Every parliamentary written question tabled by Nick Timothy this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 26 · Department for Work and Pensions
How many benefit overpayments there have been since 2020, broken down by (a) year, (b) value, and (c) benefit type.
Estimates of the overpayment cost of fraud and error in the benefit system for the past five financial years can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK Recovery of benefit overpayments can be found in the attached annex.
How many benefit overpayments have been recovered since 2020, broken down by (a) year, (b) value, and (c) benefit type.
Estimates of the overpayment cost of fraud and error in the benefit system for the past five financial years can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK Recovery of benefit overpayments can be found in the attached annex.
If she will make a comparative assessment of the level of Universal Credit payments made to foster carers with the prior system of (a) Working Tax Credit and (b) Child Tax Credit.
No such assessment has been made. Whilst the UC child element won’t be paid if the child or qualifying young person is looked after by a foster carer, the allowance and fees received by foster carers in return for fostering are not treated as earnings and are fully disregarded for the purposes of calculating entitlement to Universal Credit. The rules differ to how WTC and CTC treated the income.
How many successful mandatory reconsiderations there have been since 2020, broken down by (a) year, (b) value, and (c) benefit type.
Information for Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance can be found on Stat Xplore. Successful Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mandatory reconsiderations (MRs) can be found on the ‘PIP MR Clearances’ dataset. Use the ‘Geography’ and ‘National – Regional – LA – OAs’ filter to select ‘DWP policy ownership’. The ‘MR Decision’ filter can be used to select ‘New Decision – Award Changed’ and the ‘Month’ filter can be used to select the years you are interested in. For Employment Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (ESA WCA) successful MRs, use the ‘Mandatory Reconsiderations – Clearances’ dataset. Use the ‘Geography’ and ‘National – Regional – LA – Ward’ filter to select ‘Great Britain’ and then ‘England’ and ‘Wales’. The ‘Decision’ filter can be used to select ‘Revised – allowed’ and the ‘Date of Decision’ filter can be used to select the time period needed. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required. Universal Credit (UC) MRs can be found in Table 1 below. Table 1: volume of successful UC MRs by financial year 2019_202020_212021_222022_232023_242024_25Volume of successful MRs50,00047,00061,000100,000107,000110,000 Notes:Each UC claim can have more than one reconsideration registered against it.This is derived from unpublished information and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It should therefore be used with caution and may be subject to future revision Information on other benefit MRs as well as their value is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Access to Work Scheme in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on individual claimants.
We will review all aspects of the Access to Work scheme after evaluating the findings of the Pathways to Work consultation alongside the work of the collaboration committees.
What steps she is taking to implement proposed changes to the Access to Work Scheme in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
Reforms to Access to Work are needed to ensure a better service for customers, to help disabled people start and stay in work, to provide clarity in what support should be provided and to ensure we are providing value for money for the taxpayer. Following the consultation launched by the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which closed in June, we are reviewing all aspects of the Scheme. We are working closely on proposals with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives. We have established a Collaboration Committee that brings disabled people and other experts together to inform changes to the design of the Scheme. No changes have been made to Access to Work policy. We will announce any changes prior to them being implemented.
What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in reaching targets set under its service level standards in each year since 2020.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has four official Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), each with a standard measure for 1) assessment accuracy, 2) application clearances, 3) change of circumstances clearances and 4) Collect and Pay compliance. Information on the accuracy of CMS assessments, which has a standard level of >99%, is published in the annual CMS Client Funds Account, and since 2020 has shown a consistent level of 99.4%, increasing for the latest year available (2023/24) to 99.5% . The published quarterly CMS statistics provide information on application clearances, change of circumstances clearances and Collect and Pay compliance, with the latest data available for quarter ending December 2024, and these are shown in the table below. Quarterly Child Maintenance Service Key Performance Indicators for Applications, Change of Circumstances and Collect & Pay Compliance, April 2020 to December 2024 Applications - cleared within 12 weeks Standard 90%Change of Circumstances - cleared within 28 days Standard 80%Collect and Pay compliance - paying parent paid some maintenance Standard 67%Apr - Jun 2080%87%74%Jul - Sep 2095%83%72%Oct – Dec 2094%78%72%Jan - Mar 2191%80%72%Apr - Jun 2189%78%74%Jul - Sep 2190%75%72%Oct – Dec 2187%76%68%Jan - Mar 2287%84%63%Apr - Jun 2285%79%64%Jul - Sep 2289%73%64%Oct – Dec 2290%77%65%Jan - Mar 2389%78%65%Apr - Jun 2387%77%67%Jul - Sep 2387%72%69%Oct – Dec 2387%74%68%Jan - Mar 2487%76%69%Apr - Jun 2485%77%69%Jul - Sep 2490%79%68%Oct – Dec 24[x][x]68% Source: CMS statistics, Stat-Xplore Notes:[x] denotes that figures for the most recent quarter will not be available until the next publication.Application clearance figures are available in Table 1 of the latest CMS National tables.Change of circumstances clearance figures are available in Table 8 of the latest CMS National tables.Collect and Pay compliance figures are calculated using the CMS Paying Parents dataset on Stat-Xplore and are reported in the ‘Paying Parents and the Collect and Pay service’ section of each quarterly bulletin.During the quarter ending June 2020, the Child Maintenance Service was affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and the resultant changes to the Department’s operational priorities. During this period, new applications to Child Maintenance Service will have experienced a reduced level of service and will have been provided with an indicative calculation of maintenance only, which is not considered a clearance for this table. In addition, the COVID-19 outbreak may have reduced the demand for new Child Service Maintenance arrangements. This also means that only priority changes of circumstance would have been progressed during this period. Since 2020, as part of the DWP Service Modernisation Programme, the CMS has been undergoing extensive improvements to increase the quality and range of online services available to separated parents. This program has transformed how customers can interact with CMS, providing them with the choice to make contact through digital routes while ensuring that assistance is available for those who need additional support and non-digital customers via the telephone service. These improvements have allowed case workers to focus more on actioning their work. The wide-reaching programme aims to continue to reform and modernise CMS services with increased effectiveness and efficiency.Additionally, the CMS has amended its service to allow Direct Pay arrangements to quickly move to Collect and Pay when the Paying Parent is not paying or when Direct Pay is no longer appropriate. 14,000 arrangements moved from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay in the quarter ending December 2024 meaning CMS are collecting money for children quicker. In the quarter ending December 2024, over 1 million children were covered by CMS arrangements, an increase of 61,000 from the quarter ending December 2023.
What was the Child Maintenance Service helpline's performance in responding to phone calls against its service level standards.
The Child Maintenance Service are committed to delivering the best possible service to all customers. We continuously monitor telephony performance and through this fully recognise that call waiting times are at times longer than we would like. To address this, we are working extensively to improve the efficiency of our customer interactions through both telephone and digital channels. We introduced the Digital Assist Telephony Service September 2024, which has been a significant step forward in our mission to support and encourage customers to use our online services. We restructured our call routing October 2024 to make more caseworkers available to answer telephone calls. By promoting self-service options online and efficient call routing, we have freed up valuable resources to deliver a more responsive service and allow caseworkers more time to better assist customers who need to reach out to us via telephone. Additionally, we have extended the telephony service to 6pm on weekdays to meet demand. and our online services are available to all customers 24/7. The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service and the latest statistics are currently available to December 2024. Table 12 of the latest National tables shows the percentage of calls to the CMS that were answered each quarter, from January 2015 to December 2024. Latest published quarterly telephony performance for the period Oct to December 2024 was 75% for Percentage of calls answered.
If she will make an estimate of the total (a) value and (b) number of payments made by her Department to Motability in each year since 2010.
The Department for Work and Pensions retains financial information for 7 years in compliance with the fifth principle of the Data Protection Act, therefore we are unable to provide historic data back to 2010. We can provide the requested estimated total Motability values data for the previous three calendar years, DWP has paid: 2022 - c£607 million2023 - c£600 million2024 - c£600 million We are unable to provide volumes data, and value data for earlier years within the timescales required for this request, due to the time required to interrogate our systems to obtain this level of information.
How many irregular migrants have been given a National Insurance Number in each year since 2020.
DWP does not issue National Insurance Numbers to irregular migrants. The department is responsible for the allocation of National Insurance Numbers to adults in the UK, and all applicants are required to provide evidence of their identity and information to prove they have the right to work in the UK. This is the only circumstance in which applicants will be granted a National Insurance number. The information provided by applicants is corroborated against other Government Department systems before a National Insurance Number is allocated. We publish quarterly data on the number of adult overseas nationals entering the UK that have received a National Insurance number, please see the link below for more information. National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK - GOV.UK
How many benefit claimant households included people who have (a) not worked for (i) five, (ii) ten, (iii) twenty and (iv) more than twenty years and (b) never worked in each year since 2010 in the latest period for which data is available, broken down by local authority.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
If she will make an estimate of the average amount received in benefits by benefit claimant households in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority.
Monthly statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in Great Britain by local authority are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore. Universal Credit statistics, by monthly average award amount, are available from August 2015 to November 2024 in the Households on Universal Credit dataset. Housing Benefit statistics, by weekly average award amount, are available from November 2008 to March 2018 in the Housing Benefit – Data to March 2018 dataset and from April 2018 to November 2024 in the Housing Benefit - Data from April 2018 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. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide The information requested for households receiving other benefits is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
How many benefits claimant households received (a) Universal Credit, (b) New Style Jobseekers’ Allowance, (c) New Style Employment and Support Allowance, (d) Personal Independence Payment and (e) legacy benefits in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority.
Monthly statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in Great Britain by local authority are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore.Universal Credit statistics are available from August 2015 to November 2024 in the Households on Universal Credit dataset.Housing Benefit statistics are available from November 2008 to March 2018 in the Housing Benefit – Data to March 2018 dataset and from April 2018 to November 2024 in the Housing Benefit - Data from April 2018 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. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guideThe information requested for households receiving the other benefits is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
How many and what proportion of benefit claimant households had received welfare payments for (a) five, (b) ten, (c) twenty and (d) more than twenty years in each year since 2010 in the latest period for which data is available, broken down by local authority.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
How many Motability vehicles were purchased in each year since 2010 by (a) manufacturer, (b) annual cost and (c) age.
The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and whilst we are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme, we do not fund vehicles, be they electric or otherwise. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department does not hold data on the Motability fleet of cars. Questions about the operations of the Motability Foundation should be addressed to the Foundation.
How many Motability vehicles by (a) manufacturer, (b) annual cost and (c) age were leased in each year since 2010.
The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and whilst we are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme, we do not fund vehicles, be they electric or otherwise. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department does not hold data on the Motability fleet of cars. Questions about the operations of the Motability Foundation should be addressed to the Foundation.
How many (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hydrogen, (d) hybrid, (e) plug-in hybrid and (f) fully electric vehicles were leased by Motability in each year since 2010.
The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and whilst we are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme, we do not fund vehicles, be they electric or otherwise. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department does not hold data on the Motability fleet of cars. Questions about the operations of the Motability Foundation should be addressed to the Foundation.
How many (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hydrogen, (d) hybrid, (e) plug-in hybrid and (f) fully electric vehicles were purchased through Motability in each year since 2010.
The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and whilst we are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme, we do not fund vehicles, be they electric or otherwise. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department does not hold data on the Motability fleet of cars. Questions about the operations of the Motability Foundation should be addressed to the Foundation.
How many Motability vehicles have been taken away due to (a) lapsed eligibility and (b) misuse in each year since 2010.
Whilst the Department works closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme, Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. Any questions relating to the administration of the Scheme should be directed to Motability Foundation.
How many Motability vehicles have been (a) sold, (b) scrapped and (c) stolen in each year since 2010.
Whilst the Department works closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme, Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. Any questions relating to the administration of the Scheme should be directed to Motability Foundation.