS cases not covered by the portal, verification is completed via email, which can take a little longer.
We are not aware of any significant problems with these processes at present. Payment timeliness has remained stable since the introduction of the landlord portal in 2017–19. We continuously evaluate the service and, where concerns are identified, we look to change or improve the way we deliver the service. This approach is intended to keep processes as simple and efficient as possible for all claimants, including those who are vulnerable.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to expand the use of direct payments to landlords for vulnerable tenants to prevent evictions and sustain tenancies.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Alternative Payment Arrangements are available to support those who cannot manage the Universal Credit (UC) single monthly payment, and where there is a risk of financial harm to the customer or their family. This includes direct payments to landlord for customers who have significant budgeting difficulties or rent arrears.
Direct payment requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and can be considered at the start or at any point during the UC claim to support the tenancy for the home the customer currently lives in. The need may be identified in the Service Centre, Jobcentre or requested by the claimant, their appointee, caseworker or landlord advising of a vulnerability, rent arrears or risk of eviction.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the proportion of Personal Independence Payment claimants who were below the poverty line on 4 July 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates of the proportion of Personal Independence Payment claimants below the poverty line in July 2025 are not available. Estimates for the 2025/26 financial year are due to be published in March 2027 as part of the “Households Below Average Income” publication. The most recent publication covers the 2023/24 financial year and can be found here: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK
Statistics on the number of individuals living in families where at least one member is in receipt of Personal Independence Payment that are in Absolute and/or Relative Poverty in 2023/24 are published on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/) in the Households Below Average Income dataset.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the uplift to the basic standard allowance of Universal Credit on the incomes of low income households in Bournemouth East constituency.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not have constituency level estimates of the forecasts available.
The latest published data on UC, in November 2024, shows that, in Bournemouth East, there were approximately 10,225 households on UC that were not subject to the benefit cap.
The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill was introduced to Parliament on 18 June 2025 and, subject to parliamentary approval, it will increase the Universal Credit Standard Allowance above inflation every year from 2026/27 to 2029/30. Based on current forecasts, the increase to the Standard Allowance in Universal Credit is estimated to be worth £725 a year by 2029/30 in cash terms for a single person aged 25 or over, which is around £250 more a year than if it were only uprated by inflation.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Institute for Fiscal Studies' report entitled The short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children’s outcomes, published in May 2025.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Institute for Fiscal Studies' report offers interesting insight into parental employment support provided through Sure Start. We will consider the findings and reflect on learning as part of DWPs key strategic aims.
The Department is actively engaged in supporting families including through the work of the child poverty taskforce. The value evidence and analysis as part of this policy making process. The taskforce will consider this report and others in this work.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the disability employment gap on (a) the public purse and (b) trends in the level of economic growth.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has published analysis which estimated the costs to the economy of working age ill-health or disabilities that prevent working in the UK, to be between £240 and £330 billion.
The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap, as part of a clear ambition to raise the overall employment rate to 80%. The Government has published a set of key indicators, including the disability employment rate gap, which is monitored regularly to assess progress and identify influencing factors.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of the NHS 10-Year Plan on (a) levels of employment and (b) the cost to the public purse of (i) health and (ii) incapacity benefits.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care Joint Work and Health Directorate was set up in recognition of the significant link between work and health and to improve employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions. The Directorate is staffed by officials in both Departments who report to both Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Work and Pensions Ministers. The Secretaries of State and Junior Ministers for Work and Pensions and for Health and Social Care meet on a regular basis.
We know that good work is generally good for health and wellbeing and that there are many disabled people who want to work. Our Pathways to Work Guarantee will provide work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions claiming out of work benefits.
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The Plan will break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. Furthermore, it outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work. Neighbourhood health services will support people to access services closer to home, which will benefit people whose disability may make travelling challenging.
NHS Health and Growth Accelerators are testing a novel approach where local NHS systems are supported to increase – and are held accountable for – the impact they have on people’s work status. If those Accelerators are successful, we will expect all integrated care boards (ICBs) to establish specific and measurable outcome targets on their contribution to reducing economic inactivity and unemployment based on this model. In developing that approach, we will expect ICBs to seek the closest possible collaboration with local government partners – including mayors and strategic health authorities in particular – so that citizens benefit from a seamless work, health and skills offer in their area
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care are working together and will continue to do so as the package of reforms is developed in detail.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Personal Independence Payments claims are related to an ongoing mental health condition for the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
PIP is assessed on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability rather than a diagnosis. Information on claimants whose primary health condition is a mental health condition can be found on Stat Xplore. The information you need can be found on the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ table. You can use the “month” filter to select the previous 12 months for which data is available, and the ‘Disability’ filter can be used to select those under mental health conditions. The “table options” setting can be used to select “percentages”.
You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.