Written questions by Stainbank.

Whether he intends to meet representatives of the WASPI campaign to discuss the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on changes to women’s State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024.

Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We do not comment on live litigation.

How many people with a Personal Independence Payment special rules award have reached the end of their 3-year award period and have had their benefits award reviewed.

I refer the Rt Hon member to my previous answers.For Question UIN 127998, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 April 2026 to Question UIN 126117.For Question UIN 127999, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 April 2026 to Question UIN 126116.For Question UIN 128000, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 April 2026 to Question UIN 126114.

How many current Personal Independence Payment recipients that have been assessed at a Personal Independence Payment assessment as having a terminal condition are in receipt of a fixed-term award; and what is the average length of these fixed-term awards.

I refer the Rt Hon member to my previous answers.For Question UIN 127998, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 April 2026 to Question UIN 126117.For Question UIN 127999, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 April 2026 to Question UIN 126116.For Question UIN 128000, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 April 2026 to Question UIN 126114.

In the last year for which information is available how many Personal Independence Payment Recipients who are in receipt of the Enhanced component of both Daily Living and Mobility died (a) in total and (b) who accessed PIP under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness route.

I refer the Rt Hon member to my previous answers.For Question UIN 127998, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 April 2026 to Question UIN 126117.For Question UIN 127999, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 April 2026 to Question UIN 126116.For Question UIN 128000, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 April 2026 to Question UIN 126114.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of exempting military compensation from consideration when means testing pension credit.

The first £10 of any War Pension payment or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) award made due to injury or disablement is disregarded in Pension Credit. Income is calculated on a weekly basis, so the disregard is £10 per week. Four additions to the War Disablement Pension are completely disregarded: Constant Attendance Allowance; Mobility Supplement; Severe Disablement Occupational Allowance; and dependency increases for anyone other than the applicant or her / his partner. War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in Pension Credit and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.

What estimate he has made of levels of pension credit take up by Military veterans.

The Department for Work and Pensions treats its responsibilities under the Armed Forces Covenant very seriously and through a network of Armed Forces Champions in Jobcentres, for example, provides expert help and support, including help with benefits, to those veterans who need it most. Information on the levels of Pension Credit take up by Military Veterans is not available. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics cover the financial year 2023 to 2024 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2024 - GOV.UK.

What discussions he has had with the Aviation Industry Skills Industry Board on the value of ongoing funding during the transition from Apprenticeship Level to the Growth and Skills Levy for Level 3+ Leadership and Management Apprenticeship Standard Apprenticeships.

Skills is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The Department for Transport regularly attends Aviation Industry Skills Board meetings, where they provide government updates alongside colleagues from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education and Skills England. Skills England recently discussed the Growth and Skills levy with this group and government will continue to engage as we deliver this reform. From September 2026, we will withdraw funding from 16 existing apprenticeship standards. Three of these are generic leadership and management apprenticeships, which have grown significantly but are predominantly used as continuing professional development for established staff aged 25 and over. The changes to streamline the apprenticeship offer will help to create headroom to invest in opportunities for young people. Over the past 10 years, apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen sharply. Starts for 16–24-year-olds have declined by 40%, and over half of all apprenticeship starts are now by learners aged over 25, many of which are at higher levels. To support our ambition of 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, we are expanding foundation apprenticeships into hospitality and retail, introducing an incentive of up to £2,000 for SMEs that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees, and launching a new level 2 administrative assistant apprenticeship for young people.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of raising the state pension recipient maximum threshold on people who receive carer's allowance.

I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 23 June 2025 to Question UIN 59626. Carer’s Allowance is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

With reference to his statement on Pensions on 29 of January 2026, what new evidence did his Department's officials present to him in his re-consideration of the decision regarding state pension age changes that was not considered on or before 11 of November 2025.

The Secretary of State has taken a new decision, and the process has been thorough. We have looked at information previously considered and conducted new searches as part of an extensive review of relevant historical documents. In addition to the 2007 Automatic Pension Forecast Evaluation, other evidence relating to letter effectiveness and State Pension age awareness was provided to the Secretary of State. This included survey evidence on Combined Pension Forecasts, and additional State Pension age awareness evidence from the late 2000s. The decision document, which is available on gov.uk, includes some references to the evidence that was considered. The DWP research reports referenced are also publicly available in the National Archive.

What assessment his Department has made of the impact of UK Government measures to reduce child poverty on children in Scotland; and how he is working with the Scottish Government to complement devolved policies and support progress towards Scotland’s statutory child poverty targets.

We estimate that removing the two-child limit alongside other measures in the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December, will lift 550,000 children out of poverty across the whole of the UK, leading to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.Removing the two-child limit from April 2026 will alone reduce child poverty across the UK by 450,000 in the final year of parliament and could benefit 95,000 children living in households in Scotland impacted by the policy. We have published the UK wide impacts for the Child Poverty Strategy here: Child Poverty Strategy: Impact on low income poverty levels and children gaining in the UK: December 2025. We are committed to continued collaboration with the Devolved Governments to tackle child poverty across the UK. As set out in our Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, published alongside the Child Poverty Strategy, we will continue to work closely with them to consider how best to feed into their own findings to track progress at both the local and national level.

When he plans to make a final decision decision on the Government response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation into Women’s State Pension age communications and associated issues.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions set out in his Oral Statement on 11 November 2025 that he will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.

With reference to his Oral Statement of 11 November 2025 on Pensions, Official Report, col 44, if he will publish the research findings from the 2007 report referred to in that statement.

The report, Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts (research report No 447), is publicly available on the National Archives website, and on 11 November we deposited a copy in the House Libraries.

With reference to his Oral Statement of 11 November 2025 on Pensions, Official Report, col 44, whether the research findings from the 2007 report referred to in that statement have been shared with the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign group.

The report, Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts (research report No 447), is publicly available on the National Archives website, and on 11 November we deposited a copy in the House Libraries.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the Access to Work cap for people who require BSL interpreters to remain in full time work.

The cap was introduced in 2015 to enable Access to Work to continue to provide tailored support for those with the most significant needs and at the same time grow the overall number of customers receiving support from the scheme. The cap was introduced that year, set at 1.5 times the national average salary. This was revised upwards to twice the national average salary in 2018, based in part on the recognition of needs of deaf customers, particularly British Sign Language users. Since its introduction in 2015 the cap has been increased annually in line with average earnings. The cap was originally introduced at £40,800 in 2015/16, and it now stands at £69,620.

Whether existing claimants of the Universal Credit health element will be considered as new claimants upon (a) periodic reassessment and (b) subsequent (i) appeal and (ii) reapplication.

Existing claimants of the Universal Credit (UC) health element will not be considered new claimants if they are reassessed and are still found to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-related Activity (LCWRA). Existing claimants who are not found to have LCWRA at reassessment but successfully appeal this decision would still be eligible for the higher rate. If a claimant is found not to have LCWRA and then reapplies at a later date, they will be considered a new claimant. From 6 April 2026, new UC Health claimants will receive the lower rate unless they meet the Severe Conditions Criteria or qualify under Special Rules for End of Life.

Whether she has had recent discussions with her counterpart in the Scottish government on the potential long-term impact of changes to PIP eligibility on (a) people in Scotland who are in receipt of Adult Disability Payment and (b) the interaction between reserved and devolved systems.

The government has launched a comprehensive review of the PIP assessment, to ensure it is fair and fit for the future. I shall lead the review, and it will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. We are committed to working closely with the devolved governments throughout the Timms review. In the course of my stakeholder engagement, I have spoken to disability stakeholders from Scotland, to draw on devolved government perspectives in designing the work of the review. We will continue to engage disability stakeholders from across the UK throughout the review.

Whether people in Scotland who transition from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit will be (a) considered as new claimants and (b) subject to the new rules under the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Bill when determining their eligibility for the Universal Credit health element.

We are rebalancing Universal Credit (UC) to fix a system which encourages people to claim health benefits and incentivises inactivity. It’s a targeted reform that protects those with the most serious, long-term conditions and existing claimants, while providing work, health and skills support to everyone who is affected by changes to LCWRA. Both Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and UC are entirely reserved so are assessed in the same way across England, Scotland and Wales. Customers who move to UC from ESA, with no gap between those awards, will not be treated as a new claimant.

With reference to the impact assessment on the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, published on 30 June 2025, how many of those moved into relative or absolute poverty are due solely to changes of the Universal Credit Health Element.

No assessment has been made on this basis. The Poverty Impact assessment published ahead of the Bill Committee Stage shows a 50,000 reduction in the number of people below the poverty line.

How many recipients of Universal Credit Health Element recipients have been diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome.

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to food bank referral slips on levels of food poverty since February 2024.

Under the previous administration, DWP introduced a new food charity signposting slip to replace the one previously used, removing personal data to better comply with obligations, including GDPR responsibilities, and to improve our process. The new slip does not change our DWP policy, and our Jobcentres continue to provide customers with guidance to find additional support, including to emergency food support when appropriate.