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Written Question
Climate Change and Nature Conservation: Devolution
Thursday 16th May 2024

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take with the devolved Administrations to integrate (i) climate and (ii) nature plans.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

DESNZ works closely with the Devolved Administrations on climate and net zero issues, including through the Interministerial Group for Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change which supports effective engagement and collaboration in areas of shared interest between the UK administrations. The group last met on 13 March.

Many UK Government departments play a vital role in delivering carbon budgets, with DEFRA ensuring that nature-based solutions are a core part of Government action to tackle climate change. Integration of climate and nature plans is a matter for my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.


Written Question
Job Creation: West Midlands
Wednesday 15th May 2024

Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support job creation schemes in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry and (c) the West Midlands.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work and is committed to reducing economic inactivity. We want everyone who can work to be able to find a job, progress, and thrive in the labour market, whoever they are and wherever they live. The Department delivers comprehensive employment support including through face-to-face time with work coaches in our Jobcentres and via more intensive contracted employment programmes.

Our Employment Advisor team are working with employers to generate employment opportunities for all residents across Coventry. By working with local stakeholders such as Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, Coventry City Council and WMCA, we are encouraging employers to think more widely in their workforce planning activity through devolution projects such as the Job Rotation Pilot and other local initiatives to help employers grow their businesses whilst recruiting through a more inclusive approach for example through Disability Confident.

Recent recruitment campaigns across the retail sector include B&M and Iceland. Particular focus is ongoing with the logistics sector including Halfords, Menzies, Co-op and Tesco.


Written Question
Employment Schemes: Greater London
Wednesday 15th May 2024

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving employment support services to (a) London boroughs and (b) the Mayor of London.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of the English Devolution Trailblazer deeper devolution deals, the Department of Work and Pensions have agreed with Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities to test a new approach to design of future Contracted Employment Programmes including co-design and a delegated delivery model, aligned with the Combined Authorities geographical footprint.

We will evaluate the impacts and outcomes of this new approach to further understand the opportunities and risks involved, before considering the Department’s approach to future contracted employment programmes.

Full details of the ‘Trailblazer’ deals can be found here:

Greater Manchester Combined Authority Trailblazer deeper devolution deal - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

West Midlands Combined Authority: “Trailblazer” deeper devolution deal - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)


Written Question
Climate Change Convention: Devolution
Wednesday 15th May 2024

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take with the devolved Administrations to achieve the (i) mission, (ii) goal and (iii) targets of the Paris Agreement 2015.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

DESNZ works closely with the devolved administrations (DAs) on international climate obligations and reporting to the UNFCCC. DESNZ worked with the DAs on the development of the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and this year will be seeking their views for the 2035 NDC. This reflects the role the DAs play in the UK-wide drive to decarbonise the economy. DESNZ accredited 20 delegates from DAs to attend COP28 and will accredit DAs delegates to attend COP29.


Written Question
Biodiversity and Climate Change: Devolution
Tuesday 14th May 2024

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take with the devolved Administrations to improve coordination of efforts towards achieving the UK's international (i) climate and (ii) biodiversity obligations.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

DESNZ works closely with the devolved administrations (DAs) on international climate obligations and reporting to the UNFCCC. DESNZ worked with the DAs on the development of the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and this year will be seeking their views for the 2035 NDC. This reflects the role the DAs play in the UK-wide drive to decarbonise the economy. DESNZ accredited 20 delegates from DAs to attend COP28 and will accredit DAs delegates to attend COP29.


Through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which advises UK-wide and international nature conservation, the four nations will coordinate to further our ambitious biodiversity agenda.


Written Question
Regional Planning and Development
Wednesday 1st May 2024

Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made regarding the 12 targets set out in the Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper, published on 2 February 2022.

Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

As set out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, the Government will publish an annual report on mission progress, this will detail the progress that has been made against the 12 missions set out in the Statement on Missions in January 2024.

Levelling Up is a long-term ambition, but we are already making headway. 64% of England’s population and 90% of the North are now covered by a devolution deal. We have met the 5G element of the digital connectivity mission early, achieving 5G coverage for the majority of the population with 72% of premises having outdoor access to a 5G signal. The disparity in employment rates between regions has reduced and productivity has grown faster across many Northern cities than London.


Written Question
Jobseeker's Allowance
Wednesday 1st May 2024

Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Jobseeker’s Allowance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

Jobseekers Allowance

88.6%

86.8%

80.6%

53.1%

82.5%

87.1%

67.8%

58.7%

Employment and Support Allowance

84.6%

85.3%

73.3%

96.1%

70.9%

42.5%

47.4%

39.5%

State Pension

87.9%

73.7%

86.8%

86.7%

76.2%

45.6%

72.0%

96.2%

Pension Credit

71.0%

55.2%

53.4%

44.8%

88.2%

74.3%

45.7%

77.7%

Disability Living Allowance (child)

96.8%

96.5%

96.2%

91.3%

92.1%

35.6%

4.6%

3.5%

Personal Independence Payment

85.1%

77.2%

72.3%

40.4%

23.0%

6.8%

38.4%

51.7%

Child Maintenance Service

82.8%

87.4%

88.3%

91.6%

84.3%

84.3%

79.4%

79.6%

Universal Credit

80.4%

85.2%

90.9%

85.7%

84.4%

TBC

Comments to note:

  • Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.

Service Performance Context:

Jobseekers Allowance

  • From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.

Employment and Support Allowance

  • ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.

State Pension

  • Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.

Pension Credit

  • 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

  • Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
  • Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
  • During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
  • We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.

Personal Independence Payment

  • PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
  • PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.

Child Maintenance Service

  • Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.

Universal Credit

  • Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.

  • Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.

Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)

Jobseekers Allowance

Within 10 working days

Employment and Support Allowance

Within 10 working days

State Pension

Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started.

Pension Credit

Within 50 working days

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

Within 40 working days

Personal Independence Payment

Within 75 working days

Child Maintenance Service

Payment within 12 weeks

Universal Credit

% Full Payment 1st Assessment Period

Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.


Written Question
Disability Living Allowance
Wednesday 1st May 2024

Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Disability Living Allowance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

Jobseekers Allowance

88.6%

86.8%

80.6%

53.1%

82.5%

87.1%

67.8%

58.7%

Employment and Support Allowance

84.6%

85.3%

73.3%

96.1%

70.9%

42.5%

47.4%

39.5%

State Pension

87.9%

73.7%

86.8%

86.7%

76.2%

45.6%

72.0%

96.2%

Pension Credit

71.0%

55.2%

53.4%

44.8%

88.2%

74.3%

45.7%

77.7%

Disability Living Allowance (child)

96.8%

96.5%

96.2%

91.3%

92.1%

35.6%

4.6%

3.5%

Personal Independence Payment

85.1%

77.2%

72.3%

40.4%

23.0%

6.8%

38.4%

51.7%

Child Maintenance Service

82.8%

87.4%

88.3%

91.6%

84.3%

84.3%

79.4%

79.6%

Universal Credit

80.4%

85.2%

90.9%

85.7%

84.4%

TBC

Comments to note:

  • Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.

Service Performance Context:

Jobseekers Allowance

  • From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.

Employment and Support Allowance

  • ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.

State Pension

  • Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.

Pension Credit

  • 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

  • Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
  • Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
  • During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
  • We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.

Personal Independence Payment

  • PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
  • PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.

Child Maintenance Service

  • Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.

Universal Credit

  • Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.

  • Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.

Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)

Jobseekers Allowance

Within 10 working days

Employment and Support Allowance

Within 10 working days

State Pension

Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started.

Pension Credit

Within 50 working days

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

Within 40 working days

Personal Independence Payment

Within 75 working days

Child Maintenance Service

Payment within 12 weeks

Universal Credit

% Full Payment 1st Assessment Period

Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.


Written Question
Employment and Support Allowance
Wednesday 1st May 2024

Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Employment and Support Allowance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

Jobseekers Allowance

88.6%

86.8%

80.6%

53.1%

82.5%

87.1%

67.8%

58.7%

Employment and Support Allowance

84.6%

85.3%

73.3%

96.1%

70.9%

42.5%

47.4%

39.5%

State Pension

87.9%

73.7%

86.8%

86.7%

76.2%

45.6%

72.0%

96.2%

Pension Credit

71.0%

55.2%

53.4%

44.8%

88.2%

74.3%

45.7%

77.7%

Disability Living Allowance (child)

96.8%

96.5%

96.2%

91.3%

92.1%

35.6%

4.6%

3.5%

Personal Independence Payment

85.1%

77.2%

72.3%

40.4%

23.0%

6.8%

38.4%

51.7%

Child Maintenance Service

82.8%

87.4%

88.3%

91.6%

84.3%

84.3%

79.4%

79.6%

Universal Credit

80.4%

85.2%

90.9%

85.7%

84.4%

TBC

Comments to note:

  • Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.

Service Performance Context:

Jobseekers Allowance

  • From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.

Employment and Support Allowance

  • ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.

State Pension

  • Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.

Pension Credit

  • 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

  • Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
  • Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
  • During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
  • We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.

Personal Independence Payment

  • PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
  • PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.

Child Maintenance Service

  • Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.

Universal Credit

  • Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.

  • Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.

Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)

Jobseekers Allowance

Within 10 working days

Employment and Support Allowance

Within 10 working days

State Pension

Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started.

Pension Credit

Within 50 working days

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

Within 40 working days

Personal Independence Payment

Within 75 working days

Child Maintenance Service

Payment within 12 weeks

Universal Credit

% Full Payment 1st Assessment Period

Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment
Wednesday 1st May 2024

Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Personal Independence Payment claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2013.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Table 1 - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

Jobseekers Allowance

88.6%

86.8%

80.6%

53.1%

82.5%

87.1%

67.8%

58.7%

Employment and Support Allowance

84.6%

85.3%

73.3%

96.1%

70.9%

42.5%

47.4%

39.5%

State Pension

87.9%

73.7%

86.8%

86.7%

76.2%

45.6%

72.0%

96.2%

Pension Credit

71.0%

55.2%

53.4%

44.8%

88.2%

74.3%

45.7%

77.7%

Disability Living Allowance (child)

96.8%

96.5%

96.2%

91.3%

92.1%

35.6%

4.6%

3.5%

Personal Independence Payment

85.1%

77.2%

72.3%

40.4%

23.0%

6.8%

38.4%

51.7%

Child Maintenance Service

82.8%

87.4%

88.3%

91.6%

84.3%

84.3%

79.4%

79.6%

Universal Credit

80.4%

85.2%

90.9%

85.7%

84.4%

TBC

Comments to note:

  • Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.

Service Performance Context:

Jobseekers Allowance

  • From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.

Employment and Support Allowance

  • ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.

State Pension

  • Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.

Pension Credit

  • 2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

  • Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.
  • Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.
  • During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.
  • We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.

Personal Independence Payment

  • PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see published statistics)
  • PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.

Child Maintenance Service

  • Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.

Universal Credit

  • Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.

  • The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.

  • Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.

Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)

Jobseekers Allowance

Within 10 working days

Employment and Support Allowance

Within 10 working days

State Pension

Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started.

Pension Credit

Within 50 working days

Disability Living Allowance (Child)

Within 40 working days

Personal Independence Payment

Within 75 working days

Child Maintenance Service

Payment within 12 weeks

Universal Credit

% Full Payment 1st Assessment Period

Notes: The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.