Written questions by Stephenson.

With reference to Chapter 9 of the final stage impact assessment entitled Improve access to Statutory Sick Pay by removing the Lower Earnings Limit and removing the waiting period, if she will make it her policy publish an assessment of the impact of that policy on behaviour in each of the first five years after it is implemented.

The Government intends to conduct a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Employment Rights Bill within five years of implementation. The impact of the measures to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay will be monitored, including how Statutory Sick Pay is used by employers and how effectively it supports employees.

If she will make an estimate of the number of people in receipt of a pension in the (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29 financial years.

The estimated total number of people in receipt of State Pension in the 2025-26 to 2028-29 financial years is available in the following table. This is from the latest Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables published following Spring Statement 2025. This covers State Pension recipients in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and outside the UK. Figures are rounded to nearest one thousand and represent a mid-financial year average. Source: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2025 - GOV.UK As forecasts of private pension receipt are not produced, this response has reference to the State Pension only. Financial Year2025-262026-272027-282028-29Total State Pension Claimant Forecast (in thousands)13,19613,20913,07513,157

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of young people who have been auto-enrolled in a pension since October 2012; and what their median expected annual pension payments will be.

Automatic enrolment has succeeded in transforming pension saving with over 11 million employees having been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension since 2012. These statistics are available from The Pensions Regulator and are updated on a monthly basis. However, this is not split by ageAutomatic enrolment declaration of compliance report. DWP publish statistics annually on pension participation by age. The latest statistics show 86% of 22-to-29-year-olds who are eligible for Automatic Enrolment are saving into a workplace pension as of 2023, up from 35% in 2012 (when AE was being rolled out). This is comparable to a participation rate of 88% for all eligible individuals aged (22 to 66). Further data on workplace pension participation and saving trends are available on GOV.UK. Future pension income depends on many individuals factors across an individual’s life time, further analysis on future pensioner incomes by year of retirement are available on GOV.UK.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of endometriosis on women in the workplace.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. We announced in the recent Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding.In addition to this work, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have launched the Keep Britain Working Review. This review will consider how to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions; promote healthy workplaces and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. The Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including women with endometriosis, with their employment journey. The Disability Confident Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. A digital information service for employers, (Support with Employee Health and Disability), has been developed to offer guidance on making reasonable adjustments, supporting employees to remain in work, and understanding legal requirements.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2025 to Question 30412 on Sick Leave: Productivity, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of workplace sickness on productivity.

The Department published an estimate of the overall cost to the economy due to sickness absence in The cost of working age ill-health and disability that prevents work on 18 March 2025. The analyses do not estimate the specific impact of workplace sickness on productivity at work, but do consider the overall economic output lost as a result of sickness absence. This found that lost output due to sickness absence cost the economy between £38 billion to £56 billion in 2022. The Department currently has no plans to specifically assess the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.

With reference to the press notice entitled Nearly fifty thousand extra pensioners receiving vital Pension Credit support following surge in claims processed, published on 27 February 2025, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who were (a) eligible for and (b) not in receipt of Pension Credit on 24 March 2025.

The Department does not have this data for the period up to March 2025. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics cover the financial year 2022 to 2023 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK.

With reference to her Department's press release entitled Nearly fifty thousand extra pensioners receiving vital Pension Credit support following surge in claims processed, published on 27 February 2025, how much her Department spent on promoting Pension Credit uptake.

The Pension Credit campaign budget is £5m for the 2024/25 financial year. This supported the development of an expanded Pension Credit campaign encouraging all eligible pensioners to claim. Activity has included TV and video on demand; radio; national and regional press; paid social media and website adverts; GP and Post Office screens; train panels; digital street displays; podcasts; and a partnership with ITV regional weather.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.

The Department has not assessed the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity. The Department published an estimate of the overall cost to the economy due to sickness absence in 2016 Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. The analyses do not estimate the impact of health on productivity at work but considers the economic output lost as a result of sickness absence. This found that lost output due to sickness absence cost the economy between £15 billion to £20 billion.

If she will make an estimate of the median income for pensioners in the 2024-25 financial year.

The Pensioners’ Incomes statistics contains estimates of the levels, sources and distribution of pensioners’ incomes. This is published by the department annually. The latest data covers financial year ending 2023. In financial year ending 2023, it is estimated that the median net income for all pensioner units was £424 per week before housing costs, and £387 per week after housing costs. This information is available in Table 2.1 of the Pensioners' Incomes: financial years ending 1995 to 2023 tables, which can be found here: Pensioners' Incomes: financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK Pensioners’ Incomes data is derived from the Family Resources Survey and covers private households in the United Kingdom. A pensioner unit can be a single pensioner over State Pension age, a pensioner couple where one member is over State Pension age, or a pensioner couple where both members are over State Pension age.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24303 on Pensioners: Winter Fuel Payment, if she will make an estimate of the number of those pensioners who are on the basic state pension.

At May 2024, there were 3.5m pensioners with a basic State Pension income above £218.15: the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG) threshold for single pensioners. (Source: Stat-Xplore) However, some pensioners with a basic State Pension income below the SMG will also have incomes from other sources, such as a private pension, which takes their total income above this threshold.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the winter fuel payment on recent trends in the level of economic growth.

It is not possible to attribute changes in consumer spending or economic growth to any changes to Winter Fuel Payments. It is not possible to disentangle these from other much larger factors that could affect economic growth or consumption.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments on consumer spending.

It is not possible to attribute changes in consumer spending or economic growth to any changes to Winter Fuel Payments. It is not possible to disentangle these from other much larger factors that could affect economic growth or consumption.

If she will make an estimate of the proportion of Winter Fuel Payments that were spent through (a) direct and (b) indirect taxation in 2023-24.

The department does not hold information on how Winter Fuel Payments were spent in 2023–24.

What estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in poverty during the winter of 2024-25; and how this compares to the winter of 2023-24.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2025 to Question 24306 Statistics on the number of people living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are produced on an annual basis and published in the Households Below Average Income statistics. The latest available data covers financial year ending 2023, and is published by the Department here Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK Poverty figures relating to the financial year 2024-25 will be published in due course.

If she will make an estimate of the number of pensioners earning less than the Pension Credit threshold who did not receive winter fuel payment in winter 2024-25.

The Department does not yet have data on households who did not receive a Winter Fuel Payment in Winter 2024/25. The latest data on Winter Fuel Payment caseload is available here: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting pensioners in winter 2024-25.

The Department for Work and Pensions publishes Management Information on the Household Support Fund, including details on the proportion of funding spent on households with pensioners. The latest Management Information covering the scheme running from April 2023-March 2024 is available here: Household Support Fund management information - GOV.UK. Data that includes winter 2024-25 is still being collected and will be published later in 2025. Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination that the Department for Work and Pensions have set out for the fund. This is because they have the ties and the knowledge to best determine how support should be provided in their local communities. The Department for Work and Pensions conducted an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund, that ran from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, to understand the benefits of the awards made across England during this period. This will be published shortly.

If she will make an estimate of the proportion of Household Support Fund funding allocated to pensioners in 2024-25.

The Department for Work and Pensions publishes Management Information on the Household Support Fund, including details on the proportion of funding spent on households with pensioners. The latest Management Information covering the scheme running from April 2023-March 2024 is available here: Household Support Fund management information - GOV.UK. Data that includes winter 2024-25 is still being collected and will be published later in 2025. Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own local schemes within the parameters of the guidance and grant determination that the Department for Work and Pensions have set out for the fund. This is because they have the ties and the knowledge to best determine how support should be provided in their local communities. The Department for Work and Pensions conducted an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund, that ran from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, to understand the benefits of the awards made across England during this period. This will be published shortly.

How many people signed up for Pension Credit between July and December 2024.

Statistics on Pension Credit application volumes were published on 28 November 2024. This includes numbers of applications that were received, awarded and not awarded, up to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK Please note, the next publication of Pension Credit application statistics is due around the end of February 2025 and will cover the data up to week commencing 10 February 2025.

What estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in poverty in winter (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2023-24.

Statistics on the number of people living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are produced on an annual basis and published in the Households Below Average Income statistics. The latest available data covers financial year ending 2023, and is published by the Department here Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK

What target her Department set for the number of new sign ups to Pension Credit between July and December 2024.

No targets for new awards or applications have been set, but the Government wants everyone eligible for Pension Credit but not currently claiming it to receive the benefits they are entitled to. That’s why we have been taking significant steps to maximise the take-up of Pension Credit. The Department’s campaign to promote Pension Credit has been running since September on TV, radio, social media such as Facebook and Instagram, on YouTube, on advertising screens, including on GP and Post Office screens as well as in the press. The latest phase of the campaign was aimed at friends and family - especially adult children of eligible pensioners - asking them to tell people they know about Pension Credit, encourage them to check their eligibility, as well as help them make a claim. In order to promote Pension Credit through as many channels as possible, we have also engaged with key stakeholders and partners, including other government departments, local councils, housing associations, community groups, local libraries and service providers as well as charities and third sector organisations.