Written questions by MacDonald.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of uncoupling Carer’s Allowance and Blue Badges from PIP.

It is a long-established principle that in order for an unpaid carer to receive Carer’s Allowance the person they are caring for should be receiving a “trigger” disability benefit. This link acts as a proxy for establishing that care needs exist. We have no plans to break this link. Support for unpaid carers is, of course, a devolved matter to the Scottish Parliament. Access to Blue Badges is a matter for the Department for Transport and the Devolved Administrations.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Personal Independence Payments assessments for people with (i) moderate and (ii) fluctuating health conditions.

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment looks at how a long-term health condition or disability impacts on daily life across 12 activities, taking into account fluctuations over a 12-month period. The activities are grouped into two components, daily living and mobility, and within each activity a descriptor must be chosen to score an individual depending on whether an individual can complete the activity, the manner in which they do it, and whether they can complete each activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period. The assessment is designed to reflect the impact of variations in an individual's needs for all health conditions, not only those which more typically fluctuate. Health conditions may be physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive, or any combination of these, and the assessment is designed to take a comprehensive approach to disability, reflecting the needs arising from the full range of impairments.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of cuts to (a) Personal Independence Payments and (b) the health top-up in Universal Credit on people with (i) moderate and (ii) fluctuating conditions.

No assessment has been made on the impacts of the reforms on claimants with particular health conditions.Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out a number of planned improvements to the assessment process for Personal Independence Payment. Our aim is to improve the quality of decision making, including for those whose conditions are fluctuating.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments to include people who have been forced to move abroad due to life-threatening medical conditions.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can continue to be paid during an absence from Great Britain for 13 weeks. This can be increased to 26 weeks where the absence is specifically in relation to medical treatment of the condition which existed prior to a temporary absence.We have no plans to change these rules.Where someone moves permanently to a European Economic Area country or Switzerland, for customers in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) the export of the daily living component of PIP can exceed the temporary absence rules. The length of time PIP can be exported for depends on their individual circumstances. Further information on receiving benefits abroad and the WA are available on Gov.UK: Moving or retiring abroad - GOV.UK.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Carer's Allowance in supporting unpaid carers; and whether she plans to increase the rate of that allowance.

This Government continues to protect the value of benefits paid to carers whilst also spending record amounts in real terms. The Secretary of State undertakes a statutory annual review of benefit and pensions, and the value of Carer’s Allowance is protected by Up-rating it each year in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The rate of Carer’s Allowance is £81.90 a week in 2024/25, and from April 2025 this will increase to £83.30 a week, subject to Parliamentary processes. In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively. Currently, the Universal Credit carer element is £198.31 per monthly assessment period. The additional amount for a carer in Pension Credit is £45.60 a week. These additional amounts are worth around £2400 a year.

Whether she has had discussions with the Leader of the House on scheduling a parliamentary debate on compensation for women affected by changes to the state pension age.

Sir John Hayes MP (Conservative, South Holland and The Deepings) has secured a Westminster Hall general debate on the topic of ‘Compensation for women affected by changes to the State Pension age’ on Wednesday 15 January 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to increase transparency in the (a) management and (b) adjustment of pension schemes.

Trustees have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the scheme membership, and are required by law to provide members with information about how the scheme has been managed. This includes legal duties about transparency and disclosure of information. There are also clear legal requirements around a trustee or sponsoring employer’s ability to make changes to a pension scheme, including requirements that members must be properly consulted before a change is made if it will affect their benefit rights. The Pensions Regulator has powers to investigate and take the necessary action if there is evidence these obligations are not being met. The Pensions Regulator’s 2024 revised General Code of Practice sets out detailed requirements which all occupational pension schemes are expected to follow in order to maintain an effective system of governance.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential financial impact of uprating the pensions of British pensioners overseas whose state pensions are currently frozen.

No assessment has been made. The UK's policy on the up-rating of the UK State Pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. Up-rating is based on levels of earnings growth and price inflation in the UK which has no direct relevance where the pensioner is resident overseas. Over many years, priority is given to those living in the United Kingdom when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.

What assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the differences in the amounts received by recipients of the old and new State Pension.

We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.It is not possible to make direct, like for like comparisons between State Pension amounts received under the pre 2016 State Pension system and the new State Pension. Under both systems, the amount people are entitled to varies according to their National Insurance record. This is reflected in the average amounts that people receive.Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners will benefit, with many expected to see their State Pension increase by around a thousand pounds over the next five years.