Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department provides to HM Treasury for the purposes of forecasting future numbers of claims for (a) PIP and (b) the (i) Limited Capability for Work Element and (ii) Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity Element of Universal Credit; and whether her Department is responsible for any of the assumptions underpinning those forecasts.
Forecast number of claims for PIP and health components of Universal Credit are produced by the Department as part of overall expenditure forecasts provided to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) at each fiscal event. DWP provides forecasts of benefit payments based on DWP assumptions agreed by OBR, alongside economic determinants, judgments and assumptions provided by the OBR. These forecasts are shared with HM Treasury in parallel with the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Full details of the relationship between DWP, OBR and HMT can be found within the Memorandum of understanding between the Office for Budget Responsibility, HM Treasury, the Department for Work & Pensions, and HM Revenue & Customs.