Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legally-binding targets for reducing child poverty.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Monitoring and Evaluation framework published alongside the Strategy set out that a baseline report will be published in Summer 2026 with annual reporting on progress thereafter and Government already has a statutory duty to publish poverty statistics annually. We have put these clear reporting arrangements in place so that the progress we make is transparent for all.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to increase (a) skills and (b) employment support for people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in receipt of sickness benefits.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper, published in autumn 2024, and Pathways to Work Green Paper, published in spring 2025, set out the Government’s plan on skills and employment support, including for those in receipt of sickness benefits.
Our Pathways to Work guaranteed offer of personalised employment, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits is backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade. Once fully rolled out, we anticipate this will include a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
In addition, Connect to Work is being made available across all of England and Wales. This is a voluntary, locally commissioned, Supported Employment programme for individuals that are disabled, have a health condition or experiencing non-health related barriers to work to find and sustain employment. There is no benefit-related requirement for this programme. Lincolnshire County Council is the Lead Authority for the Lincolnshire Delivery Area and we expect them to open their service in spring 2026.
WorkWell is a health and employment support service providing integrated holistic early help for health-related barriers to work. WorkWell is delivered in partnership with health systems and has so far supported approximately 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions to stay in and re-enter work. Following the success of the pilot, it will continue to be delivered in existing sites and expand across all of England including the Lincolnshire ICB. The expansion is backed by up to £259 million investment over three years.
Through the Adult Skills Fund in the 2025/26 academic year, we are spending £1.4 billion for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. In South Holland and the Deepings, the Adult Skills Fund fully funds learners who are unemployed or earn less than £25,750 (annual gross salary).
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mitigating the impact of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit for pensioners with incomes just above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pension Credit provides direct financial support to pensioner households on the lowest incomes, ensuring that they receive a guaranteed minimum level of income – the Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG). The Standard Minimum Guarantee is subject to the Secretary of State’s annual statutory review of State Pension and benefit rates, and it will increase by 4.8% from April.
Pensioners with incomes just above their Pension Credit level may still benefit from a range of wider support, depending on their circumstances, including help with housing costs, Council Tax, health related support, and other means tested assistance available across the welfare system.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the role of the Ombudsman following the decision not to implement the recommendations of the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024; and when his Department will publish the action plan set out in his oral statement of 29 January 2026.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
I met with the Ombudsman on 25 February. Work has restarted on the Action Plan, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent front-line customer support staff worked on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) longest recorded wait time was on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit fraud prosecutions were (a) withdrawn by his Department and (b) dismissed by a judge before trial in each of the last three financial years; and if he will provide a breakdown of these cases by (i) region and (ii) the primary reason recorded for the withdrawal of the prosecution.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) do not make decisions on whether to prosecute individuals and cannot make the decision to withdraw a prosecution. The DWP will complete the investigation and when appropriate hand the case files to the Crown Prosecution Service (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for Scotland), who will make the decision on whether to prosecute.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to prevent (a) equipment and (b) technology funded through the Flexible Support Fund from being (i) sold and (ii) misused by recipients.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has strong safeguards in place to ensure that equipment and technology funded through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) are not sold or misused.
Work coaches carefully assess each request to ensure it is reasonable, represents good value for money, and is necessary to support a customer to move into work, and that no alternative funding is available.
After an award is issued, work coaches check that the item is used as intended and will seek an explanation — or consider repayment — if concerns arise, such as training not being attended. Independent post-award checks add a further layer of assurance.
Work coaches are expected to meet their financial responsibilities and follow-up action must be taken post the FSF award. This ensures that action is taken to recover funds spent inappropriately.
In addition, a new digital FSF application system, due to launch nationally by the end of March, will strengthen oversight by providing improved data and enabling more detailed scrutiny of awards.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Jobcentre Plus conducts post-award checks on items provided through the Flexible Support Fund.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has strong safeguards in place to ensure that equipment and technology funded through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) are not sold or misused.
Work coaches carefully assess each request to ensure it is reasonable, represents good value for money, and is necessary to support a customer to move into work, and that no alternative funding is available.
After an award is issued, work coaches check that the item is used as intended and will seek an explanation — or consider repayment — if concerns arise, such as training not being attended. Independent post-award checks add a further layer of assurance.
Work coaches are expected to meet their financial responsibilities and follow-up action must be taken post the FSF award. This ensures that action is taken to recover funds spent inappropriately.
In addition, a new digital FSF application system, due to launch nationally by the end of March, will strengthen oversight by providing improved data and enabling more detailed scrutiny of awards.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the enforcement processes of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service has a range of strong enforcement powers that are designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and ensure children get the financial support they deserve. These powers include the ability to deduct directly from the paying parent’s earnings or bank accounts and disqualifications from holding or obtaining driving licenses and passports.
The Government has announced our intention to reform the Child Maintenance when parliamentary time allows system. We will remove Direct Pay and move to a single, strengthened Collect and Pay system which will allow the CMS to monitor all payments, identify missed or partial payments immediately, and take faster enforcement action. Ahead of this change, the CMS is already moving non-compliant parents more quickly from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay.
In March 2025, CMS established a process to manage high- and medium-risk cases using predictive analytics, resulting in earlier identification of at-risk cases and enabling caseworker intervention at the earliest opportunity where indicators of non-compliance are identified.
To further improve arrears collection, the CMS will introduce administrative liability orders to replace the current court-based process. This will streamline enforcement, reduce delays, and help the CMS act more quickly against parents who avoid their responsibilities. Work with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government is underway, and regulations will be brought to Parliament as soon as possible.