Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Conclusion 19
Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK
Published 21 Mar 2024
Paragraph 158
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee Benefit levels in the UK All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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. This could have a negative impact on claimants and on Work Coaches, who conduct Benefit levels in the U 77 valued work in our constituencies. To improve transparency, the Department should include in its quarterly statistics release, the number of Work Coaches and the average number of claimants they are responsible for. This would help inform an understanding of the pressures on Work Coaches, provide information on the number of Work Coaches working in Jobcentres and help inform an assessment of whether there is sufficient Work Coach capacity in the system. The Department should also include the number of Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs), the number of Disability Employment Adviser Leads (DEALs), and the number of Work Coaches DEAs and DEALs are supporting in Jobcentres.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, Second Report - Benefit levels in the UK (HC 142), paragraph 158, 21 March 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 23 May 2024 (deadline 21 May 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out where it has taken action, but it gives no commitment to the Committee's main proposals on benchmarks, an 'Uprating Guarantee', independent research or a permanent Household Support Fund.
- On a benchmark for income-replacement benefits, it states it "does not intend to establish a benchmark"; it notes there is "no overall agreed approach to benchmark benefit levels".
- It "agrees that PIP is not operating as intended" and points to the Health and Disability Green Paper of 29 April 2024. On the Extra Costs Taskforce it says it would "not be appropriate to further comment" until the consultation response is published.
- On uprating, it has "no plans to change the uprating process" and no plans to change the gap between the inflation measure and implementation. LHA rates will be reviewed every year, taking into account "a range of factors".
- It has no plans to commission further research on benefit levels and health, or independent research on whether levels meet objectives. The Household Support Fund is extended for six months, not made permanent. It will release Work Coach and Disability Employment Adviser statistics quarterly.