Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Poverty Taskforce has had discussions with the Department for Education on family hubs.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce is co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Education. It has met nine times to discuss the critical issues that drive child poverty. One such meeting in January focused on the role of local services in reducing poverty, including family hubs.
The Taskforce will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty, including family hubs.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of disability benefit claimants who are on a waiting list for NHS treatment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
o 2.8 million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness
o the number claiming health related benefits with no requirement to work has increased by 800,000 since 2019/2020.
DWP and DHSC work closely, for example through the Joint Work and Health Directorate, to deliver better work outcomes and work experiences for disabled people and people with health conditions. This includes working across the whole of the customer journey to help disabled people and people with long term health conditions who want to work to be in the best position possible to do so.
The Joint Work and Health Directorate is collaborating with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to improve the evidence on the relationship between health and labour market outcomes. The ONS plans to link NHS waiting times data (that they recently acquired access to) to Census, DWP Benefits and HMRC PAYE records to analyse the relationship between waiting time duration (for various health conditions and procedures) and labour market outcomes (such as employment status, gross pay and benefit receipt) in England. This may shed light on the role of extended waiting times witnessed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic on benefit receipt, including sickness related benefit receipt. Due to many dependencies and unknowns, ONS is not able to confirm when the analysis will be available.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the (a) the cost of the Motability Scheme, (b) number of people who benefit from the scheme, (c) analysis of the medical conditions of people who benefit from the scheme, (d) age of the (i) newest and (ii) oldest vehicle in the scheme, (e) proportion of vehicles in the scheme which are (A) hybrid and (B) fully electric, (f) number and proportion of vehicles in the scheme by manufacturer, and (g) proportion of vehicles in the scheme manufactured in Britain, for each year for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We estimate that in 2024, payments totalling £600 million were sent by the department to the Motability Scheme. We are unable to provide volumes of all people benefitting from the scheme. We can, however, provide the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants in a contract with the Motability Scheme to receive a vehicle. In April 2025, this was 589,550 claimants. A breakdown of these claimants by primary medical condition can be found attached in Table 1. Table 2 contains the same breakdown for Telford constituency only.
The Motability Scheme is overseen by Motability Foundation and delivered by Motability Operations Ltd.
Motability is independent of government and is wholly responsible for the terms and administration of the Scheme, including determining what types of vehicles they use.
Notes:
- The monetary value provided is rounded to the nearest £1 million. The volumes provided have been rounded to the nearest 10. Values which are above 1 and below 5 have been replaced with a dash.
- Data is provided for claimants under DWP policy ownership (England, Wales and Abroad) only.
- The monetary value provided covers the money sent to the Motability Scheme in total. The volumes provided cover claimants of PIP with an active contract for the Motability Scheme only.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2025 to Question 60172 on Motability: Telford, if she will publish the number of Motability Scheme claims in Telford constituency by medical condition.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We estimate that in 2024, payments totalling £600 million were sent by the department to the Motability Scheme. We are unable to provide volumes of all people benefitting from the scheme. We can, however, provide the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants in a contract with the Motability Scheme to receive a vehicle. In April 2025, this was 589,550 claimants. A breakdown of these claimants by primary medical condition can be found attached in Table 1. Table 2 contains the same breakdown for Telford constituency only.
The Motability Scheme is overseen by Motability Foundation and delivered by Motability Operations Ltd.
Motability is independent of government and is wholly responsible for the terms and administration of the Scheme, including determining what types of vehicles they use.
Notes:
- The monetary value provided is rounded to the nearest £1 million. The volumes provided have been rounded to the nearest 10. Values which are above 1 and below 5 have been replaced with a dash.
- Data is provided for claimants under DWP policy ownership (England, Wales and Abroad) only.
- The monetary value provided covers the money sent to the Motability Scheme in total. The volumes provided cover claimants of PIP with an active contract for the Motability Scheme only.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that timeframes imposed by the Child Maintenance Service are (a) proportionate and (b) matched by equivalent service standards within the Department.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have interpreted your question to refer to the timescales the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses in progressing cases.
The CMS inform customers of expected timeframes for actions to be completed when changes are reported or require progressing. Customers can use the Track Changes function on MCMC at any time to view the expected completion date of changes.
The timescales to progress cases varies depending on the type of case action being taken and information required to progress any change. When CMS require additional information to progress a case, the customer is advised of the timeframe for providing the information required.
The CMS has four official key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that the service acts on information and progresses cases in a timely manner once received from the customer. These KPIs include standard measures for 1) assessment accuracy, 2) application clearances, 3) change of circumstances clearances and 4) Collect and Pay compliance.
The CMS has exceeded the KPI indicators, demonstrating that it is meeting the standards set by the department. We are always working to modernise our service and how we communicate with our customers. We also work closely with the wider DWP colleagues to ensure measures and timescales are compared for consistency, where appropriate.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to take steps to ensure support for low-income tenants provides value for money.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP works with Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to improve housing quality for benefit claimants and value for money for taxpayers.
The Renters' Rights Bill, currently before Parliament, includes measures to strengthen landlord accountability. These include a requirement for all landlords to sign up to the new Private Rented Sector Database; a new independent Landlord Ombudsman which will provide binding resolutions for tenant complaints; the extension of the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS; and Awaab’s law, requiring swift action where damp and mould has been reported.
In addition, DWP is currently testing how sharing UC data can support local authorities with the Rent Repayment Order (RRO) process, aiming to change landlord behaviours and achieve better quality homes where housing support has been in payment.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to PIP eligibility on Disabled pensioners.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No one over state pension age at the time any changes come in will be affected.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here: Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants in each subgroup of neurological disease recorded as the main disabling condition who were awarded more than 12 points in the living component but fewer than four points in a single daily living category were awarded a score of at least two in (a) six, (b) seven, (c) eight, (d) nine and (e) ten of the daily living categories in 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is provided in the excel workbook attached. A content of the tables provided in the attached workbook is below:
The number of PIP claimants awarded Enhanced Daily Living who scored fewer than 4 point in all Daily Living activities and scored at least 2 points in six, seven, eight, nine or ten Daily Living activities in 2024 by primary medical condition:
The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to not to be awarded the daily living component of PIP in future. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. After that date, people already in receipt of PIP will continue to be treated under the current rules, with only new claimants having the new criterion applied. As a result of behavioural responses to the change, we expect that a higher proportion of new claimants will score 4 points against at least one activity than happens currently.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Source: DWP Administrative Data
Notes:
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants in each subgroup of malignant disease recorded as the main disabling condition who were awarded more than 12 points in the living component but fewer than four points in a single daily living category were awarded a score of at least two in (a) six, (b) seven, (c) eight, (d) nine and (e) ten of the daily living categories in 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is provided in the excel workbook attached. A content of the tables provided in the attached workbook is below:
The number of PIP claimants awarded Enhanced Daily Living who scored fewer than 4 point in all Daily Living activities and scored at least 2 points in six, seven, eight, nine or ten Daily Living activities in 2024 by primary medical condition:
The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to not to be awarded the daily living component of PIP in future. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. After that date, people already in receipt of PIP will continue to be treated under the current rules, with only new claimants having the new criterion applied. As a result of behavioural responses to the change, we expect that a higher proportion of new claimants will score 4 points against at least one activity than happens currently.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Source: DWP Administrative Data
Notes:
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support victims of economic abuse when applying for monies that they are entitled to through the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and recognises that domestic abuse can take many forms including physical, emotional, or financial abuse, violent or threatening behaviour and coercive control.
The CMS has procedures in place to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse can use its services safely. CMS caseworkers will also signpost, where needed, to suitable domestic abuse organisations, if domestic abuse is raised or suspected.
All CMS caseworkers have extensive training, equipping them to be able to comprehensively act on a range of scenarios. For our most challenging and complex case groups, caseworkers complete and receive regular refresher training on specific aspects of customer service situations such as domestic abuse, advanced customer support and supporting vulnerable customers.
Specialist Case Team is one of the measures CMS have introduced to manage cases with the most challenging or complex domestic abuse concerns. This has minimised the need for parents to recount their history of domestic abuse and caseworkers to deliver support to some of the most vulnerable customers.
For parents using the Direct Pay service, the CMS can act as an intermediary to facilitate the exchange of bank details to help ensure there is no unwanted contact between parents and can provide information on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code, which reduces the risk of a parent’s location being traced.
The Government has announced plans to reform the Child Maintenance service, replacing the existing Direct Pay Service and moving to a service where the CMS collects and transfers all payments. This will remove any requirement for victims and survivors to provide evidence of domestic abuse, which we know can be difficult and traumatising. It will also remove any need for contact between parents and remove the need for receiving parents to report missed or late payments. The CMS will monitor all payments and take swift action as soon as payments break down.
Managing all CMS cases in one service will allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster, and better support victims and survivors of domestic abuse who use the CMS.