Written questions by Shannon.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to disability payments on people in working poverty.

The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms - Impacts. However, this assessment does not include the impact of the £1 billion a year, by 2029/30, funding for measures to support those with disabilities and long-term health conditions into employment, which we expect to mitigate the poverty impact among people it supports into work. As such, an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed changes on people in working poverty cannot be made. The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our plans are designed to protect the most vulnerable and give disabled people equal chances and choices to work. We will continue to carefully consider the impacts of reforms as we develop our detailed proposals for change.

What steps she is taking to improve the safety of pensions.

On State Pensions, we have made a commitment to the Triple Lock for the entirety of this Parliament which will mean the annual spend on people’s State Pensions is forecast to rise by around £31 billion. These rises are only possible because of the tough decisions made in the autumn statement 2024 to keep the public finances on a sustainable footing . Over 12 million pensioners will benefit (over the course of this parliament) with the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is forecast to increase by around £1,900. The Pension Schemes Bill, introduced in Parliament on 5 June, will legislate to transform the £2 trillion workplace pensions landscape – with a smaller number of bigger, better governed, better value pension providers investing in a wider range of productive assets, ultimately improving outcomes for savers and our economy. The Bill will also legislate for wider changes, from putting in place a value for money regime for Defined Contribution pensions to the introduction of flexibilities for trustees of well-funded Defined Benefit pension schemes to release surplus back to employers where it is safe to do so, enabling benefits for scheme members. A bedrock of our reforms is the security of members’ benefits and protection of their best interests. The reforms to the existing regime will continue to maintain member protection, with appropriate and adequate safeguards in place underpinned by the role of regulators. This government will work closely with the Pension Protection Fund as the administrator of the Fraud Compensation Fund to ensure that the fraud compensation system is effective and that schemes which have experienced of pension fraud receive fair and timely compensation.

What steps his Department is taking to provide support for older people to complete online job applications.

DWP currently offers employment support for eligible customers of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. A dedicated offer for older jobseekers provides more tailored support for those affected by additional challenges such as out of date skills or qualifications or those who need help with CVs.Work Coaches and employers are supported by 50 plus Champions who provide a critical layer of support through Jobcentres, to ensure the needs of older jobseekers are met. Recent examples of personalised activity include 50 plus Job Fairs, Mentoring Circles, peer to peer support, digital awareness sessions and confidence building, including assisting customers with their perceived digital capabilities, from basic IT skills to more complex tasks.Employer and Partnership Teams in Jobcentres also work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers. The Government is reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in their careers. This includes an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice.

What assessment her Department has made of the number of people on long term sick leave due to stress over the last 12 months.

Data is not available for sickness absence specifically due to stress. The estimated number of people aged 16 to 64 in the UK who had a long-term (4 weeks or more) sickness absence from work due to stress, depression, anxiety and common mental health problems, between January and December 2024 (the latest data available) was 325,000. This represents around 22% of people who had a long-term sickness absence. Source: Annual Population Survey (APS) - unpublished

Whether she has had recent discussions with (a) Capita and (b) other relevant organisations on ensuring that Personal Independence Payment assessors have specialist knowledge in (i) multiple sclerosis, (ii) Crohn's and (iii) other non-visible disabilities.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recognises the importance of ensuring that health professionals (HPs) conducting assessments possess the necessary experience, skills, and training. To uphold this standard, DWP has established clear competency requirements, outlined in both guidance and regulations. Assessment suppliers (AS) must demonstrate that their HPs meet these standards before they are authorised to carry out assessments on behalf of the department. DWP does not require HPs to be specialists in the specific medical conditions or impairments of the individuals they assess. Instead, the emphasis is on ensuring HPs are experts in disability analysis, focusing on how a person’s condition affects their daily life and functional abilities. All HPs receive thorough training in disability analysis, which includes evaluating the impact of a wide range of health conditions on everyday activities. To support this, DWP provides AS with core training materials and guidance on conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Ulcerative Colitis, and other non-visible disabilities. These contain clinical and functional information relevant to the conditions and is quality assured to ensure its accuracy from both a clinical and policy perspective.

What steps she is taking to support young people not able to work due to primary caring responsibilities.

As announced in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper, we are launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Young people (16-24) who have full-time caring responsibilities may be eligible for Universal Credit which provides additional financial support for primary carers of children and those who provide unpaid care for a person who is receiving an eligible disability benefit. They are not required to work but can ask for employment support if they want to combine caring with work. If they are in Work Focused Interview or Work Preparation groups, they can voluntarily access the Youth Offer. DWP offers an extensive range of support through jobcentres and local partners. Childcare support is available for those with childcare responsibilities to enable them to work as well as care for their children.

What steps her Department has taken to help tackle underpayments of the State Pensions in the last five years.

The Department has undertaken a range of steps over the past 5 years to address underpayments of State Pension. Details about this activity can be found online via the following link: State Pension underpayments: progress on cases - GOV.UK

What estimate she has made of how many people have been absent from work because of long term sickness due to respiratory illness over the last 12 months.

The estimated number of people aged 16 to 64 in the UK who had a long-term (4 weeks or more) sickness absence from work due to respiratory illness, e.g. asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD], bronchitis or pneumonia, between January and December 2024 (the latest data available) was 60,000. This represents around 4% of people who had a long-term sickness absence. Source: Annual Population Survey (APS) - unpublished

What steps she is taking to improve employment capacity in local job centres.

We have interpreted your question to refer to the functionality of Jobcentre Plus and the role they play in increasing employment. The Government has set a long-term ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate, building on our plan for growth. The Get Britain Working White Plan sets out the fundamental reforms needed to realise our ambitions, including the vision to reform Jobcentres - to a new Jobs and Careers Service to meet the needs of local labour markets, people and employers. Across Great Britain, the new service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Central to the new service will be our use of technology, enabling us to reinvest time in supporting people more effectively. We are starting a test and learn approach to develop the new service. We are currently running two large-scale tests testing reducing the frequency of engagement with customers and the mode of mandatory engagement for Universal Credit claimants that are looking for work or are in lower paid jobs. These will help us to better understand what will work best for the individual.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage those eligible to apply for Universal Credit.

The Department provides extensive information including on Universal Credit on Gov.uk that supports claimants identify what support may be available. Additionally, we signpost potential customers to external benefit calculators where they can identify what they are likely to be eligible for. We also work closely with Citizens Advice who provide Help to Claim support for claimants in GB to make a claim to Universal Credit. This includes marketing and publicising Help to Claim support.

How many new Personal Independence Payment claims her Department has received in the last 12 months.

Between February 2024 and January 2025, there were a total of 979,100 New Personal Independence Payment claims registered. Of these, 889,300 were New Claims and 89,800 were reassessments from Disability Living Allowance. This information can be found on Stat-Xplore in the ‘PIP Registrations’ dataset.

How many Pension Credit applications her Department has received in the last 12 months.

On 27 February 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025. Pension Credit Applications and Awards - February 2025.Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.

With reference to her Department's green paper Pathways to work: reforming benefits and support to get Britain working, published on 18 March 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this announcement on families in poverty.

We will be publishing equality analysis which sets out the impacts on disabled people alongside poverty impacts on all individuals.

How many attendance allowance applications her Department has received in the last 12 months.

The number of Attendance Allowance applications received by the Department in the last 12 months (March 2024 – February 2025) was 592,545.

What steps she plans to take to engage with deaf and disabled people's organisations when preparing reforms to disability benefits.

This government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do. We have developed proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18th March 2025. A full 12 week consultation will run from when all accessible versions are published on GOV.UK. We are keen to hear views from a wide group of people, in particular disabled people and people with health conditions and disability organisations, and encourage responses to the consultation through the online form, email and post. We also intend to run a number of accessible virtual and face to face events on the consultation, to hear from stakeholders, including deaf and disabled people and their representative organisations, directly. More information on these events and registration will be advertised on the consultation pages on GOV.UK in due course. In the Green Paper, we have also announced that we will set up collaboration committees to develop our reforms further, directly with disabled people and people with health conditions and experts. This will involve bringing together disabled people, experts and civil servants around specific issues to collaborate, provide ideas, challenge, and input into recommendations. We look forward to developing these initiatives over the coming months.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of Advice UK's report entitled Voices of Deaf and Disabled people, published on 10 December 2024.

We are grateful to Advice UK for sharing their insights and concerns from their ‘Advice Saves’ campaign and findings in their ‘Voices of Deaf and Disabled People’ report. Ensuring the views and voices of disabled people are at the heart of everything we do is a priority for this government and we are committed to listening and engaging closely with disabled people and their representative organisations as we develop policies that may impact them, including the reforms set out in the recent ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper and the Health and Disability Green Paper.

Whether her Department holds data on the percentage change in uptake levels of pension credit between 2024 and 2025.

The latest Pension Credit take-up figures were published in October 2024. They showed that in financial year 2022/23, 65% of those entitled to Pension Credit claimed the benefit. This represents a 2 percentage point increase from financial year 2021/22, when the take-up rate was 63%. This data is available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK and Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK. Data on the percentage change between financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25 will not be available until the end of 2026 when the 2024/25 publication is expected (release date to be confirmed).

How many carers have received an earnings-related Carer’s Allowance overpayment since (a) 16 October and (b) 9 December 2024.

We do not have the in-year estimates for the time frame suggested however last year’s statistics are a guide to the overall overpayment levels.Levels of Carer’s Allowance overpayments for the year 23/24 can be found here:Fraud and error in the benefit system, Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2024 - GOV.UK For ease, here are the latest statistics: Expenditure (£m)Total Rate (%)Total Value (£m)Fraud Rate (%)Fraud Value (£m)Claimant Error Rate (%)Claimant Error Value (£m)Official Error Rate (%)Official Error Value (£m)3,7005.21903.01102.0800.110

How many carers have received a Carer’s Allowance overpayment since (a) 16 October and (b) 9 December 2024.

We do not have the in-year estimates for the time frame suggested however last year’s statistics are a guide to the overall overpayment levels.Levels of Carer’s Allowance overpayments for the year 23/24 can be found here:Fraud and error in the benefit system, Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2024 - GOV.UK For ease, here are the latest statistics: Expenditure (£m)Total Rate (%)Total Value (£m)Fraud Rate (%)Fraud Value (£m)Claimant Error Rate (%)Claimant Error Value (£m)Official Error Rate (%)Official Error Value (£m)3,7005.21903.01102.0800.110

How many people have been sanctioned for claiming unemployment or sickness benefits whilst working and not declaring hours.

The department does not typically issue sanctions in these circumstances and a fraud or error penalty would instead be considered, where appropriate. We always encourage individuals to notify the department when a change of circumstances occurs, to avoid incurring a penalty. Instructions on how to inform us of any changes can be found here: Benefits: report a change in your circumstances - GOV.UK