Department for Work and Pensions

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox government agency Template:PoliticsUK The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK's biggest public service department it administers the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the second-largest governmental department in terms of employees,<ref name="CS staff numbers">Template:Cite web</ref> and the largest in terms of expenditure (£297 billion Template:As of).<ref>Template:Cite web Template:As of this article is dated 7 November 2017 but the relevant table is dated September 2025.</ref>

The department has two delivery services: Jobcentre Plus administers working age benefits: Universal Credit, Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance; the Child Maintenance Service provides the statutory child support scheme. DWP also administers State Pension, Pension Credit, disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment, and support for life events from Maternity Allowance to bereavement benefits.

Non-departmental bodies accountable to DWP include the Health and Safety Executive, The Pensions Regulator and the Money and Pensions Service.

History

The department was created on 8 June 2001 as a merger of the Department of Social Security, Employment Service and the policy groups of the Department for Education and Employment involved in employment policy and international issues.<ref name="Carmel & Papadopoulos ">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Dept. of Social Security ">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Template:Webarchive Retrieved 6 June 2012</ref>

The department was initially tasked with creating Jobcentre Plus and the Pensions Service from the Employment Service and the Benefits Agency.<ref name="Dept. of Social Security"/> The department became responsible for welfare and pension policy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It aims "to help its customers become financially independent and to help reduce child poverty".<ref name="cabinetoffice.gov.uk">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2012, the department fully subsumed pensions, disability and life events under the DWP name; Jobcentre Plus and Child Maintenance Service remain as distinct identities publicly.

Until 2021, the DWP was still using ICL VME based computer systems originating from its 1988 Pension Service Computer System to support state pension payments.<ref name=thereg-20220121>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=thereg-20210922>Template:Cite news</ref> The software was migrated to an in-house VME replacement system, in one of the largest computer replacement projects in Europe.<ref name=computerweekly-20210326>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=microfocus-2021>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ministers

DWP ministers are as follows:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Minister Portrait Office Portfolio
Pat McFadden Template:Small File:Pat McFadden Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Overall responsibility for the department; people of working age; employers; pensioners; families and children; disabled people, also in the Cabinet.<ref>UK Parliament, His Majesty's Government: The Cabinet, accessed on 22 November 2024</ref>
Diana Johnson Template:Small File:Official portrait of Dame Diana Johnson MP crop 2.jpg Minister of State for Employment Labour market including employer engagement; addressing inactivity; poverty; Jobcentre Plus; devolution; In Work Progression; skills; disability employment; childcare; Access to Work; Youth Offer; Occupational Health and Statutory Sick Pay; conditionality and sanctions
Sir Stephen Timms Template:Post-nominals File:Official portrait of Stephen Timms MP crop 2, 2024.jpg Minister of State for Social Security and Disability Disability policy and cross-government responsibility for disabled people; oversight of Disability Unit, and convenor of Disability Champions; work and health strategy, including sponsorship of the joint Department for Work and Pensions / Department for Health and Social Care Work and Health Unit, and disability benefit reform; disability employment, and disability employment programmes; financial support for those at risk of falling out of work, and disabled claimants including, Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Carer's Allowance (CA); Support for disadvantaged groups; Youth Offer; Government Equalities Office (GEO) lead, Women and the Menopause; Military Covenant; Housing Benefit strategy and delivery, including Support for Mortgage Interest and supported accommodation.<ref>Template:Cite web File:Open Government Licence logo.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.</ref>
Torsten Bell Template:Post-nominals File:Official portrait of Torsten Bell MP crop 2.jpg Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions Private pensions; State Pension; pensioner benefits; Social Fund; Net Zero; Shadow Lords (including Child Maintenance Service and disadvantaged groups); arm's-length bodies (Money and Pensions Service, National Employment Savings Trust, The Pensions Ombudsman, Pension Protection Fund and The Pensions Regulator); HM Treasury responsibilities
Andrew Western Template:Post-nominals File:Official portrait of Andrew Western, 2022 (cropped).jpg Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transformation
Maeve Sherlock, Baroness Sherlock File:Official portrait of Baroness Sherlock crop 2.jpg Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Cross-DWP Lords spokesperson, fraud, error and debt strategy, national insurance number policy, oversight of departmental statutory instruments and managing the relationship with the Social Security Advisory Committee, departmental planning and performance management, and departmental business
Jacqui Smith, Baroness Smith of Malvern File:Official portrait of Baroness Smith of Malvern crop 2, 2025.jpg Minister of State (Minister for Skills) <ref>Template:Cite web This is a shared role between the DWP and the Department of Education. The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern was appointed Minister of State (Minister for Skills) in the Department for Education on 6 July 2024. This role also became part of the Department for Work and Pensions in September 2025</ref> Skills England; Technical qualifications; adult education; student finance; international education (amongst other portfolios)

The Permanent Secretary is Sir Peter Schofield.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Pension Service

With the creation of the department in June 2001, the Pension Service was created, bringing together many different departments and divisions. The Pension Service is a 'dedicated service for current and future pensioners'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Pension Service consists of local Pension Centres and centrally-based centres, many of latter are based at the Tyneview Park complex in Newcastle upon Tyne. The following centres are at Tyneview Park:

  • Future Pension Centre (FPC) provides state pension forecasts for people approaching retirement age.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Newcastle Pension Centre (NPC) originally dealt with the London area, the Home Counties, and part of West Midlands. Now the service is virtual so all pension centres deal with all areas of the country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Pension Tracing Service (PTS) helps track old pensions and pension schemes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • International Pension Centre (IPC) deals with all enquiries regarding the payment of state pension, bereavement benefits, incapacity benefits and other such benefits for those living abroad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Local Pension Centres deal with localised claims for state pension and retirement related benefits. Pension Centres are found all over the country. Benefits dealt with at local Pension Centres include:

Disability and Carers Service

The Disability and Carers Service offers financial support for those who are disabled and their carers, whether in or out of employment. The DCS have offices throughout the country and deal with the following benefits:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The department has been found to frequently invite disabled people to interviews in buildings which are themselves not accessible to people with disabilities. When the person does not attend the interview they deny the person disability benefits, causing malnutrition and destitution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The DWP systematically underpaid disabled claimants who were transferred from Incapacity Benefit to Employment and Support allowance, risking hardship for claimants. A cross party committee of MPs, the Public Accounts Committee accused the DWP of a culture of indifference to claimants.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Since at least 2020 DWP has had a policy of cold-calling vulnerable and disabled people to attempt to pressure them into accepting lower benefit claims than they were legally entitled. In July 2021 the DWP agreed to stop after it was threatened with legal action.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Disability Confident scheme

DWP administers the Disability Confident scheme, which supports employers to employ people with disabilities and to maintain the employment of staff who become disabled. The scheme operates as three levels:

  • Level 1: Disability Confident Committed
  • Level 2: Disability Confident Employer
  • Level 3: Disability Confident Leader<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The scheme is intended to encourage employers to "think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people", but the DWP lost more disability discrimination cases at employment tribunal than any other employer in Britain between 2016 and 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Tell Us Once

The DWP introduced the "Tell Us Once" system in 2011 to enable people to use a single interface to inform the government about a change in their personal circumstances. Using 'Tell Us Once', departments and agencies like the pensions service, HM Revenue & Customs, the Passport Office and local authorities are informed about a person's change in circumstances in parallel, removing the need for "repeated, unnecessary form-filling".<ref name=cloud>Template:OGL-attribution</ref> Local authority departments making use of the service include libraries, housing departments, "Blue Badge" services and adult social care.<ref>London Borough of Sutton, Deaths and 'Tell us once', accessed 5 February 2021</ref>

In most cases, a Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths will notify a person who registers a death about using the service.<ref>Bereavement Advice Centre, The tell us once service, accessed 5 February 2021</ref>

DWP transferred to a cloud-based service in 2016 using the government's G-Cloud purchasing process for IT services. The Crown Commercial Service states that "cutting administration costs and reducing the overpayments of benefits—usually because of out-of-date records of people's personal circumstances—protected the cross-government savings generated by Tell Us Once, estimated at more than £20 million per year. By switching from a physical infrastructure to a cloud solution, DWP has also benefited from cost savings of around 50% on the IT running costs of Tell Us Once".<ref name=cloud/>

Former structure

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Before 2008, The Pension Service and the Disability and Carers Service were two separate executive agencies; however, it was decided in April 2008 to merge them into one entity named The Pension, Disability and Carers Service.<ref name="Pension, Disability and Carers Service Business Plan 2008/9">Template:Cite web</ref>

Both former agencies kept their corporate branding and provided services under their separate identities. The decision was made due to the two agencies sharing about half of the same customers; as a single agency, the rationalisation of services would provide a better service for customers.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

The status of PDCS as an executive agency (and its existence as a merged entity) was removed on 1 October 2011 with the functions being brought back inside the department; and both The Pension Service and the Disability and Carers Service becoming distinct entities once again.<ref name="Government announces organisational changes to Jobcentre Plus and the Pension, Disability and Carers Service">Template:Cite press release</ref> Prior to July 2012 the Child Support Agency was the operating arm of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC).

All are now operated wholly from within the department, with the brand names shut down in 2012.

File:QuarryHouseLeeds.jpg
DWP buildings at Quarry Hill, Leeds

Public bodies

The department's public bodies include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Executive non-departmental public bodies

Advisory non-departmental public bodies

Tribunals

Public corporations

Estate

The department has corporate buildings in London, Leeds, Blackpool, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Warrington, Manchester and Sheffield. Jobcentre Plus, Child Maintenance Service and other departmental services operate through a network of around 650 Jobcentres and service centres across the UK.

Budget

The total annual budget of the department in 2011–12 was £151.6 billion, representing approximately 28% of total UK Government spending.<ref>News Distribution Service Template:Webarchive Retrieved September 2011</ref> The department spends a far greater share of national wealth than any other department in Britain, by a wide margin. The department spends an average of £348.9 million with suppliers per month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The government noted in 2013 that DWP's third-party expenditure was characterised by a number of "complex, high-value contracts".<ref name=tyo>Template:OGL-attribution</ref>

A report of February 2012 found that billions of pounds payable had not been claimed. In 2009–2010 the DWP stated £1.95 billion job-seekers allowance, £2 billion income support and employment and support allowance, £2.4 billion in council tax, £2.8 billion in pension credit and £3.1 billion for housing benefit; in total £12.25 billion had not been claimed.<ref>BBC 23 February 2012 report Template:Webarchive Retrieved 8 July 2012</ref>

Research

The department is a major commissioner of external social science research, with the objective of providing the evidence base needed to inform departmental strategy, policy-making and delivery.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The department has developed and uses various microsimulation and other models, including the Policy Simulation Model (for appraisal of policy options), Pensim2 (to create projections of pension entitlements up to 2100) and Inform (to produce the department's benefit caseload forecasts). Datasets held include the LLMDB and the Family Resources Survey.

During 2012 the department announced records of the number of people born outside of the United Kingdom ("non-UK nationals") claiming work-related benefits from 2011, using data already collated within the department together with those of HM Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency<ref>Department for Works and Pensions – newsroom:20 January 2012 Template:Webarchive Retrieved 9 July 2012</ref> (whose duties are now fulfilled by UK Visas and Immigration).

Devolution

Scotland

Template:See also

Employment, health and safety, and social security policy are reserved matters of the United Kingdom government. The Scotland Act 2016 devolved specific areas of social security to the Scottish Government to administer and reform. The Scottish Parliament passed the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 to establish a statutory basis of Social Security in Scotland. This created a principled based legislative agenda for Social Security providing for social security to be a human right in Scotland. Most aspects of social security in Scotland remain reserved to the United Kingdom and those will remain administered by the DWP.

The Act established Social Security Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has parity with Great Britain in three areas:

Policy in these areas is technically devolved but, in practice, follows policy set by Parliament to provide consistency across the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Employment and health and safety policy are fully devolved.

The department's main counterparts in Northern Ireland are:

Supply chain and procurement

Partners, providers and sub-contractors are used extensively by DWP, for supply of goods and services in general but especially in employment related services. A Code of Conduct aiming to "to ensure excellent sub contractual relationships between the top-tier and high performing third sector and other organisations" working for these schemes was established in the department's 2008 Commissioning Strategy.<ref name=merlinreview>Template:OGL-attribution</ref> This code was subsequently developed into the "Merlin Standard",<ref name=merlinreview/> "a standard of behaviour which DWP prime providers are expected to adhere to in their relationship with their subcontractors ... [and which] is designed to encourage excellence in supply chain management by prime providers". A "Merlin Standard Advisory Board" was established in July 2011.<ref>Template:OGL-attribution</ref> The Merlin Standard was replaced with new Provider Guidance in 2013.<ref>DWP, Statutory guidance: Access to Work MHSS provider guidance for contracts effective on or before 19 August 2024, updated on 5 August 2024, accessed on 22 November 2024</ref>

DWP contributes to government ambitions to make supply chains more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises, but the government commented in 2013 that it had yet to secure good insight into the supply chain role of SMEs.<ref name=tyo/>

Controversies

In August 2015, the department admitted using fictional stories from made-up claimants on leaflets advertising the positive impact of benefit sanctions, following a Freedom of Information request from Welfare Weekly,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> claiming that they were for "illustrative purposes only"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and that it was "quite wrong" to pass these off as genuine quotes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Later that month figures were released which showed that between December 2011 and February 2014, 2,650 people died shortly after their Work Capability Assessment told them that they should be finding work.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The DWP had fought hard for the figures not to be released, with chief minister Iain Duncan Smith at one point telling Parliament that they did not exist.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2019, a computer system was introduced but the DWP refused to reveal details. Claimants and their supporters feared it would add to poverty and hardship. Frank Field MP stated in early 2020 that claimants, "will be left at the mercy of online systems that, even now, leave all too many people teetering on the brink of destitution. We've already seen, in the gig economy, how workers are managed and sacked, not by people, but by algorithms. Now the welfare state looks set to follow suit, with the 'social' human element being stripped away from 'social security'."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2019, the department was found by an independent inquiry to have broken its own rules, in a case where a disabled woman killed herself in 2017 after her benefits were stopped when she missed a Work Capability Assessment because she had pneumonia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Previous research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health by Oxford University and Liverpool University had found that there were an additional 590 suicides between 2010 and 2013 in areas where such assessments were carried out. The researchers said that the DWP had introduced the policy of moving people off benefits without understanding the consequences.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2022 the department refused to release data to researchers at Glasgow University who were investigating if benefit sanctions were linked to suicides. This was despite earlier promises by ministers that they were supporting the researchers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

References

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