Every parliamentary written question tabled by Max Wilkinson this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–19 of 19 · Department for Work and Pensions
Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to women's State Pension age on retirement insurance schemes for vulnerable individuals.
The precise design of any benefits under an insurance policy is a matter for the insurer and the policy holder and is not covered in Department for Work and Pensions legislation.
What steps his Department is taking to prevent fraud relating to Universal Credit recipients claiming for properties they no longer occupy.
Since Autumn Budget 2024, the Government has committed to gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030/31 from fraud, error and debt activity in GB, which includes savings from the new powers contained within the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act, an extension to continue Targeted Case Reviews to check accuracy of Universal Credit (UC) claims at risk of being incorrect until 2031 and the introduction of periodic redeclaration for UC claims to ensure claim accuracy, reduce fraud and error, and prevent avoidable debt.
Whether the Child Maintenance Service's arrears department is (i) office based and (ii) staffed through home working; how many people work for that team; what their response time is; and whether that response time is in line with their service level agreement.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) arrears department operates using a combination of office‑based and hybrid working arrangements. CMS currently offers the opportunity to work a minimum of 60% of time in the office with 40% at home, although staff can choose to work more time in the office if they wish. Some choose to work in the office full time. The only exceptions to this are individual requirements as part of a reasonable adjustment. Hybrid working is not a contractual right and is therefore subject to change. There are currently 771 employees working in the arrears team. CMS monitors the performance of the arrears function. Caseworker response times remain consistent across both office‑based and home‑working arrangements and continue to operate fully within the Service Level Agreement for the arrears function.
What steps his department is taking to ensure that members of the armed forces are not penalised in child maintenance claims where they are unable to meet contact night thresholds due to the obligations of active service.
The aim of shared care arrangements is to make an allowance for direct costs incurred by ‘non-resident parents’ when children are staying with them for part of the time. For shared care to be considered in child maintenance calculations, the paying parent must have the child or children stay overnight at the same address as them. This requirement is set out in Regulation 46 of the Child Support Maintenance Calculation Regulations 2012, which provides that: A night counts where the non-resident parent has care of the qualifying child overnight and the child stays at the same address as that parent.The non-resident parent is regarded as having care when they are looking after the child.If, on a particular night, the child is a boarder at a boarding school or an in-patient in hospital, the person who would normally have care of the child for that night is treated as having care. If a parent feels that a decision taken by the Child Maintenance Service is incorrect, they can ask it to look at the decision again. This is known as a mandatory reconsideration. This can include the CMS looking at variation decisions and decisions to refuse a variation. If a parent still feels that the decision taken is incorrect after they receive a mandatory reconsideration notice, they will be able to appeal to an independent tribunal. DWP is fully committed to the Armed Forces Covenant and CMS engages regularly with defence stakeholders to make sure its policies, caseworker training, and communications reflect Service specific constraints.
Whether his department has plans to implement the recommendations in Turn2us's report entitled From stigma to support, published in October 2025.
We are testing changes to the Jobcentre Plus environment to make it more welcoming for customers. We are exploring how services can be delivered in community settings, including via vans, pop-ups and collaboration with partner services. We are introducing trauma-informed approaches across the DWP, and all frontline DWP colleagues are trained to identify and support vulnerable customers. As part of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are shifting the focus of the customer-work coach relationship away from compliance and box-ticking to more personalised, and career-focused discussions. We are testing this in our first Pathfinder, based in Wakefield.We are building towards a guaranteed Pathways to Work offer of personalised employment, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We have also launched the Timms Review to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future. We are co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. Once in place, the Review’s steering group will agree the approach to considering evidence and gathering input.
With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, when his department plans to launch the consultation on refugees' access to benefits.
The Government has committed to a consultation on changes to taxpayer-funded benefits to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK. Further details about the consultation, including the timelines, will be announced in due course.
With reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, updated on 20 November 2025, what criteria his Department will set for refugees to be able to access benefits.
The Home Secretary announced, in the Home Office’s Asylum and Returns Policy Statement on 17 November 2026, that DWP will consult on the rules for taxpayer-funded benefits to prioritise access for long-term residents and those who are making an economic contribution to the UK. The consultation will look at how the benefit rules apply to everyone arriving or returning to the UK, and any changes to entitlement rules will be set out during the consultation. The consultation will take place in 2026.
If his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of SEND diagnoses on levels of welfare spending.
It is not possible to quantify the totality of the impact of SEND in terms of welfare spending. The department will continue to work closely with the Department for Education on improving the support for and chances of all young people.
Whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost of the pensions triple lock for each of the next ten year.
Expenditure on State Pension, which includes triple lock, for the years up to and including 2029/30 is available in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables. Beyond 2029/30, the Office for Budget Responsibility project State Pension expenditure as part of their Fiscal risks and sustainability report. This assumes long-term annual growth rates of 4.4% for ‘Triple Lock’, and 3.8% for Average Earnings. Source: OBR September 2024 Fiscal risks and sustainability – charts and tables: supplementary tables, Table 1.1
If he will make and assessment of the potential impact of AI related job losses on the level of unemployment benefit.
The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits is falling. 1.69 million people claimed unemployment-related benefits in September 2025 – down 73,000 on a year earlier.The government is committed to ensuring that people have access to good, meaningful work. This involves adapting to structural changes in the labour market, now and over the longer-term.There are suggestions from some firms, mainly in the tech sector, that hiring patterns are changing due to greater use of AI, but at this stage it’s unclear how widespread this is and how much of a factor this is compared to broader factors affecting employment more generally.DWP has a strong track record of providing financial help during economic shifts and supporting people to re-skill (where needed) and to re-enter work. We are continuing to deliver our Get Britain Working reforms to ensure we provide people with access to good work and training opportunities fit for the future.DWP is also working across government to ensure that we are able to respond to emerging trends within the labour market, and to make the most of opportunities for economic growth, job creation and productivity.
o ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with industry stakeholders on improving job prospects for people in their 60s.
The Government knows that work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. The Department for Work and Pensions is therefore committed to supporting older people through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inclusion, flexibility, and progression. This includes promoting age-inclusive practices, supporting workplace health, policy and service reform and removing age related barriers to employment. The Department has also signed up to and actively promotes the Age-Friendly Employer Pledge, encouraging employers to adopt flexible working, age-positive hiring, and career development.Our Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals.We are taking a test and learn approach to developing the new service, working in an agile and flexible way. This will allow us to hear from a range of organisations and perspectives, as we develop the new service. The DWP’s Strategic Relationship Team is actively engaging trade bodies and strategic employers across priority sectors, such as clean energy, digital, hospitality and construction, through innovation workshops, tailored recruitment pilots, and sector-led initiatives to promote DWP as the recruitment partner of choice and expand inclusive employment opportunities.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the cost of state pensions on other public spending priorities.
The Government has published Spending Review 2025, which set departmental spending allocations consistent with the fiscal strategy set out at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spring Statement 2025. This will be updated at Autumn Budget 2025.
What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the 50 PLUS: Choices scheme.
Since the launch of the Midlife MOT, we have reached older people through multiple channels to help them assess their health, finances and skills. The Private Sector Midlife MOT pilot programmes concluded at the end of June 2024 and the evaluation can be found here: Private Sector Midlife MOT Pilots qualitative research interim findings - GOV.UK. The evaluation report on the JCP Midlife MOT was published in September 2025: Jobcentre Plus Midlife MOT qualitative research - GOV.UK. We have other evaluation work in progress covering a range of 50 plus policies, with a synthesis of evaluation findings which we are currently planning to publish next year. Our new Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals.
If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) bringing forward legislative proposals to charge interest on outstanding debts of child maintenance of more than a year's standing and (b) ensuring that outstanding debts are paid by his Department to the parent with care.
Where a paying parent fails to pay on time or in full, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aims to take immediate action to recover the debt and re-establish compliance.If the paying parent is employed, the CMS will request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary. The CMS also has a range of other enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children, including deducting maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts. The CMS can also use further measures, including using Enforcement Agents to take control of goods, disqualification from driving or commitment to prison, and disqualification from holding or obtaining a UK passport.Interest is not charged to outstanding debts. However, the CMS imposes enforcement fees to incentivise paying parents to meet their obligations voluntarily. If a parent fails to pay through a voluntary arrangement (like Direct Pay), the CMS may switch the case to Collect and Pay, which includes a 20% surcharge for the paying parent. The CMS is committed to ensuring all separated parents within the statutory scheme support their children financially and will continue to pursue unpaid child maintenance debt, including deducting payments from pensions income.
What comparative assessment she has made of the level of spending as a proportion of GDP on the state pension (a) other European nations, (b) other developed economies and (c) the UK.
It is difficult to make comprehensive direct comparisons between different countries’ spending on State Pensions as a proportion of GDP because there are many fundamental differences in the types of system and the wider social and economic contexts. There are many factors to take into account such as different tax systems, cost of living, access to occupational pensions and their taxation treatment plus the availability of healthcare free at the point of use, other social security benefits and the provision of services and goods free to pensioners or at concessionary rates.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of greater use of artificial intelligence in workplaces on welfare spending.
We are already witnessing AI’s impact on the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and changing the jobs landscape. We remain mindful of this impact and its effect on the UK workforce and DWP customers, whilst working to harness the benefits that AI can bring. DWP has a strong track record of providing financial help during economic shifts and supporting people to reskill and to re-enter work. We are continuing to deliver our Get Britain Working reforms to ensure we provide people with access to good work and training opportunities fit for the future. DWP is also working across government to ensure that we are able to respond to emerging trends within the labour market, and to make the most of opportunities for economic growth, job creation and productivity.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of occupational therapy-led vocational rehabilitation services in helping people to remain in work.
Evidence shows that expert support such as Occupational Health services (including vocational rehabilitation services) can be a critical component in helping individuals remain in and return to work, reducing unnecessary sickness absence, increasing productivity and enabling individuals to live better for longer. This Government set out our plans to tackle economic inactivity driven by ill health and increase participation in the labour market in the Get Britain Working White Paper last year. These included an independent review which is considering how to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with a health condition or disability, promote healthy workplaces and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence.
What steps her Department is taking to consult (a) disabled people and (b) relevant organisations on the future of disability benefits.
We are working to develop proposals for health and disability reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year. This will launch a public consultation on the proposals. This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals, with disabled people and representative organisations. Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have already started to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives, including through stakeholder roundtables and public visits. We look forward to progressing these initiatives over the coming months.
If she will (a) lower the Housing Benefit taper rate and (b) increase the applicable amount to help young homeless people into work.
People in receipt of Housing Benefit are always better off in work than someone wholly reliant on benefits. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These benefits include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health. The Department acknowledges the challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those residing in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation and will consider the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.