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 PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in (a) Wales and (b) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is unable to provide data related to Northern Ireland, as Personal Independence Payment is administered by the Department for Communities in the Northern Ireland Executive. The figures for Wales are provided in the table below.
Table 1: Volume of PIP claimants with an active Motability contract
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Wales | 33,500 | 35,700 | 37,300 | 42,400 | 48,900 | 50,400 |
Notes:
- Values have been rounded to the nearest 100.
- The figures have been provided in calendar years, containing data from January 2020 to July 2025.
- Figures include claims made under Normal Rules and Special Rules for End of Life
- Values in the table show any PIP claimant with an active Motability Scheme contract on the PIP caseload within that calendar year.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 84146 on Women against State Pension Inequality, whether he plans to meet with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign within the next six months.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are no plans to meet with any campaign groups.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 the freeze in temporary accommodation subsidy rates since 2011 on (a) local authority budgets and (b) the financial sustainability of homelessness services.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for Temporary Accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is the lowest of £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere, 90% of 2011 LHA rates, or the claimant’s Housing Benefit entitlement. This incentivises local authorities to ensure Temporary Accommodation is good value for money.
We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. This Government has invested £1bn in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year (2025/26), a £233m increase on the previous year.
We want to encourage better investment into Temporary Accommodation stock up-front to minimise costs to local authorities and £950m was announced in the latest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund. This coupled with measures to strengthen local authorities’ financial position such as a new £39 billion Affordable Homes Programme and a 10-year rental settlement at Consumer Price Index + 1, will support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality Temporary Accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels.
We continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Inter Ministerial Group.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold to Jobcentres was in the last year.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We cannot provide the data requested for this Parliamentary Question. Jobcentres span multiple benefit streams and business functions and therefore we do not retain telephony data specifically relating to Jobcentres.
Asked by: Douglas McAllister (Labour - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to meet with representatives of the WASPI campaign.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are no plans to meet with any campaign groups.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to work with the (a) Department of Health and Social Care, (b) Department of Education, (c) Carers Trust and (d) other organisations to ensure young adult carers can receive support through the Youth Guarantee.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is determined to provide carers of all ages with the recognition and support they deserve. Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and the Department for Education (DfE) have convened twice this year to discuss support for unpaid carers and consider opportunities to provide further recognition and support. My Right Hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability has met with Carers Trust on several occasions, and the department will continue to work collaboratively with groups representing and supporting carers.
DWP and DfE are launching a Youth Guarantee to ensure young people aged 18-21 can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship, or help to find work. As part of the Youth Guarantee we are working with Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSA) to deliver 8 Trailblazers in England which are testing different approaches to identifying, engaging, and supporting young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET. MSAs have developed their approaches with consideration to young people in their locality who need more support. As we set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper our Youth Guarantee will meet the needs of those facing disadvantages, including disadvantages related to unpaid caregiving.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51603, if he will provide an update on when the Pathways to Work White Paper will be published.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have already put in place the equivalent of over 1000 full-time Pathways to Work advisers across Britain to support disabled people into work.
We have also launched the Timms Review to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future and are increasing the number of health assessments that are being conducted in person. We will be bringing forward other policy updates in due course.
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 PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in each of the last five years by (a) primary disabling condition and (b) region.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
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 PIP claimants had active contracts with the Motability Scheme in each of the last five years by region.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information on Motability is not part of our routine statistical releases.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that migration from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit does not adversely impact disabled claimants financially.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring that customers, including those with disabilities, are supported when moving from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to Universal Credit (UC). For those moved under managed migration, we provide transitional protection to their legacy benefit entitlement at the point of claiming UC.
In addition to transitional protection, customers receiving income-related ESA receive a two-week run-on of their legacy benefits to ensure the move to UC is as smooth as possible.
To support customers moving from ESA who require more support to claim the Department has developed the Enhanced Support Journey. The Enhanced Support Journey helps ESA claimants with potential barriers through proactive measures such as outbound calls, system checks, and home visits to ensure they are not left without support during migration. Key features include safeguards to prevent benefit termination before a UC claim, tailored adjustments like alternative communication channels, and national Complex Case Coaches for vulnerable claimants.