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, pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 110973, what proportion of the consolatory payment was as a result of a decision by the Independent Case Examiner to increase the payment offered by his Department in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of its investigations, the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) reviews any remedies (including consolatory payments) already offered by DWP during its own complaints process. ICE considers whether these remedies were appropriate and adequately reflected the impact of maladministration. This assessment informs the findings ICE reaches and any recommendations it makes. However, ICE does not record information on the level of consolatory payments that DWP may have made prior to escalation to ICE.
The Department does record consolatory payments recommended by ICE. However, identifying what proportion of these payments were made specifically because ICE increased the offer originally made by the Department’s complaints service would require a manual review of individual case files, as this level of detail is not held in an accessible format.
Carrying out this work would exceed the cost limit set for central Government, and we are therefore unable to provide the information requested.
Asked by: Sam Rushworth (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many paying parents were newly recorded as being in arrears by the Child Maintenance Service in each of the last 24 months.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will do everything within its powers to make sure parents comply. Where parents fail to take responsibility for paying for their children, the Service will not hesitate to use the range of enforcement powers available to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers.
CMS has a wide range of strong enforcement powers including deductions from earnings orders, removal of driving licences, disqualification from holding a passport, and committal to prison. The CMS also introduced powers to enable the deduction of child maintenance directly from a wider range of accounts, including certain joint and business accounts, and target complex earners via a calculation of notional income based on assets.
The Service is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been allocated to union-led workplace learning in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The previous government ended the standalone Union Learning Fund (ULF) on 31 March 2021. The Adult Skills Fund funds a very broad range of provision, including to support the effective operation of Trade Unions such as for Trade Union Health & Safety Representatives.
The Department is committed to working with employers, providers, and trade unions to ensure that high quality qualification and training pathways are meeting skills needs.
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, whether his Department plans to restore public funding for union-led workplace learning programmes.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The previous government ended the standalone Union Learning Fund (ULF) on 31 March 2021. The Adult Skills Fund funds a very broad range of provision, including to support the effective operation of Trade Unions such as for Trade Union Health & Safety Representatives.
The Department is committed to working with employers, providers, and trade unions to ensure that high quality qualification and training pathways are meeting skills needs.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to review the 18-month duration period of the Bereavement Support Payment; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) uprating the payment in line with inflation and (b) aligning the payment more closely with child‑related benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) provides support during the acute period following a bereavement. Unlike its predecessor Widowed Parents Allowance, which could be paid for as long as there was entitlement to Child Benefit, BSP is not an income replacement benefit. Where longer term support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs.
The rate of BSP is reviewed on a discretionary basis each year as part of the annual uprating process.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will coordinate with the incoming Erasmus+ National Agency to ensure apprenticeship funding rules support overseas placements in EU companies.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Funding for Erasmus+ placements is provided through the Erasmus+ programme. The apprenticeship funding rules for 2026/27 academic year will set out details on apprenticeships and the Erasmus+ programme.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
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 impact of Erasmus+ work placements for apprentices on the Growth and Skills Levy.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Funding for Erasmus+ placements is provided through the Erasmus+ programme. The apprenticeship funding rules for 2026/27 academic year will set out details on apprenticeships and the Erasmus+ programme.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 adequacy of the Bereavement Support Payment in the context of trends in the cost of living.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is intended to provide support during the acute period following a bereavement when people may face sudden costs or disruption. Where longer-term income support is needed for everyday living costs, qualifying individuals can access Universal Credit, which is generally increased in line with inflation.
The rate of Bereavement Support Payment is reviewed on a discretionary basis each year as part of the annual uprating process.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to SOPS 1.1 in the Department's 2024-25 Annual Report, if she will publish a breakdown of the £1,030,869,000 in gross spend on Programme Resource Outturn in H: Other Benefits in 2024-25; and for what reasons that figure has increased from £343,956,000 in the equivalent SOPS 1.1 table in the 2020-21 Annual Report of the Department.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Please see attached Annex.
We can confirm that the increase in recent years compared to 2020-21 is primarily due to the Household Support Fund. The Household Support Fund came in October of 2021 so is not included in the 2020-21 ARA.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of fraud in relation to (a) Pension Credit and (b) the Winter Fuel Allowance.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department publishes yearly estimates of fraud and error in the benefit system. The latest estimates for Pension Credit are available in section 9: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK.
Estimates of Winter Fuel Payment fraud is not routinely published; more information can be found at the following link: Background Information and Methodology: Fraud and error in the benefit system, Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2025 - GOV.UK
The Department is taking action to reduce incorrectness in all benefits. The Public Authorities (Fraud Error and Recovery) Act 2025 Eligibility Verification Measure requires banks and financial institutions to provide data that will enable the Department to check the accuracy of awards. We are also introducing case reviews in Pension Credit to help ensure customers continue to receive the correct benefit amount.