Every parliamentary written question tabled by Helen Whately this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 241–260 of 440 · this parliament
With reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 29 April 2025, Official Report, col 236, how many sickfluencers have been prosecuted under the (a) Fraud Act 2006 and (b) Serious Crime Act 2007.
I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 50195 on 12 May 2025.
How many non-UK and Irish nationals have applied for (a) Universal Credit and (b) other welfare payments in the last 12 months.
To access public funds benefits, individuals are required to be either a British or Irish citizen or hold an immigration status which does not prevent them from accessing public funds. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) cannot pay public funds benefits, such as Universal Credit, to a person if the Home Office has applied a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition to their immigration status. Nationals of countries other than the UK and Ireland who have a valid immigration status and that does not prohibit recourse to public funds are subject to the same eligibility criteria as any other claimant, including the need to be ‘habitually resident’ (meaning they have made the UK their home in addition to having a legal right to claim benefits). The Department has defined ‘ineligible immigration status’ as a claimant with a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition attached to their immigration status or who have no valid UK immigration status. The Department has provided a figure on the number of individuals who undertake the Habitual Residency Test (HRT) and fail due to being a ‘Person Subject to Immigration Control’, i.e. having No Recourse to Public Funds. There were 38,000 individuals who were refused Universal Credit due to fail reason: ‘Person Subject to Immigration Control’ between May 2024 and April 2025. The Department does not hold equivalent information for non-Universal Credit benefits and to provide it would exceed cost limits.
What the number of outstanding Access to Work applications was in each of the last 12 months.
The number of outstanding Access to Work applications in each of the last 12 months was: June 2024 = 42,403July 2024 = 48,270August 2024 = 50,803September 2024 = 54,530October 2024 = 56,028November 2024 = 58,112December 2024 = 58,129January 2025 = 60,427February 2025 = 61,719March 2025 = 61,674April 2025 = 62,254May 2025 = 62,907 Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It should therefore be treated with caution.
What proportion of Child Tax Credit claimants have been moved onto Universal Credit.
The number and proportion of Child Tax Credit claimants who have made a claim to Universal Credit following a migration notice can be obtained from Stat-Xplore within People invited to Move to Universal Credit dataset. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
How many Child Tax Credit claimants were moved onto Universal Credit in each year since 2020.
The number and proportion of Child Tax Credit claimants who have made a claim to Universal Credit following a migration notice can be obtained from Stat-Xplore within People invited to Move to Universal Credit dataset. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Whether she has made an estimate of the value of Access to Work claims waiting to be processed.
We have taken claims as those currently awaiting payment.Estimating the value of outstanding Access to Work (AtW) payment claims would incur a disproportionate cost. To produce an estimate, each claim would need to be manually examined to determine the amount being claimed.The number of outstanding payment claims currently stands at 21,304. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It should therefore be treated with caution.
What the average time taken was to process Access to Work claims once an invoice had been submitted in each of the last 12 months.
We do not record, and therefore do not hold, data on the average time taken to process Access to Work claims once an invoice has been submitted. To determine this, we would need to review all claims processed over the past 12 months to compare the date each claim was received with the date it was processed. This exercise would incur a disproportionate cost.
How many households on Universal Credit had (a) five, (b) six, (c) seven, (d), eight, (e) nine and (f) 10 or more children since November 2018.
The latest statistics for the number of children in households on Universal Credit are available on Stat-Xplore for November 2024. As statistics for the number of children are only available from April 2019, the table shows the data for November 2019 to November 2024. Total number of households receiving a Universal Credit payment, with five or more children in the household, November 2019 to November 2024 Number of Children Nov 2019Nov 2020Nov 2021Nov 2022Nov 2023Nov 2024510,84120,59126,13631,31035,12448,95663,1365,8797,7539,34810,27814,89978601,6492,2212,6893,0534,81282865647369149951,82298317026928833766810 or more 4081114169184424Total15,25628,93437,22444,71249,97271,580 Source: Households on Universal Credit dataset Notes:Statistical disclosure control has been applied to this table to avoid the release of confidential data. Totals may not sum due to the disclosure control applied. Award, entitlement and payment information may be missing for a very small number of households on Universal Credit, where more limited information is entered onto IT systems. Users are advised that these statistics have ongoing work to improve the data quality and so are subject to revision. Figures for November 2024 are provisional. These figures will be subject to revision in subsequent releases. It is expected that overall provisional figures will be within two per cent of their revised figure in future releases. Revised figures for households on Universal Credit are published quarterly in February, May, August and November. With each publication, the previous 2 years are revised. This means that the totals in this table may vary slightly from the statistics published on Stat-Xplore for November 2019, November 2020, and November 2021.
How many people with ineligible immigration status applied for (a) Universal Credit and (b) other welfare payments in the last 12 months.
To access public funds benefits, individuals are required to be either a British or Irish citizen or hold an immigration status which does not prevent them from accessing public funds. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) cannot pay public funds benefits, such as Universal Credit, to a person if the Home Office has applied a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition to their immigration status. Nationals of countries other than the UK and Ireland who have a valid immigration status and that does not prohibit recourse to public funds are subject to the same eligibility criteria as any other claimant, including the need to be ‘habitually resident’ (meaning they have made the UK their home in addition to having a legal right to claim benefits). The Department has defined ‘ineligible immigration status’ as a claimant with a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition attached to their immigration status or who have no valid UK immigration status. The Department has provided a figure on the number of individuals who undertake the Habitual Residency Test (HRT) and fail due to being a ‘Person Subject to Immigration Control’, i.e. having No Recourse to Public Funds. There were 38,000 individuals who were refused Universal Credit due to fail reason: ‘Person Subject to Immigration Control’ between May 2024 and April 2025. The Department does not hold equivalent information for non-Universal Credit benefits and to provide it would exceed cost limits.
How many people with no recourse to public funds applied for (a) Universal Credit and (b) other welfare payments in the last 12 months.
To access public funds benefits, individuals are required to be either a British or Irish citizen or hold an immigration status which does not prevent them from accessing public funds. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) cannot pay public funds benefits, such as Universal Credit, to a person if the Home Office has applied a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition to their immigration status. Nationals of countries other than the UK and Ireland who have a valid immigration status and that does not prohibit recourse to public funds are subject to the same eligibility criteria as any other claimant, including the need to be ‘habitually resident’ (meaning they have made the UK their home in addition to having a legal right to claim benefits). The Department has defined ‘ineligible immigration status’ as a claimant with a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition attached to their immigration status or who have no valid UK immigration status. The Department has provided a figure on the number of individuals who undertake the Habitual Residency Test (HRT) and fail due to being a ‘Person Subject to Immigration Control’, i.e. having No Recourse to Public Funds. There were 38,000 individuals who were refused Universal Credit due to fail reason: ‘Person Subject to Immigration Control’ between May 2024 and April 2025. The Department does not hold equivalent information for non-Universal Credit benefits and to provide it would exceed cost limits.
With reference to the Department for Health and Social Care's press release entitled Crack teams get patients off waiting lists at twice the speed, published on 16 March 2025, what estimate he has made of the associated impact on the reduction in waiting lists on employment.
No formal estimate has been made of the associated impact of the reduction in waiting lists on employment. The Further Faster 20 (FF20) programme continues to support trusts within the cohort to reduce their waiting lists, helping people to return to work. An evaluation across all FF20 schemes will be undertaken and made available later this year. However, we are clear that cutting waiting lists ensures that patients get the treatment they need quicker, supporting them to stay in or return to work wherever possible.
With reference to the report commissioned by the Office of Rail and Road entitled Temple Mills Depot – Independent Capacity Assessment 2025, published on 31 March 2025, what steps her Department is taking to increase the level of capacity available for new operators to run cross-channel services.
The Department welcomes the continuing work by the independent Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to assess the various access applications for Temple Mills Depot, including the Independent Capacity Assessment. We expect the ORR to publish its final determination of the various access applications by the end of the year. The Government recognises the significant interest from a number of new entrants seeking to launch services and is working to establish a thriving and competitive market, which will ultimately benefit passengers.
With reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the debate on the Report stage of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill on 29 April 2025, Official Report, column 236, how many sickfluencers have been prosecuted under the (a) Fraud Act 2006 and (b) Serious Crime Act 2007.
The Department does not use the term ‘sickfluencer’ as a defined term and, as such, does not collect data under this description. Furthermore, the Department is not a prosecuting body; DWP’s role is to refer cases for consideration of prosecution to the appropriate prosecuting authority who are then responsible for taking the case forward, including determining the most appropriate offences to prosecute under.
What estimate she has made of the number of people that will not fall into long term economic inactivity due to funding announced in the Spring Statement 2025.
We will be developing more detailed assessments of the potential impacts of the employment measures proposed in the Green Paper as these are developed in detail. The Office for Budget Responsibility has also stated that it intends to assess the labour supply impacts of the Green Paper measures in their Autumn forecast.
What recent estimate her Department has made of the number of pensioners who are eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming it.
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. In the financial year ending 2023, it is estimated that up to 760,000 pensioner households in Great Britain were entitled to Pension Credit but not receiving the benefit. The next edition of the Pension Credit take-up statistics will be released between September and October 2025. This will cover the financial year 2023 to 2024.
What estimate she has made of the number of people that will receive additional (a) employment, (b) health and (c) skills support through funding announced in the Spring Statement 2025.
We announced in the 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. This investment will build on existing support from WorkWell, Connect to Work and the Get Britain Working trailblazers. As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector organisations in the private, voluntary and charitable sectors, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details about the support offer and how many people will receive support in due course after we have completed our consultation process. We will be developing more detailed assessments of the potential impacts of the employment measures proposed in the Green Paper as these are developed in detail. The Office for Budget Responsibility has also stated that it intends to assess the labour supply impacts of the Green Paper measures in their Autumn forecast.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that importers of fresh fruit from outside the UK receive timely advance notification of border inspections.
Businesses must notify the competent authorities in advance of a consignment arriving in GB when it contains High risk or Medium A risk plants and plant products as they are subject to phytosanitary controls. Upon completion of the notification an initial risk assessment is provided detailing whether an inspection is required. Drivers and notifiers are informed in one of two ways. If the transporter uses the Goods Movement Vehicle Service (GVMS), drivers should use the ‘check if you need to report for an inspection’ option, to find out what they need to do. Drivers should check this service again before they reach the point of entry.If the transporter does not use GMVS, Imports of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) will provide an initial risk assessment telling the importer/agent if their consignment needs SPS checks when they submit their import notification. If the consignment does need checks, the importer/agent will also receive a text and email message 2 hours before the transporter’s estimated time of arrival in GB. The message will confirm what the transporter needs to do. They can also check their IPAFFS dashboard.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the overnight holding of perishable fruit consignments at borders on affected businesses; and what steps his Department plans to take to help minimise delays for just-in-time supply chains in the fresh produce sector.
For Plants and Plant Products, APHA will aim to inspect consignments within four hours of them being presented for a physical inspection. However, a small minority of fruit and vegetables are subject to 100% inspection due to the level of pest and disease risk and may be held in the event that the goods are not available for inspection. The time taken to conduct checks is subject to a ‘Service Level Agreement’ (SLA), details of which are available on Gov.uk. Our teams have been working closely with traders to ensure checks are completed effectively and swiftly to avoid delays. We are confident BCP capacity, including staff resource, and opening times are sufficient for the current volume of checks. We continue to work with traders to ensure their documentation is accurately filled out before starting their journey and have published guidance to traders and drivers on the requirements of BCP inspections to help reduce waiting times.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) consult and (b) inform businesses importing fruit from non-EU countries of changes to (i) inspection regimes and (ii) risk categorisation; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on ensuring that policy changes do not result in (A) unanticipated costs and (B) supply disruptions for importers.
Changes to plant health import controls are communicated in-line with relevant international obligations, including those under the WTO-SPS agreement and International Plant Protection Convention. This includes submitting a notification to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the UK Chief Plant Health Officer writing to their counterparts in other countries. Details are also published on the UK Plant Health Portal. Consultation with stakeholders on proposed, and up-coming changes to import controls is primarily through the UK plant health advisory forum. In line with the WTO-SPS agreement DEFRA ensures that any changes to import controls have a proportionate lead in time to allow trade and trading partners sufficient time to prepare.
How many times her Department has used the Proceeds Of Crime Act 2002 to recover assets following criminal prosecutions in each of the last five years.
The Department for Work and Pensions uses the Proceeds of Crime Act to apply to the courts to recover assets following criminal prosecutions. In Great Britian in total there have been 174 cases in the last 5 years which resulted in a confiscation order from the courts following conviction. Below is the breakdown of the number of cases by year: 2020/21 - 642021/22 - 392022/23 - 202023/24 - 222024/25 - 29 Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.