Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of trends in changes in waiting times for cases initially to be assigned at the Pensions Ombudsman over the past two years.

Waiting times for cases to be initially assigned at The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) have increased over the past two years, primarily due to sustained growth in demand, alongside a backlog of complex cases. TPO has implemented an Operating Model Review to improve efficiency and throughput, which has increased case closures and begun to stabilise waiting times.

However, waiting times for assignment, particularly for more complex cases, remain longer than desired.