Written questions by Stride.

What the average estimated cost is of providing a PIP assessment (a) by telephone, (b) by video call and (c) face to face.

Awaiting answer.

How many claimants were deemed LCWRA via the substantial risk provisions in each of the last 15 financial years expressed in (a) numerical terms and (b) as a proportion of the caseload.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to reduce the maximum UC deduction rate on a) public sector net borrowing, b) public sector net debt, c) public sector net cash requirement, d) annually managed expenditure and e) total managed expenditure in each financial year for which data are available.

Awaiting answer.

What number of universal credit households in the most recent quarter for which data is available were subject to a deduction; and what proportion of these households were subject to the maximum percentage reduction of 15%.

The requested information can be found in the published Universal Credit deductions statistics, December 2024 to November 2025, supplementary data Table1 and Table2, available here: Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 8 January 2026 - GOV.UK. The next release of these statistics is on Tuesday 12 May 2026, Universal Credit statistics, 29 April 2013 to 12 February 2026 - Official statistics announcement - GOV.UK Further release dates are published here: universal credit - Research and statistics - GOV.UK

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to reduce the maximum UC deduction rate on a) public sector net borrowing, b) public sector net debt, c) public sector net cash requirement, d) annually managed expenditure and e) total managed expenditure in each financial year for which data are available.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

How many people have been migrated from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit since July 2024.

This information will be published as part of a routinely released statistical series in February 2026.

What number and proportion of pregnant Universal Credit claimants were deemed to have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity due to pregnancy risk in the most recent year for which data is available.

Between January 2024 and December 2024 there were 1,150 UC claimants who were deemed to have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) due to pregnancy risk following a health assessment. Information on all UC claimants who are pregnant is not readily available, so the proportion this represents of all pregnant UC claimants cannot be provided. Notes:The data captures all UC decisions taken between January 2024 and December 2024.Some LCWRA decisions do not have an associated decision reason recorded so may not be captured by this data.The data supplied is based on bespoke analysis of departmental datasets and has not been certified as National Statistics or Official Statistics.

How many people were in receipt of Pension Credit for each of the last five financial years, by immigration status.

The requested statistics are not held by the Department.

What the average award is for pension credit claimants with a non-CTA immigration status.

The requested statistics are not held by the Department.

How many households were exempted from the benefit cap for the latest period for which data is available, by (a) reason for exemption and (b) amount they would otherwise have had capped.

The requested statistics are not readily held by the Department and to produce them would incur disproportionate cost.

What estimate she has made of levels of annually managed expenditure savings due to planned increases in the proportion of face to face (a) PIP and (b) Work Capability Assessments in each of the next five financial years.

The department has not yet made an estimate of the impact on Annually Managed Expenditure of the planned increases in the proportion of face-to-face assessments for PIP and Work Capability Assessments.

What (a) proportion and (b) amount of Universal Credit expenditure was for adults with non-Common Travel Area immigration status in the latest period for which information is available.

Universal Credit awards are paid to households, which may include both British and foreign nationals who are eligible. Therefore, the information requested is not readily available at the required quality and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Whether it has ever been her Department's policy to treat moving into employment as a change of circumstances which triggers a reassessment for (a) personal independence payment and (b) the work capability assessment; and whether her Department has made an estimate of how many claimants may have been subject to reassessment due to a change in circumstances associated with a change in employment status.

Being in work, of itself, is not a change of circumstances for the purposes of triggering an award review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or the Work Capability Assessment determination. We are legislating for this approach and believe it is the right approach to give customers the confidence to try work at any time without fear of reassessment and enable more people to move into work. Given that employment status is not linked to reassessment, we are not able estimate how many claimants may have been subject to reassessment due to a change in circumstances associated with a change in employment status.

What proportion of the total caseload for UC LCWRA and ESA Support Group participated in Additional Work Coach Time in the most recent (a) month and (b) financial year for which data is available; and what estimate she has made of what that proportion will be for financial year 2026-27.

Additional Work Coach Support provides disabled people and people with health impairments increased one-to-one personalised support from their work coach to help them move towards, and into, work. Last month, June 2025, 900 LCWRA claimants voluntarily started AWCT support. Since AWCT started in June 2022, there have been over 14,000 LCWRA starts to the programme. There would be, however, a disproportionate cost to providing the number of starts for the financial year 2024/25. There would be a need to retrieve data for a period when AWCT wasn’t targeted at the LCWRA group, and assessments of the accuracy of this data would need to be made. There would also be a disproportionate cost to providing AWCT data on claimants in the ESA Support Group due to difficulties with data collection for this group. The latest publicly available data shows the LCWRA caseload was 1.93 million in March 2025 and the ESA Support Group caseload was 1.23 million in November 2024. However, the AWCT starts figure is cumulative since 2022, so it would be misleading to give AWCT starts as a percentage of the total current caseload. We will be rolling out our new support offer from next April (2026) when our benefit changes start to come in so that everyone affected by the reduction to the UC health element will be offered support, provided by a dedicated Pathways to Work adviser. These 1000 Pathways to Work Advisers will build and expand on existing measures like additional work coach support to provide one-to-one personalised support to more disabled customers and those with health conditions to help them move towards, and into, work. Pathways to Work Advisers will support claimants on Universal Credit (UC) who are awaiting their Work Capability Assessment and those who have been found to have ‘limited capability for work’ or ‘limited capability for work and work-related activity’ who want, or could benefit from, more help to move into work. They can also support Employment Support Allowance (ESA) claimants. People affected will be able to access a conversation about their needs, goals and aspirations; offered one-to-one follow-on support, and given help to access additional work, health and skills support that can meet their needs. This will include:Access to specialist local Supported Employment provision across England and Wales for individuals that are disabled, have health conditions or other complex barriers to employment through Connect to Work, which in 2026/27 will support around 100,000 people.Support through local Trailblazers and the WorkWell initiative, which will be available in around half of England and parts of Wales. In other areas, we will work to draw on health, skills and wider services and to put in place additional provision where this is needed.Pathways to Work adviser support will be in place across England, Scotland and Wales for all those affected by the changes from April. We will be working with governments in Scotland and Wales to join up support where elements of policy and funding are devolved. We are beginning testing of our new support conversation this year (summer 2025). There will be additional funding of £200 million to support people next year (2026/27), building to £1 billion a year by 2029/30 as reforms fully roll out.__________________________________________________________________________

Whether it remains her Department's policy to spend an additional £1 billion on employment support for people with health conditions and disabilities by 2029-30 relative to pre-Spring Statement plans, following the changes to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill; how the further £300 million of funded announced on 30 June 2025 is to be allocated across financial years; and what the total planned spending on employment support for people with health conditions and disabilities was in each financial year to 2029-30 (a) before the Spring Statement and (b) as of 2 July 2025.

We will spend an additional £1 billion on employment support for people with health conditions and disabilities by 2029-2030 relative to pre-Spring Statement plans, with no impact following changes made to the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill. Further details were given by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ statement on Welfare Reform given on 30 June.

With reference to her Oral Statement of 30 June 2025 on Welfare Reform, columns 23-25, whether (a) the cost of changes to her welfare reform proposals include the cost of the new severe conditions group, (b) how many people are expected to qualify for that group in each financial year up to and including 2029-30 and (c) what estimate she has made of the additional cost to the exchequer for the creation of that group relative to the spending forecasts produced at Spring Statement 2025.

We published Impact Assessments alongside this Bill in the usual way. These set out who will be impacted, the financial implications of the changes and equality analysis.To account for the proposed changes to the Bill, the Impact Assessment will be revised and republished. We will provide and update an Impact Assessment to support Commons Committee, as is the usual process when a Bill is amended at this stage.

With reference to her Oral Statement of 30 June 2025 on Welfare Reform, columns 23-25, what the evidential basis was for her statement that less that 1% of people on universal credit move into work each month.

The statistics referred to in that statement related to those on Universal Credit in the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity Group. Statistics on the Into Work Rates of Claimants on the Universal Credit Health Journey by month can be found in table T1.14 in Chapter 1 of the Pathway to Work Evidence Packchapter-1-case-for-change-evidence.ods

What the award rate for Work Capability Assessment was (a) in-person, (b) not in-person and (c) across all modes in each of the last 10 years; and whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of award rates for (i) in-person assessments and (ii) other modes of assessment.

The information requested on decisions is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, relevant available information on health professional recommendations has been provided in response to a previous Parliamentary Question:https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-02-13/31637The Health Assessment Channels Trial, conducted by the department between May 2022 and March 2023, compared the monetary impact of each Work Capability Assessment channel, focussing on initial claimants eligible for all channels (in-person, telephone or video). The trial found that the proportion of claimants awarded the health element after being allocated an in-person assessment did not differ considerably from the proportion awarded after being allocated a remote channel. We are working on publishing the full results of the trial in due course.

Whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of award rates for (a) in-person and (b) other modes of PIP assessment.

The Health Assessment Channels Trial, conducted by the department between May 2022 and March 2023, compared the monetary impact of each PIP assessment channel, focussing on initial claimants eligible for all channels (in-person, telephone or video). The trial found that the award rates of PIP claimants allocated an in-person assessment did not differ considerably from the proportion of claimants awarded PIP after being allocated a remote channel. We are working on publishing the full results of the trial in due course.As part of the Functional Assessment Service (FAS) process, a paper-based assessment is always considered first. Where a paper-based review is not possible the claimant will be invited to an assessment.Before sending an invitation, the assessment supplier considers whether a specific assessment channel is needed due to the claimant’s health or circumstances. Otherwise, claimants are offered the next available appointment, which can be changed if the claimant informs us that a reasonable adjustment is appropriate in their circumstances.While suppliers recommend awards, the final decisions are made by case managers who may alter these recommendations.We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

How many and what proportion of people impacted by the changes to PIP proposed in the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill she estimates will (a) lose eligibility to PIP entirely, (b) be eligible for the UC health element under the current system and (c) be eligible for the UC health element under her Department’s proposals to replace the Work Capability Assessment with the PIP passporting mechanism.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out the Government’s intention to abolish the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). This reform will move away from categorising individuals into binary groups of ‘can work’ or ‘can’t work’. Instead, eligibility for additional financial support in Universal Credit (UC) due to health conditions will be determined through a single assessment - the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment - focused on the impact of disability on daily living, rather than on capacity to work. This change will decouple entitlement to the UC health element from employment status, giving people confidence that taking steps towards or into work will not put their benefit entitlement at risk. Any changes to PIP eligibility will follow a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading. This review is being co-produced with disabled people, representative organisations, clinicians, experts, MPs, and other stakeholders to ensure a wide range of voices are heard. Its aim is to ensure the PIP assessment is fair, robust, and fit for the future and the review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026. As the review is ongoing, the Department has not yet developed estimates of how many people will (a) lose eligibility to PIP, (b) be eligible for the UC health element under the current system, or (c) be eligible under the proposed PIP-based system. These figures will be made available in due course, alongside supporting analysis.