Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2019 to Question 243355, what assessment he has made of the merits of a formal policy monitoring spending aimed at increasing take-up rates of pension credit.

Since 2010, the DWP have increased the annual level of the basic State Pension by £1,450. In 2018/19 we will spend £121.5 billion on benefits for pensioners and by 2023/24 this rises to £143.5 billion. The DWP's policy and essential information to a broad range of customers and other key audiences and provides services to around 22 million people either directly or using a multitude of partners from the third sector. Given that the DWP uses a variety of different channels to communicate information about Pension Credit to potential customers, there are no plans to change the existing arrangements beyond monitoring actual Pension Credit expenditure and the amount of Pension Credit that goes unclaimed. However, the DWP does monitor the take-up of income related benefits, including Pension Credit.