Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Department’s press release entitled Expansion of support scheme to help thousands of people back into work, published on 20 January 2026, what proportion of people supported by the WorkWell pilot have been able to earn a sufficient income to no longer require support from universal credit.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
WorkWell will be rolled out across all of England backed by up to £259 million over the next three years.
WorkWell gives funding to local Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to lead, design and deliver integrated work and health support that meets the needs of working age disabled people and those with health conditions in their communities.
Management information from the pilot can be found at: WorkWell Pilot Management Information from 1 October 2024 to 30 November 2025 - GOV.UK
An independent consortium of evaluators will carry out a national evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the WorkWell pilot, using surveys, interviews and econometric measures of success. The final evaluation report is estimated to be available in Autumn 2028.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-UK nationals who entered in the United Kingdom without leave since July 2024 are in receipt of payments from his Department; and what is the (a) total and (b) per person sum of those payments.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Those in the UK without lawful status are persons subject to immigration control and have no recourse to public funds. This means that those in the UK without a valid immigration status are not able to access public funds benefits including Universal Credit.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims from single parents with (a) Work preparation and (b) All work-related activity Claimant Commitment requirements have been closed since 2023 due to non-acceptance of the Commitment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is not held. A claimant must accept their claimant commitment to be assigned a conditionality group. Failure to do so will result in their claim being closed.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many a) UK nationals and b) non-UK nationals are in receipt of Universal Credit, who are currently abroad for a period of more than six months.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
A customer who is claiming Universal Credit (UC) can go abroad for up to one calendar month. If the claimant exceeds the period abroad and the reason for the trip abroad does not fall under circumstances that allow exemption, a temporary absence decision will be made and assessment periods that exceed the month can be reduced to nil entitlement. If there is a doubt on whether the claimant is habitually resident, a Habitual Residence Test will take place and a decision made on whether the claim should be disallowed.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a) making Universal Credit and other benefits data available to Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of Automatic Voter Registration, and b) allowing people who update their address with his Department to update their voter registration automatically at the same time.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP promotes a culture of encouraging data sharing for public good whilst ensuring this is done in a secure, legal and ethical way. DWP require both a lawful basis and legal power to share personal data.
DWP has been supporting Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) with since 2014 when Individual Electoral Registration (IER) was introduced in England and Wales. You can now register to vote online in as little as 3 minutes. All you need is your name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number. DWP data is used within this process.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many a) UK nationals and b) non-UK nationals are in receipt of Universal Credit, who are currently abroad for a period of up to six months.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
A customer who is claiming Universal Credit (UC) can go abroad for up to one calendar month. If the claimant exceeds the period abroad and the reason for the trip abroad does not fall under circumstances that allow exemption, a temporary absence decision will be made and assessment periods that exceed the month can be reduced to nil entitlement. If there is a doubt on whether the claimant is habitually resident, a Habitual Residence Test will take place and a decision made on whether the claim should be disallowed.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they have provided for food banks in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Food banks are operated by independent charitable and community organisations. Social security, including welfare support, is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Government's Child Poverty Strategy includes measures such as lifting the two-child benefit cap, the Universal Credit deduction reforms and increasing the National Living Wage that will apply in Northern Ireland, so providing better support for low-income families.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether food banks are a devolved matter to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Food banks are operated by independent charitable and community organisations. Social security, including welfare support, is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Government's Child Poverty Strategy includes measures such as lifting the two-child benefit cap, the Universal Credit deduction reforms and increasing the National Living Wage that will apply in Northern Ireland, so providing better support for low-income families.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals that have migrated from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit in the last 12 months have had the amount of council tax support they receive reduced.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not administer the Council Tax Reduction scheme and therefore does not hold the data required to answer this question.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps with local authorities to help ensure that when vulnerable claimants move into temporary accommodation they are supported to make the necessary changes to their claims.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department works closely with local authorities, who are responsible for administering Housing Benefit for people living in temporary accommodation. Housing Benefit covers housing costs in temporary accommodation, while Universal Credit supports daily living costs.
When a claimant moves into temporary accommodation, they or their appointee must report any change of circumstances through their Universal Credit account. Local authorities cannot do this on a claimant’s behalf.
Jobcentre staff in England support customers at risk of homelessness through the statutory Duty to Refer, offering a referral to a local authority for housing support.