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1713531

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many alerts from the Verified Earnings and Pensions service informing his Department of carers’ earnings information were (a) passed and (b) not passed on to carers in each of the last five years; and whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of VEPs in preventing large value overpayments for Carer's Allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	23456
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> Rounded</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019/20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020/21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021/22</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022/23</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2023/24</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The number of CA cases identified through the VEP system</p></td><td><p>91,000</p></td><td><p>73,000</p></td><td><p>96,000</p></td><td><p>107,000</p></td><td><p>67,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The number of cases reviewed by CA</p></td><td><p>35,000</p></td><td><p>38,000</p></td><td><p>46,000</p></td><td><p>50,000</p></td><td><p>35,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Overpayments are recoverable from the Carer where there is evidence that the Carer failed to timeously inform the Department of changes in circumstances. The annual benefit uprating letter issued highlights the need to report changes such and changes in earnings. The Department also uses data from HMRC to indicate where the customer may have had a change in income and failed to inform us.</p><p> </p><p>The Department also takes steps to avoid large scale overpayments that are not recoverable. This includes managing workloads at appropriate levels so changes in circumstance are processed timeously.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Caveats</strong></p><ul><li>Numbers are rounded to the nearest 1,000.</li><li>The above data has been sourced from internal DWP management information, which is intended only to help the Department to manage its business. It is not intended for publication and has not been subject to the same quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</li><li>Data for October, November, and December 2023 is not held.</li></ul> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 02/05/2024 16:25:10 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1714502

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	State Retirement Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the full basic State Pension increased in cash terms between (a) 1997 and 2010 and (b) 2010 and 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Gloucester
	tabling member printed	Richard Graham
	uin	24019
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>Between April 1997 and April 2010, the basic State Pension increased from £62.45 per week to £97.65 per week– representing an increase of £35.20 or 56 per cent in cash terms. The full yearly amount of the basic State Pension increased by £1,837.</p><p> </p><p>Between April 2010 and April 2024 the basic State Pension increased from £97.65 per week to £169.50 – representing an increase of £71.85 per week or 74 per cent in cash terms. The full yearly amount of the basic State Pension increased by £3,749.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 02/05/2024 16:18:54 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3990 label Biography information for Richard Graham

1713528

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many overpayments his Department is seeking to recover for Carer’s Allowance due to (a) breaches to the earnings limit, (b) exceeding the limit for breaks from caring role in a given period, (c) not caring for 35 hours per week ,(d) other, (e) a combination of reasons and (f) overall.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	23453
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>We recognise the significant contribution of carers to supporting those most in need, which is why we have increased Carer's Allowance by almost £1,500 since 2010.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits they claim and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award.</p><p> </p><p>Where overpayments do occur, the Department has a duty to the taxpayer to protect public funds and to ask for money to be paid back. We remain committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and will always look to negotiate sustainable and affordable repayment plans.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested has been provided in the table below.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Carer’s Allowance overpayment reason</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Volume of overpayments as at 25 April 2024</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Earnings over CA Limit</p></td><td><p>107.6k</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Break in care</p></td><td><p>3.6k</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ceased to care/ Not Caring from Outset</p></td><td><p>23.2k</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other</p></td><td><p>18.9k</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>153.3k</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Note that the overpayment reasons for which you have requested breakdowns do not directly align with our Debt Manager system’s overpayment categories. We have provided the reasons which most closely reflect those requested. We are unable to provide data for overpayments caused by “a combination of reasons”, as this is not a category available/ recorded by DWP. Overpayments with values of £0.00 have been excluded. Data is taken as a snapshot as at 25 April 2024 and the figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The data has been sourced from internal DWP management information, which is intended only to help the Department to manage its business. It is not intended for publication and has not been subject to the same quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 02/05/2024 16:07:00 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1713529

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, at what financial threshold his Department (a) starts an investigation and (b) seeks overpayment recovery for Carer’s Allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	23454
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has an obligation to protect public funds by tackling fraud and error and, where legislated, recover overpayments.</p><p /><p>Specialist trained counter fraud investigators will consider a range of factors, including if a claimant is vulnerable, before starting an investigation. This includes if an overpayment is potentially above £3,000 or the person involved occupies a position of trust or has used false or forged documentation during their claim. DWP keeps these criteria under review.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Any overpayment of Carer’s Allowance that arose as a result of a failure to disclose or misrepresentation is recoverable under s.71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. DWP does not recover new overpayments below £65 unless they have arisen due to fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is committed to negotiating affordable and sustainable repayment plans that do not cause undue financial hardship. We will work with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and encourage customers to contact DWP Debt Management. Debt Management will work with individuals to review their financial circumstances and, in most instances, a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment can be agreed.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 02/05/2024 15:51:13 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1713199

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Mental Illness
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of staff in his Department's took a leave of absence due to mental ill health by (a) gender, (b) age and (c) UK region between1 May 2023 and 11 April 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	23191
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>Please see the attached document for the total number of people who have worked in DWP and taken at least one leave of absence at some point between 1<sup>st</sup> May 2023 and 31<sup>st</sup> March 2024. It includes those who left the department during this period. Figures for April 2024 are not yet available.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 01/05/2024 16:41:26 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard attachment 1 file name 23191.xlsx title 23191
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1713085

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carer’s allowance overpayments over (a) £5,000 and (b) £20,000 there were in (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24.
	tabling member constituency	Midlothian
	tabling member printed	Owen Thompson
	uin	23252
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>We recognise the significant contribution of carers to supporting those most in need, which is why we have increased Carer's Allowance by almost £1,500 since 2010.</p><p> </p><p>As with all DWP benefits, claimants have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to the benefit they claim and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award. For Carer’s Allowance, eligibility is partly dependent upon claimants earning £151 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and allowable expenses. This is set out at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/eligibility" target="_blank">Carer's Allowance: Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>Where overpayments do occur due to not being entitled to the benefit, the Department has a duty to the taxpayer to protect public funds and to ask for money to be paid back. We remain committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and will always look to negotiate sustainable and affordable repayment plans.</p><p> </p><p>Our most recent statistics show that Carer's Allowance overpayments relating to earnings/employment represents 2.1% of our £3.3bn Carer’s Allowance expenditure.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested has been provided in the table below.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Carer’s Allowance Overpayment Value Grouping</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022/23</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2023/24</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£5000.00 - £20,000.00</p></td><td><p>1,310</p></td><td><p>1,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Over £20,000.00</p></td><td><p>60</p></td><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p>1,370</p></td><td><p>1,340</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The data has been sourced from internal DWP management information, which is intended only to help the Department to manage its business. It is not intended for publication and has not been subject to the same quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>Note that the year relates to when the debt was raised on Debt Manager, and therefore not necessarily the period as to when Carer’s Allowance was overpaid. The overpayments may span periods of many years.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 01/05/2024 15:36:42 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4482 label Biography information for Owen Thompson

1713126

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the highest value overpayment has been for Carer’s Allowance in the (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24 financial years.
	tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
	tabling member printed	Martyn Day
	uin	23253
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>Claimants have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits they claim and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award.</p><p> </p><p>Where overpayments do occur due to not being entitled to the benefit, the Department has a duty to the taxpayer to protect public funds and to ask for money to be paid back. We remain committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and will always look to negotiate sustainable and affordable repayment plans.</p><p> </p><p>Our most recent statistics show that Carer's Allowance overpayments relating to earnings/employment represents just 2.1% of our £3.3bn Carer’s Allowance expenditure.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested has been provided in the table below. To avoid potentially disclosing personal information, we have bucketed the values requested.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> Highest Value Carer’s Allowance Overpayment</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021/22</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022/23</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2023/24</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p>£60-70k</p></td><td><p>£30-40k</p></td><td><p>£40-50k</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The data has been sourced from internal DWP management information, which is intended only to help the Department to manage its business. It is not intended for publication and has not been subject to the same quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.</p><p> </p><p>Note that the values represent the original overpayment amount when raised on Debt Manager. As the year relates to when the overpayment was raised as a debt for recovery, it does not necessarily relate to the period as to when benefit was overpaid. The overpayments above all span periods of many years.</p><p> </p><p>Note that the data provided is for all categories of overpayment. It is not necessarily the case that these overpayments arose due to claimants breaching the earnings limit.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 01/05/2024 15:33:32 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1713079

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full time equivalent staff in his Department worked on investigation of earnings alerts for carer’s allowance in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2022-23, (d) 2022-23 and (e) 2023-24.
	tabling member constituency	Midlothian
	tabling member printed	Owen Thompson
	uin	23249
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department allocated the following resources to full time equivalent to the investigation of earnings alerts for carer’s allowance as outlined below;</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>FTE </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>19/20</p></td><td><p>46.43</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20/21</p></td><td><p>55.20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>21/22</p></td><td><p>80.92</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>22/23</p></td><td><p>59.75</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>23/24</p></td><td><p>48.70</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Data is correct as of March for each of the following Financial Years: <strong>(a) 2019/20, (b) 2020/21, (c) 2021/22, (d) 2022/23 and (e) 2023/24.</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Figures were derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment.</p><p> </p><p>The number of colleagues employed in these directorates is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 01/05/2024 14:41:43 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4482 label Biography information for Owen Thompson

1713181

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of new Child Maintenance claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2012.
	tabling member constituency	Wallasey
	tabling member printed	Dame Angela Eagle
	uin	23137
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>Table 1<strong> - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018-19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019-20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020-21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021-22</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022-23</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2023-24</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Jobseekers Allowance</strong></p></td><td><p>88.6%</p></td><td><p>86.8%</p></td><td><p>80.6%</p></td><td><p>53.1%</p></td><td><p>82.5%</p></td><td><p>87.1%</p></td><td><p>67.8%</p></td><td><p>58.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Employment and Support Allowance</strong></p></td><td><p>84.6%</p></td><td><p>85.3%</p></td><td><p>73.3%</p></td><td><p>96.1%</p></td><td><p>70.9%</p></td><td><p>42.5%</p></td><td><p>47.4%</p></td><td><p>39.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>State Pension</strong></p></td><td><p>87.9%</p></td><td><p>73.7%</p></td><td><p>86.8%</p></td><td><p>86.7%</p></td><td><p>76.2%</p></td><td><p>45.6%</p></td><td><p>72.0%</p></td><td><p>96.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Pension Credit</strong></p></td><td><p>71.0%</p></td><td><p>55.2%</p></td><td><p>53.4%</p></td><td><p>44.8%</p></td><td><p>88.2%</p></td><td><p>74.3%</p></td><td><p>45.7%</p></td><td><p>77.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Disability Living Allowance (child)</strong></p></td><td><p>96.8%</p></td><td><p>96.5%</p></td><td><p>96.2%</p></td><td><p>91.3%</p></td><td><p>92.1%</p></td><td><p>35.6%</p></td><td><p>4.6%</p></td><td><p>3.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Personal Independence Payment </strong></p></td><td><p>85.1%</p></td><td><p>77.2%</p></td><td><p>72.3%</p></td><td><p>40.4%</p></td><td><p>23.0%</p></td><td><p>6.8%</p></td><td><p>38.4%</p></td><td><p>51.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Child Maintenance Service</strong></p></td><td><p>82.8%</p></td><td><p>87.4%</p></td><td><p>88.3%</p></td><td><p>91.6%</p></td><td><p>84.3%</p></td><td><p>84.3%</p></td><td><p>79.4%</p></td><td><p>79.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Universal Credit</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>80.4%</p></td><td><p>85.2%</p></td><td><p>90.9%</p></td><td><p>85.7%</p></td><td><p>84.4%</p></td><td><p>TBC</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Comments to note:</strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Service Performance Context:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Jobseekers Allowance</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Employment and Support Allowance</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>State Pension</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Pension Credit</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Disability</strong><strong> Living Allowance (Child) </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.</li><li>Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.</li><li>During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.</li><li>We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Personal Independence Payment</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-january-2024" target="_blank">published statistics</a>)</li><li>PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Child Maintenance Service</strong></p><ul><li>Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Universal Credit </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics" target="_blank">Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Jobseekers Allowance</p></td><td><p>Within 10 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Employment and Support Allowance</p></td><td><p>Within 10 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>State Pension</p></td><td><p>Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td><td><p>Within 50 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability Living Allowance (Child)</p></td><td><p>Within 40 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td><td><p>Within 75 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Child Maintenance Service</p></td><td><p>Payment within 12 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universal Credit</p></td><td><p>% Full Payment 1st Assessment Period</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Notes:</strong> The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 23130 23131 23132 23133 23134 23135 23136 question first answered 01/05/2024 14:37:14 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1713177

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Pension Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of new Pension Credit claims have been completed within the planned processing timescales by (a) nation and (b) region in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Wallasey
	tabling member printed	Dame Angela Eagle
	uin	23136
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>Table 1<strong> - Percentage of new claims that have been completed within the planned processing timescales by benefit.</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018-19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019-20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020-21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021-22</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022-23</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2023-24</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Jobseekers Allowance</strong></p></td><td><p>88.6%</p></td><td><p>86.8%</p></td><td><p>80.6%</p></td><td><p>53.1%</p></td><td><p>82.5%</p></td><td><p>87.1%</p></td><td><p>67.8%</p></td><td><p>58.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Employment and Support Allowance</strong></p></td><td><p>84.6%</p></td><td><p>85.3%</p></td><td><p>73.3%</p></td><td><p>96.1%</p></td><td><p>70.9%</p></td><td><p>42.5%</p></td><td><p>47.4%</p></td><td><p>39.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>State Pension</strong></p></td><td><p>87.9%</p></td><td><p>73.7%</p></td><td><p>86.8%</p></td><td><p>86.7%</p></td><td><p>76.2%</p></td><td><p>45.6%</p></td><td><p>72.0%</p></td><td><p>96.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Pension Credit</strong></p></td><td><p>71.0%</p></td><td><p>55.2%</p></td><td><p>53.4%</p></td><td><p>44.8%</p></td><td><p>88.2%</p></td><td><p>74.3%</p></td><td><p>45.7%</p></td><td><p>77.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Disability Living Allowance (child)</strong></p></td><td><p>96.8%</p></td><td><p>96.5%</p></td><td><p>96.2%</p></td><td><p>91.3%</p></td><td><p>92.1%</p></td><td><p>35.6%</p></td><td><p>4.6%</p></td><td><p>3.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Personal Independence Payment </strong></p></td><td><p>85.1%</p></td><td><p>77.2%</p></td><td><p>72.3%</p></td><td><p>40.4%</p></td><td><p>23.0%</p></td><td><p>6.8%</p></td><td><p>38.4%</p></td><td><p>51.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Child Maintenance Service</strong></p></td><td><p>82.8%</p></td><td><p>87.4%</p></td><td><p>88.3%</p></td><td><p>91.6%</p></td><td><p>84.3%</p></td><td><p>84.3%</p></td><td><p>79.4%</p></td><td><p>79.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Universal Credit</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>80.4%</p></td><td><p>85.2%</p></td><td><p>90.9%</p></td><td><p>85.7%</p></td><td><p>84.4%</p></td><td><p>TBC</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Comments to note:</strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Data has been provided for the years 2016-17 to 2023-24 (UC 2018-19 to 2023-24). Previous years requested are not retained centrally and the breakdown by nation and region for services except UC would only be available at a disproportionate cost.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>In the spirit of answering the question we have provided table 1 above.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Service Performance Context:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Jobseekers Allowance</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>From the start of the pandemic until April 2021, JSA claims were subject to easements that meant face-to-face appointment was removed. In April 2021, Claimant Commitments and regular face to face engagement requirements were reintroduced.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Employment and Support Allowance</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>ESA 2019-20 to 2023-24, the new claim process for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) changed. In April 2020 a digital claim was introduced during Covid. Prior to this, as part of the new claim process, a period up to 10 days at beginning was never measured. With the re-designed process all time is included, so it is not possible to make a like-for-like comparison with the new claim process before April 2020.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>State Pension</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>Performance was severely impacted due to the need to repivot resource to other areas, such as Universal Credit, during the global pandemic. In 2021/22, resource was re-deployed to work through the backlogs. Investment in digital services in this area has also aided recovery leading to significant performance improvements in 2023/24.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Pension Credit</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>2019/20 was impacted by substantial spikes in claims following the BBC decision to remove free TV licences. Uptake in Pension Credit has been encouraged through campaigns and again led to unprecedented claims being received when entitlement was linked to additional Cost of Living payments. This created backlogs and impacted payment timeliness as these were recovered.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Disability</strong><strong> Living Allowance (Child) </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Disability Living Allowance ceased in 2013 and is no longer an active benefit, it was replaced by Personal Independence Payment. Disability Living Allowance for Children continues to accept new claims and as such we have responded in respect of this benefit.</li><li>Demand for Child DLA has increased in recent years and is significantly higher than pre-pandemic volumes.</li><li>During 2020-21 we deferred case renewal activity to focus on processing new claims. Since then the service has had to service both high new claims volumes and the deferred renewal work which has led to longer processing times.</li><li>We have increased the numbers of staff working on Child DLA to respond to increase new claims volumes, and clear cases in date order to ensure fair customer service.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Personal Independence Payment</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>PIP performance represents a significant recovery compared to prior periods and the lowest average journey time recorded since 2018 (see <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-january-2024" target="_blank">published statistics</a>)</li><li>PIP New Claims demand is significantly higher than pre-Covid levels, despite the devolution of Scottish claims during this period.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Child Maintenance Service</strong></p><ul><li>Child Maintenance Service application volumes have been sharply increasing with CMS receiving more than 50% more in 2023/24 than in 2021/22. This dip in performance over this time can largely be explained by this. More recently, the removal of the Application fee has also resulted in higher volumes.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Universal Credit </strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Data has been provided for the years 2018-19 to 2023-24. Detailed data by local areas is available via Stat Xplore within the Universal Credit Published Statistics (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics" target="_blank">Universal Credit statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>). Previous years requested are not retained centrally or published and the breakdown by nation and region would only be available at a disproportionate cost.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The 2023-24 figures for UC are not available until May as per the Statistics Release schedule.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Planned timescales for all benefits are listed in table 2 below.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2: Planned Timescales for new claims (current methodology)</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Jobseekers Allowance</p></td><td><p>Within 10 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Employment and Support Allowance</p></td><td><p>Within 10 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>State Pension</p></td><td><p>Within 20 working days of State Pension entitlement date or 20 working days of Initial date of claim if claiming after entitlement has started.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td><td><p>Within 50 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability Living Allowance (Child)</p></td><td><p>Within 40 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td><td><p>Within 75 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Child Maintenance Service</p></td><td><p>Payment within 12 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universal Credit</p></td><td><p>% Full Payment 1st Assessment Period</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Notes:</strong> The planned timescales detailed above relate to those used for the 23/24 financial year. The timescales and methodologies to calculate them have changed over time to reflect new processes, technology and demands on our services.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 23130 23131 23132 23133 23134 23135 23137 question first answered 01/05/2024 14:37:14 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle