Written questions by Mohamed.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of rolling out Universal Basic Income pilots.

We are not considering rolling out Universal Basic Income pilots.

What steps she is taking consult stakeholders during her Department's review of universal credit; and what plans she has for the format of such consultation.

We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty.  We have already begun this work with the announcement of the Fair Repayment Rate in the Budget, giving 1.2m of the poorest...

What financial support is available from her Department for women who have given birth to (a) twins and (b) other multiples.

There are two types of maternity pay available to pregnant working women which offer a measure of financial security to help them take time off work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth:Statutory Maternity Pay paid...

What steps she is taking to tackle delays in the Access to Work scheme.

We are committed to reducing wait times for Access to Work, and we have deployed additional staff to process claims and streamlined our delivery processes. We prioritise customers starting a job in four weeks. Access to Work continues to be in high demand...

If she will increase funding for the Access to Work scheme.

Spending on Access to Work was around £257.8m in 2023/24, a real-terms increase of 33% compared to 2022/23, and it has increased every year since 2021/22. The Department is working through how to allocate its funding settlement from the 2024 Spending Revi...

If she will take steps to amend the Personal Independence Payment assessment system by reducing the number of documents required.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is aimed at supporting people, who have a long-term physical or mental health condition, with extra disability-related costs. Entitlement is based on how the condition affects mobility and daily living needs, rather tha...

With reference to the report entitled Disability Price Tag 2024, published by Scope in September 2024, what steps her Department takes to support disabled households with the extra costs they face.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2024 to Question UIN 5883.

With reference to the report entitled Disability Price Tag 2024, published by Scope in September 2024, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Personal Independence Payments at supporting disabl

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 October 2024 to Question UIN 8747

With reference to the report entitled Disability Price Tag 2024, published by Scope in September 2024, what estimate she has made of the extra costs incurred by disabled people.

DWP pays close attention to the evidence base on the extra costs faced by disabled people; including academic research, analysis by Scope, and DWP’s own commissioned research on the Uses of Health and Disability Benefits from 2019. In order to understand ...

What steps she is taking to tackle child poverty in Sheffield Central constituency.

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish the child poverty strategy in the Spring. Our publication on 23 October ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Dev...

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the eligibility threshold for Pension Credit.

The rates of Pension Credit were last reviewed in Autumn 2023 as part of the Secretary of State’s annual statutory review of State pension and benefit rates. Following that review, the Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee was increased by 8.5%, in li...

What steps she is taking to support low-income pensioners.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone...