Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target time is to process a new Pension Credit claim.

We currently aim to process claims within 35 days from receipt, although following the successful launch of our campaign to increase take up of Pension Credit, we have received an unprecedented number of claims, which has resulted in average processing increasing.

We are processing claims as quickly as possible and streamlining our processes, as well as increasing our staffing resources, which has resulted in the outstanding claims reducing considerably.

All successful claims and arrears are paid accordingly to ensure no one misses out.