Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rupert Lowe this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 143 · Department for Work and Pensions
What the total amount of Universal Credit was paid to deceased recipients in each of the last ten financial years.
DWP does not hold this information over the requested period. DWP has operational data used to identify and recover UC overpayments from deceased recipients, although this does not cover the full time period requested and is not considered to be of suitable quality to accurately answer the question.
What the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for her Department was in each of the last five years.
The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling DWP for the last 5 business years, with 2025 to 2026 being to 12th Oct’ 2025* only, that being the last date for which data is available. Reporting YearAverage Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss)Average Hold Time (hh:mm:ss)2021-202200:09:3900:00:362022-202300:08:2200:00:282023-202400:08:3400:00:262024-202500:07:2200:00:232025 to date*00:05:50*00:00:18 DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.
What the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time spent on hold to the Personal Independence Payment helpline was in the last year.
The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling Personal Independence Payment lines for each of the last twelve complete reporting months. Month / YearProduct LineAverage Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss)Average Hold Time (hh:mm:ss)Oct-2024Personal Independence Payment00:10:1900:00:34Nov-2024Personal Independence Payment00:11:4700:00:33Dec-2024Personal Independence Payment00:09:5500:00:36Jan-2025Personal Independence Payment00:17:3800:00:32Feb-2025Personal Independence Payment00:12:4100:00:31Mar-2025Personal Independence Payment00:14:1000:00:31Apr-2025Personal Independence Payment00:09:0700:00:34May-2025Personal Independence Payment00:10:1400:00:36Jun-2025Personal Independence Payment00:09:3700:00:35Jul-2025Personal Independence Payment00:10:4200:00:36Aug-2025Personal Independence Payment00:11:5900:00:35Sep-2025Personal Independence Payment00:10:3300:00:34 DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.
What the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time spent on hold to the Universal Credit helpline was in the last year.
The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling Universal Credit for each of the last twelve complete reporting months. Month / YearDirectorateAverage Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss)Average Hold Time (hh:mm:ss)Oct-2024Universal Credit00:02:3200:00:09Nov-2024Universal Credit00:02:2300:00:09Dec-2024Universal Credit00:01:3600:00:09Jan-2025Universal Credit00:01:1000:00:08Feb-2025Universal Credit00:02:0300:00:08Mar-2025Universal Credit00:02:1600:00:08Apr-2025Universal Credit00:03:2700:00:09May-2025Universal Credit00:03:2700:00:08Jun-2025Universal Credit00:01:5100:00:07Jul-2025Universal Credit00:02:4400:00:06Aug-2025Universal Credit00:01:5500:00:07Sep-2025Universal Credit00:01:3700:00:07 DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.
How many people are claiming Universal Credit by their preferred language.
The information is not held. Universal Credit claims can only be made in English and Welsh.
How many habitual residence tests related to Universal Credit assessments have been granted in each of the last five years.
The table below gives the number of Universal Credit (UC) Habitual Residence Test (HRT) assessments that resulted in a ‘pass’ decision in the past five years. Date Decision Entered on Admin SystemNumber of UC HRT 'Pass' DecisionsApril 2020 to March 2021912,000April 2021 to March 20221,029,000April 2022 to March 2023527,000April 2023 to March 2024524,000April 2024 to March 2025798,000April 2025 to September 2025400,000 (Source: DWP UC HRT Administrative data) Notes:The Habitual Residence Test (HRT) is nationality blind. It is applied to British citizens returning from abroad to check for factual habitual residency in the UK, as well as to foreign nationals to check they have an immigration status permitting access to public funds and that they are factually habitually resident.Not all HRT passes lead to a UC award as claimants need to meet all eligibility criteria.All figures are rounded to the nearest thousand decisions.An individual may have multiple HRT assessments and multiple passes.These figures are not Official Statistics. These figures stem from administrative data and represent the best estimates using current methodologies and assumptions about the data. Future improvements in methodology may lead to different subsequent estimates.Figures are for the UK.
How much was spent on translation and interpretation in Jobcentres in the last financial year.
The Department carefully monitors the provision of translation and interpretation services for customers. It has not been possible to disaggregate expenditure on services for Jobcentres alone.
What the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold to Jobcentres was in the last year.
We cannot provide the data requested for this Parliamentary Question. Jobcentres span multiple benefit streams and business functions and therefore we do not retain telephony data specifically relating to Jobcentres.
Whether his Department requires (a) Jobcentre staff and (b) benefits advisers to demonstrate English language proficiency as a condition of employment.
DWP complies with the requirement of the Immigration Act 2016 in requiring all of its employees in public-facing roles to speak English fluently, as outlined in the Government’s code of practice at www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-language-requirement-for-public-sector-workers-code-of-practice. This includes jobcentre staff and benefits advisers.
Whether his Department plans to introduce English language learning as a condition of benefit receipt for foreign nationals.
The Department can require that claimants attend English language courses as a work preparation activity if this will make them more likely to find work, or to increase the hours they work. A sanction - which is a reduction in the amount of Universal Credit paid - is applicable where a claimant fails to meet a work preparation requirement without good reason.
What estimate his Department has made of the number of benefits claimants who require translation support during appointments; and at what cost to the public purse.
The Department does not hold data on the number of individual claimants who require interpreter support.
If she will publish a breakdown of Personal Independence Payment claimants by (a) nationality and (b) immigration status in each year since 2020.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
For what reason her Department is advertising a role in Manchester Community Centre for a Sharia Law Administrator.
This was a position advertised on the Find A Job portal by an independent charity, registered with the Charity Commission, and was not a role within DWP. Find A Job is a free platform to help jobseekers find vacancies with employers from various sectors. The employer had been verified as legitimate and the advertisement did not breach Find a Job website terms and conditions.
How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.
From HR data for paid staff in June 2025, there are 98 staff in total with annual salary of £100k or more, of which 6 staff have an annual salary of £166k or more.
For what reason new claimants from (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories will be exempt from the Habitual Residence Test for Universal Credit.
Given the circumstances in which British nationals and their eligible families have urgently travelled to the UK following the Government’s evacuations, DWP want to ensure that those arriving can access benefits as soon as possible (where they meet all other eligibility requirements). This does not enable DWP to pay benefits to anyone who does not already have an underlying entitlement to benefits. For those who are not British or Irish citizens, they must have a valid immigration status that provides recourse to public funds to access benefits, on top of meeting other benefit-specific eligibility criteria. More detail can be found in the explanatory memorandum for this amendment: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/884/memorandum/contents.
What guidance she has issued to (a) work coaches and (b) case managers on processing claims for new claimants from (i) Israel and (ii) the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Guidance for DWP staff making benefit decisions is available on gov.uk. Specific guidance on new customers arriving in the UK from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories will be published in the usual way.
What proportion of her Department's procurement contracts were awarded to British companies in the last financial year.
The information requested is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. Information on government contracts can be found here: DWP Contracts Finder.
How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.
DWP has no employees who are temporarily working outside the UK. The DWP policy does not permit overseas homeworking as per our Contractual Homeworking Policy.
How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
How much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.
In 2025 so far, within the stipulations, there has been spent on: (a) Translation = £470,542.73(b) Interpretation = £3,248,467.21 Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.