Committee publication · Estimate memoranda · 30 April 2026
Department for Work and Pensions Main Estimate Memorandum 2026-27
Summary
DWP's Main Estimate Memorandum 2026-27 details departmental spending of £14.9bn DEL and £328.8bn AME. Key changes include a machinery-of-government transfer of apprenticeships and adult skills from the Department for Education (£4.4bn), increases in benefit expenditure driven by state pension uprating (4.8%) and rising disability caseloads, and planned transformation programmes including Pathways to Work and the Health Transformation Programme.
Key findings
- Resource DEL decreases by £478m year-on-year; Crisis Resilience Fund transferred to MHCLG (£857m), offset by £163m apprenticeships investment and £205m pay award provision
- Resource AME increases by £13.2bn (4.2%), driven by state pension uprating (4.8%, £7.5bn), Universal Credit health element and caseload migration (£5.1bn), and disability benefits caseload growth (10.7%)
- Capital DEL increases by £266m, reflecting £157m lease acquisition and £63m workplace transformation costs as digital and office hub relocation accelerates
- Universal Credit caseload forecast to grow, with health-related UC claimants increasing by 380,000 (12%), generating £5.4bn additional expenditure; legacy benefit migration nearing completion
- DWP machinery-of-government change adds four new estimate lines: Apprenticeships, Adult Skills, Skills England (DEL) and Industrial Training Boards (ALB Net AME), totalling £4.5bn transferred from DfE
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Education (DfE), His Majesty's Treasury (HMT), Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Skills England
Notable line
“By bringing overarching responsibility for apprenticeships, adult further education, training and careers and Skills England within the department, transferring this from Department for Education (DfE) to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), we are”
Key Quotes
“By bringing overarching responsibility for apprenticeships, adult further education, training and careers and Skills England within the department, transferring this from Department for Education (DfE) to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), we are putting skills at the heart of the government's work on the labour market and strengthening the approach to employment and training.”
“As the UK's largest public services department, delivering to around 23 million people, we provide employment and skills support as well as delivering benefits and the State Pension.”
“Our vision is "to enable and empower everyone to thrive'' . Our mission, to improve people's lives now, and in the future, by giving them security, maximising their opportunities and driving prosperity for all. We will work towards”
“Pathways to Work (PtW ) is a 4 year programme. It was announced as a £1.9 billion package in the March 2025 Spring Statement through the green paper "Pathways to Work: reforming benefits and support to get Britain working." The programme integrated”
“The UC standard allowance was increased by 6.2%, an above inflation rise, as part of the Government's announced policy to rebalance payments between health and non-health related components of UC.”
“Uprating by 4.8% in line with the triple lock increases State Pension average awards and increases expenditure by about £7,287 million.”
“DWP is taking action to reduce spend and achieve more with the same level of funding through our efficiency initiatives, working to meet the government's ambition to reduce administrative expenditure.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗