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Select Committee · Work and Pensions Committee

Benefit levels in the UK

Status: Closed Opened: 30 Mar 2023 Closed: 23 May 2024 11 recommendations 8 conclusions 2 reports

In our July 2022 report, The cost of living , we heard evidence which suggested that a root cause of the financial challenges households faced “lay in the fundamental inadequacy of social security support”. We therefore recommended that the Government should “review the adequacy of benefit levels and publish its findings”. The Government responded that … Show more

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Reports

2 reports
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK HC 142 21 Mar 2024 19 Responded
EasyRead Report - Benefit levels in the UK — 21 Mar 2024 0 —

Recommendations & Conclusions

6 items
1 Recommendation Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK Accepted

Set out clear timeline for concluding review of research on carers' experiences

The Department should set out when it intends to conclude its review of research on the experience of carers.

Government response AI summary
The government has confirmed its intention to publish the research into the experiences of claiming Carer’s Allowance and states the Department will set out timescales for this publication shortly.
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Department for Work and Pensions
6 Conclusion Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK Accepted

Personal Independence Payment support proves insufficient, frequently diverted to cover basic living costs.

Support provided through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not operating as intended. Evidence suggests that insufficient means-tested benefits frequently necessitate PIP recipients to use their extra costs benefits to cover day-to-day living costs. (Paragraph 98) Benefit levels in the U 75 Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees that Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not operating as intended and refers to its recently published 'Modernising Support for Independent Living: The Health and Disability Green Paper,' which explores ways to improve support for disabled people.
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Department for Work and Pensions
7 Conclusion Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK Accepted

DWP fails to clarify PIP's intended contribution to disabled claimants' extra costs.

DWP has not clearly stated the extent to which PIP should contribute towards the extra costs incurred by claimants with a health condition or disability. We heard that for some claimants, the shortfall in support provided was significant enough to worsen physical and mental health outcomes, as well as to … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government clarifies that Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to provide a contribution towards extra costs, giving recipients flexibility, and highlights significant spending on PIP and additional Cost of Living Payments for disabled people.
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Department for Work and Pensions
8 Conclusion Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK Accepted

Require DWP to use Extra Costs Taskforce findings to benchmark PIP coverage.

We welcome the Government’s recommitment in its February 2024 Disability Action Plan to take forward plans to set up an Extra Costs Taskforce to understand the extra costs disabled people face in their daily lives. DWP should be part of the Extra Costs Taskforce. Once operationalised, DWP should use findings … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government is restarting work on the Extra Costs Taskforce, with the Disability Unit working on a project plan and engaging DWP and other departments. However, it states that setting a benchmark for PIP coverage using the Taskforce's findings would be premature until the ongoing …
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Department for Work and Pensions
12 Recommendation Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK Accepted

Introduce an ‘Uprating Guarantee’ for annual, consistent benefit increases from 2025–26.

There remains uncertainty for some benefits each year as to whether they will be uprated. We agree with the assessment of the Secretary of State that it is important that “there is an element of fairness to the consistency” of how uprating decisions are made. From financial year 2025–26, the … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government did not commit to a new 'Uprating Guarantee', explaining that existing law mandates price-linked increases for certain benefits and, by convention, discretionary benefits are typically increased annually in line with CPI.
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Department for Work and Pensions
19 Conclusion Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK Accepted

Include Work Coach numbers, average caseloads, DEAs, and DEALs in quarterly statistics releases.

We are concerned that there is not sufficient capacity in the system to absorb the number of claimants who will be made subject to conditionality, or increased conditionality, following announcements made in the 2023 Spring Budget and 2023 Autumn Statement, as well as planned changes to the Work Capability Assessment. … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Department committed to publishing quarterly full-time equivalent (FTE) statistics for Work Coaches, Disability Employment Advisers, and Disability Employment Adviser Leaders. However, it rejected publishing average Work Coach caseload sizes, stating it would not provide clarity on support levels.
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Department for Work and Pensions

Oral evidence sessions

7 sessions
Date Witnesses
6 Dec 2023 Katherine Green · Department for Work and Pensions, Katie Farrington · Department for Work and Pensions, Rt Hon Mel Stride · Department for Work and Pensions View ↗
13 Sep 2023 Adam Butler · StepChange, Brian Dow · Rethink Mental Illness, Duncan Shrubsole · Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, Emily Holzhausen OBE · Carers UK, Jane Tully · Money Advice Trust, Katherine Hill, Tom Pollard · New Economics Foundation View ↗
19 Jul 2023 Andrew Harrop · Fabian Society, Céline Jaeggy · UNEDIC, Emily Farchy · Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Iain Mansfield · Policy Exchange, Kristoffer Lundberg · Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden, Mike Brewer · Resolution Foundation, Rebecca Deegan · Association of British Insurers View ↗
28 Jun 2023 Balbir Chatrik · Centrepoint, Ben Beadle · National Residential Landlords' Association, Ben Twomey · Generation Rent, Dr Carin Tunåker · University of Kent, Francesca Albanese · Crisis, Prof Peter Kemp · Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, Sheila Haig · City of Edinburgh Council, Timothy Douglas · Propertymark View ↗
14 Jun 2023 Deven Ghelani · Policy in Practice, Dr Stephen Brien · Social Security Advisory Committee, Matthew Oakley · Social Metrics Commission, Peter Whiteford · Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP View ↗
17 May 2023 Ciara Fitzpatrick · Northern Ireland Cliff Edge Coalition, David Stickland · Benefits Training Company, Dr Steffan Evans · Bevan Foundation, James Taylor · Scope, Ken Butler · Disability Rights UK, Kirsty McHugh · Carers Trust UK, Professor Stephen Sinclair · Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU), Tom Lee · Child Poverty Action Group View ↗
8 Mar 2023 Ashwin Kumar · Manchester Metropolitan University, Donald Hirsch · abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, Iain Porter · Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Nicholas Timmins · Institute for Government, Peter Kelly · The Poverty Alliance, Robert Joyce · Institute for Fiscal Studies, Ryan Shorthouse · Bright Blue View ↗

Who gave evidence

45 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Adam Butler · Public Policy Manager StepChange 1
Andrew Harrop · General Secretary Fabian Society 1
Ashwin Kumar · Professor of Social Policy and Director, Policy E… Manchester Metropolitan University 1
Balbir Chatrik · Director of Policy and Prevention Centrepoint 1
Ben Beadle · Chief Executive National Residential Landlords' Association 1
Ben Twomey · Chief Executive Generation Rent 1
Brian Dow · Deputy CEO Rethink Mental Illness 1
Ciara Fitzpatrick · Academic Adviser Northern Ireland Cliff Edge Coalition 1
Céline Jaeggy · Director of Legal and Institutional Affairs UNEDIC 1
David Stickland · Director Benefits Training Company 1
Deven Ghelani · Director and Founder Policy in Practice 1
Donald Hirsch · Policy Adviser abrdn Financial Fairness Trust 1
Dr Carin Tunåker · Lecturer in Law and Homelessness Researcher University of Kent 1
Dr Steffan Evans · CEO Bevan Foundation 1
Dr Stephen Brien · Chair Social Security Advisory Committee 1
Duncan Shrubsole · Director of Policy, Communications and Research Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales 1
Emily Farchy · Economist Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 1
Emily Holzhausen OBE · Director of Policy and Public Affairs Carers UK 1
Francesca Albanese · Executive Director of Policy and Social Change Crisis 1
Iain Mansfield · Director of Research and Head of Education and Sc… Policy Exchange 1
Iain Porter · Senior Policy Adviser Joseph Rowntree Foundation 1
James Taylor · Executive Director, Strategy, Impact and Social C… Scope 1
Jane Tully · Deputy Chief Executive (Acting) Money Advice Trust 1
Katherine Green · Director General for Labour Market and Poverty Po… Department for Work and Pensions 1
Katherine Hill — 1
Katie Farrington · Director General, Disability, Health and Pensions Department for Work and Pensions 1
Ken Butler · Founder Welfare Rights and Policy Adviser Disability Rights UK 1
Kirsty McHugh · CEO Carers Trust UK 1
Kristoffer Lundberg · Deputy Director Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden 1
Matthew Oakley · Secretariat Social Metrics Commission 1
Mike Brewer · Deputy Chief Executive Resolution Foundation 1
Nicholas Timmins · Senior Fellow Institute for Government 1
Peter Kelly · Director The Poverty Alliance 1
Peter Whiteford · Professor Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University 1
Prof Peter Kemp · Professor of Public Policy Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford 1
Professor Stephen Sinclair Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU) 1
Rebecca Deegan · Head of Health and Protection Insurance Association of British Insurers 1
Robert Joyce · Deputy Director and Head of the Income, Work and … Institute for Fiscal Studies 1
Rt Hon Mel Stride · Secretary of State Department for Work and Pensions 1
Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP — 1
Showing 40 of 45.

Correspondence

4 letters
DateDirectionTitle
21 Feb 2024 — Correspondence with the Secretary of State relating to Benefit levels in the UK
14 Dec 2023 — Correspondence with the Secretary of State relating to Benefit levels in the UK
15 Nov 2023 — Correspondence with the Secretary of State relating to benefit deductions
25 Oct 2023 — Correspondence to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Chancell…