Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the cost to the public purse of the communications campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit between April 2022 and October 2023.

To raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up, the Department launched a nationwide marketing and communications campaign in April 2022.

This campaign has included advertising on national TV, in regional and national newspapers, on local and national broadcast radio, medical centre and Post Office screens across Great Britain, as well as advertising on buses and digital street displays. Online marketing activity also included promotion of Pension Credit on social media, via internet search engines and sponsored advertising on targeted websites that pensioners, their friends and family are likely to visit.

Our Pension Credit Day of Action last year saw claims more than double to 275% compared to the same week the previous year - and we’re continuing to build on this success through various creative no-cost media campaigns to boost awareness of the benefit through broadcast, radio and print media.

The number of claims received in the financial year 2022/23 was higher than over the same period the year before.

The total cost of the campaign in the 2022/23 financial year was £2,785,927.23

The cost of the campaign in the 2023/24 financial year to October 2024 is £485,939.07.