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 have received the State Pension for the following financial years a) 2024/25 b) 2025/2026, and what was the total value of State Pension paid to those non-UK nationals in each of those financial years.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department does not hold data on the nationality of individuals in receipt of the State Pension, as nationality is not recorded as part of the State Pension claim process, as was the case under the last Conservative Government. Eligibility for the State Pension is based on an individual's National Insurance record over their working life.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
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 the potential impact of requiring parents to apply for Child Benefit on their eligibility to qualify for National Insurance credits.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP has not conducted such an assessment. Child Benefit is a benefit administered by HMRC.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the value of graduated pension contributions paid by individuals prior to 1975 relative to the level of the new State Pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Graduated Retirement Benefit (GRB) scheme was the precursor to the additional State Pension and ran from 1961 to 1975. One unit of GRB was earned, by a man, for every £7.50 of graduated contributions paid, and in the case of a woman born before 6 April 1950, for every £9.00 paid. The maximum number of units available was 86 for a man and 72 for a woman. These rules were equalised for women born on or after 6 April 1950, with the result that GRB contributions paid by women who have reached State Pension age since April 2010 will be “converted” into GRB units on the same basis as for men. A unit is currently worth 17.83p per week (2025/26).
For people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, GRB is normally paid with other State Pension components, but it is paid on its own if there is no other State Pension entitlement.
GRB is not payable as a separate amount for people who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, who will claim the new State Pension. Instead, people who had made contributions under the old State Pension system, including graduated contributions, will have their new State Pension calculated under transitional rules. Under the transitional arrangements, we look at an individual's National Insurance record as it stands on 6 April 2016 and compare what this would give them under the new State Pension rules with what they would have built up under the old system. The higher of these two values will be used as their Starting Amount for the new State Pension going forward. Therefore, any previous Graduated Retirement Benefit will be consolidated, along with other elements, into an individual’s entitlement to the new State Pension.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in relation to the statutory guidance on fiduciary duties announced during Report stage of the Pension Schemes Bill on 3 December 2025, when he will consult on the guidance; and when the guidance will take effect.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government intends to consult formally on draft guidance later this year.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what has been the financial cost to his Department of litigation related to the WASPI campaign since December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Based on the information held, since December 2024, the recorded legal costs on litigations with WASPI including disbursements and VAT are £135,999.61.
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, what information his Department holds on the number of pensioners whose sole income is the (a) basic and (b) full new State Pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Findings from the Pensioners’ Incomes Series show that, in 2023/24, around 1.1 million pensioner families (i.e. singles or couples) in the UK received the State Pension together with other state benefits as their sole sources of income. However, this does not indicate the amount of State Pension received or whether the State Pension received was the basic or new State Pension. This information is published in the Pensioners' Incomes series.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
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 effectiveness of current employment support programmes in former industrial areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Get Britain Working Labour Market Insights publication contains a range of analysis of how labour markets are performing in different types of labour market across the country - including former industrial areas - Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights - GOV.UK.
We are committed to ensuring employment support meets the needs of local areas. To do this, we are:
Employment support programmes such as the Get Britain Working Trailblazers, WorkWell and Connect to Work will be evaluated to assess the extent to which they help people to enter and remain in work.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to announce funding allocations for the Reducing Parental Conflict programme following the 2025 Spending Review; and how they are mitigating the impact of any delay on local authority planning and workforce retention.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government wants to ensure that every child has the best start in life. We know that healthy parental relationships are an important part of this ambition, and the Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) programme continues to deliver effective relationship support for parents, working closely with local authorities (LAs).
Our 2022-25 evaluation has recognised the value that Local Authority staffing, particularly the role of coordinators as drivers of change, bring to the integration and delivery of RPC within their local areas. That is why we have continued to fund and support the coordinator posts. LAs can vary their staffing levels depending on local priorities and decisions on how to use their individual Local Grant funding, however knowledge and expertise remain due to wider workforce training funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The government is keenly aware of the importance of communicating decisions on future funding to LAs, and the impact this has on workforce and delivery of parental support. We appreciate the importance of timely information for the organisations and individuals involved, and we will share updates at the earliest opportunity.
Relationship status is not an outcome measured by the RPC programme. DWP therefore does not routinely collect this information. The programme focuses on reducing the frequency, intensity and impact of parental conflict on children, rather than whether parents remain together or separate.
Wider evaluations of the RPC programme, such as our 2018-2022 evaluation, demonstrated the clear impact of improved parental relationships – whether together or apart – on children’s mental health and wellbeing. The evaluation of the RPC Local Grant (2022–25) showed the importance of embedding relationship support alongside family help services, and within the places and spaces where families access support. This is at the heart of the Government’s approach to supporting families, as creating a more integrated system of support is a central ambition of the Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies Programme, and the roll out of Best Start Family Hubs to every Local Authority in England.
Ensuring families have access to the effective support that they need remains an important shared endeavour across government. DWP are committed to working closely with the Department for Education, and across government, to ensure that families continue to benefit from approaches that improve relationships and support better outcomes for children.
Asked by: Patrick Hurley (Labour - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department have made on the potential impact of place-based employment support programmes such as JobsPlus in addressing levels of economic inactivity and unemployment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Jobs Plus is a community-based model with strong potential to tackle inactivity and unemployment. The department is testing the model in ten social housing communities across England. Jobs Plus and other place-based programmes such as the Get Britain Working Trailblazers, Work Well and Connect to Work will be evaluated to assess their effectiveness in helping people enter and remain in work.
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 adults accompanying children that have been brought to the United Kingdom under the HMG Gaza Medevac scheme are claiming (a) Universal Credit, (b) PIP and (c) other benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.