Every parliamentary written question tabled by Caroline Voaden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–15 of 15 · Department for Work and Pensions
What assessment he has made of the feasibility of extending the Tell Us Once service to include private sector organisations including banks, insurance companies, and utility providers, in order to redu
Discovery and analysis work on both modernising the Tell Us Once service and considering its scope is due to commence in summer 2026.
What data the Government holds on the number of complaints made to financial services and utility companies relating to the handling of bereavement notifications.
Tell Us Once is used by public sector bodies only, and does not collect data on the number of complaints made to financial services and utility companies relating to the handling of bereavement notifications.
What recent progress his Department has made on the national roll-out of the Youth Jobs Guarantee.
The Department recently announced that, for national rollout, eligibility for the Jobs Guarantee will be expanded to include 22-24-year-olds, meaning all eligible 18-24-year-olds across Great Britain will benefit from a fully funded six month guaranteed paid employment opportunity. Once fully rolled out, the scheme is expected to support more than 90,000 young people over the next three years. We know that young people need support quickly, which is why delivery of Phase One of the Jobs Guarantee will begin from Spring 2026. The grant application window for Phase One has now closed and applications are being assessed, with successful Delivery Organisations to be announced in due course.This will be followed by national rollout across Great Britain in Autumn 2026. Learning from Phase One will be used to support effective national delivery of the scheme, alongside close working with Delivery Organisations and employers. This will ensure the scheme is delivered as intended for all eligible young people. Further details on delivery will be set out in the coming weeks.
What assessment has been made of the potential impact of defunding the Level 5 Outdoor Learning Specialist Apprenticeship on the outdoor education sector.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 April 2026 to Question UIN 123109.
What steps he is taking to improve the responsiveness of his Department's helplines.
We are continuing our efforts to improve our telephony services.We have prioritised service reform through focusing extra resource to boost our performance.Our call answering rate has increased to 86 per cent, the average answering time improving from eight minutes 34 seconds to seven minutes 22 seconds.Our efforts have cleared up agent work queues and freed up capacity.
When she plans to publish further information on the Crisis and Resilience Fund.
We are working closely with local authorities and stakeholders on the detailed design of the fund, and we plan to issue guidance as soon as possible ahead of the new scheme starting on 1 April 2026.
What steps she is taking to support pensioners in receipt of Local Housing Allowance who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants (including pensioners) in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. The increase to LHA rates in April 2024 cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25, and approximately £7bn over 5 years. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those entitled to Housing Benefit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. As a downpayment on poverty we are investing £1bn in funding for both the Household Support Fund (HSF) and DHPs (including Barnett impacts) for 2025/26 and will be ensuring DHP funding is maintained at current levels.
What estimate her Department has made of the number of students whose Universal Credit has been affected by receipt of a student loan in the most recent period for which data is available.
The requested information is not readily available as student loan income is not separated in the data we have and to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.
How many Pension Credit applications have been received in South Devon constituency since 22 August 2024.
On 28 November we published national Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes from 29 July 2024 to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK Data is captured wee...
If she will relaunch the Kickstart scheme.
There are currently no plans to relaunch The Kickstart Scheme.The Kickstart Scheme was a time-limited response to the effects of the pandemic economic downturn on young people. The scheme came to an end in September 2022 with over 163,000 Kickstart jobs s...
Whether she plans to negotiate reciprocal agreements with Commonwealth countries on uprating UK pensions.
The department has no plans to negotiate reciprocal agreements with Commonwealth countries on uprating UK pensions.
What assessment has been made of the potential impact of the decision to change eligibility requirements for the winter fuel payment on the public purse.
In 2022/23, 11.4 million people in 8.4 million households in Great Britain received a Winter Fuel Payment, at a total cost of £2 billion. The Government estimates that linking entitlement to receipt of Pension Credit and other relevant DWP income-related benefits will reduce expenditure by around £1.4 billion in 2024/25 and £1.5bn in 2025/26.
What assessment she has made of the feasibility of expanding eligibility for the winter fuel payment to include low-income households not in receipt of Pension Credit.
This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control Support is retained for those on the lowest incomes. 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 aged over 80. We have linked Winter Fuel Payments eligibility to Pension Credit and other qualifying benefits – but not Housing Benefit – because we can pay the majority of eligible recipients automatically based on information held in the Department. Housing Benefit is not included as a qualifying benefit since the amount that someone receives is based not only on personal circumstances but also on the amount of their rent.
What estimate she has made of the number of people in South Devon constituency who will be affected by the decision to change eligibility requirements for the winter fuel payment.
To be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payment statistics, the Pension Credit data that has been used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024.Due to Westminster Constituencies boundary changes, data isn’t explicitly available/ published for South Devon constituency. Therefore, to obtain the above figure, the statistics for Totnes constituency (now abolished and replaced by South Devon constituency) has been used. The estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Totnes Constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Totnes constituency.The estimated number of pensioners in South Devon constituency (2010 boundary) who will lose Winter Fuel Payments is 22,279. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics, (sources below). Please note that Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so. Furthermore, the above does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy change (means testing Winter fuel payments to those on Pension Credit and other means tested benefits). We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities. Also, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households rather than individuals, so the number of individuals claiming Pension Credit, will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit). Sources used: winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com) Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk) (Feb-24 data)
If she will make it her policy to increase Bereavement Support Payments in line with inflation.
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) helps people through the immediate period following a bereavement by way of an initial lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly instalments. Where longer-term financial support is needed, benefits such as Universal Credit have been specifically designed to provide assistance with ongoing living costs. We have no current plans to change the duration of Bereavement Support Payment.The rate of Bereavement Support Payment is reviewed on a discretionary basis as part of the annual uprating process, but there is no legal requirement to uprate it. BSP is not a cost-of-living benefit like Universal Credit, which has been increased in line with inflation. We will review the rate of Bereavement Support Payment later this year as part of the annual uprating process.