Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to (a) streamline application processes and (b) use technology for digital proof of IDs for pension claims made through the Government Gateway.

For State Pension claims, citizens are invited to claim by letter four months in advance of their State Pension Age. Citizens are provided a unique identifier to use the digital claim service. Where citizens cannot use the digital service, they are directed to a telephony service where identity is validated, and the application is completed on the citizens behalf. There is no need to use the Government Gateway.