Victoria Collins MP: written questions
4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025
How these years work
Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
34 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Social Security Benefits: Advisory ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64272More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of integrating health and social care services with access to welfare advice.
Answer: As announced in the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ statement on Welfare Reform on 30 June, we are investing an additional £300 million over the next 3 years, enabling us to go further and faster on our new planned investment in work, health and...
Answered 8 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordState Retirement PensionsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 27 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 63434More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential of state pension integration practices on (a) lower-paid and (b) female pensioners; and if she will take steps to review (i) guidance and (ii) legislation t
Answer: The aim of “integrated” pension schemes is to provide a more predictable and stable pension income over time where a person’s occupational pension comes into payment before their State Pension. This is achieved by paying a higher pension before the person...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment: DisabilityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 19 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 61424More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that employers provide disabled people with the support they need to stay in work in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) the rest of England.
Answer: Access to Work aims to support the recruitment and retention of disabled people into employment. It is a personalised discretionary grant that provides support with workplace adjustments beyond an employer’s obligation as outlined in the Equality Act 2010...
Answered 26 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: Chronic IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 19 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 61414More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 55944, what steps her Department plans to take to support people with complex and overlapping health conditions who are subject to the current PIP asses
Answer: We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that changes will be made to the eligibility criteria for the daily living component of PIP. Claimants will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity. This change does not...
Answered 26 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment Schemes: Mental IllnessDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 12 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 59564More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial incentives to employers to support the employment of people with severe mental illnesses.
Answer: There is a strong evidence base showing that work is generally good for physical and mental health and well-being. The right type of joined-up work and health support can prevent people falling out of work and support people to return, ensuring they gain ...
Answered 18 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPoverty: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 56133More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy will include (a) objectives and (b) targets beyond the initial 10-year framework to ensure sustained progress in reducing child poverty in (i) Harpenden an
Answer: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish its strategy as soon as possible and we are exploring all available levers to drive forwa...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordMeans-tested BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 56132More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of means-tested benefits among households with children in poverty in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) Eng
Answer: The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit including on GOV.UK that supports customers to identify what support may be available. Additionally, we signpost potential customers to external benefit calculators where they can identify ...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: Chronic IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55944More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department takes to ensure that reviews of Personal Independent Payment claims for people with complex and chronic health conditions consider the (a) overlap between multiple health issue
Answer: The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment, at both new claim and award review, considers the impact of an individual’s health condition(s) or disability on their daily living and mobility rather than being based on the health condition itself. In...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: Chronic IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54482More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people claiming Personal Independence Payments with chronic health conditions are not subject to reviews unless there is evidence of significant change in their c
Answer: Reviews are an important feature of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) ensuring the support continues to meet the individual’s needs, as circumstances can change over time, and to make sure the correct level of support is being provided. People who rece...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment Schemes: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support vulnerable people into work in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Get Britain Working White Paper set out the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation to support our ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate. The Department for Work and Pensions will shift from being a department for employment suppor...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordWinter Fuel Payment: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Winter Fuel Payment on living standards for pensioners in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
Answer: The Government is, protecting pensioners on the lowest incomes. Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or other qualifying means-tested benefits or tax credits. They will continue to be ...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPension CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50328More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the level of uptake of Pension Credit in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) the rest of England.
Answer: The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are rightly entitled. That is why we ran the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign across the whole of Great Britian. This included adverts on television; radio; social media; on ...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: DisqualificationDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47469More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) removing sanctions on Universal Credit and (b) ensuring sanctions are used only in exceptional circumstances.
Answer: As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and moving away from the current one-size-fits-all approach. We are creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, me...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPathways to WorkDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47466More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 42060 on Pathways to Work: Impact Assessments, whether her Department’s further programme of analysis will include a disaggregation of data by category
Answer: A breakdown of the impact of the reforms on disability overall has been published as part of an Equality Analysis of the Spring Statement package of measures (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-g...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment and Universal Credit: Visual ImpairmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47033More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy that claimants of (a) Personal Independence Payment and (b) Universal Credit with sight loss conditions that have no prospect of improvement will be exempt from reassessme
Answer: Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary acro...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMeans-tested Benefits: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46397More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the take-up of means-tested benefits in households with children in poverty.
Answer: The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit including on GOV.UK that supports customers to identify what support may be available. Additionally, we signpost potential customers to external benefit calculators where they can identify ...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPoverty: Chronic IllnessesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46357More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help protect people with (a) multiple mental and physical health disabilities and (b) chronic health conditions from financial hardship.
Answer: The social security system will always be there for those who can’t work. As part of making changes to the rates in Universal Credit, we will ensure that the incomes of those with the most severe, lifelong conditions who will never be able to work have th...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: CarersDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 8 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 45305More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help support (a) unpaid and (b) disabled carers in the context of her proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments.
Answer: Our recent Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a broad package of reforms which included changes to Personal Independence Payment. We will focus PIP more on those with the greatest needs, ensuring that those who are unable to complete activities at all...
Answered 23 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCarersDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 8 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 45303More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that unpaid carers are adequately supported during the transition to the new disability benefits system.
Answer: Our recent Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a broad package of reforms which included changes to Personal Independence Payment. We will focus PIP more on those with the greatest needs, ensuring that those who are unable to complete activities at all...
Answered 23 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPensioners: Cost of LivingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44791More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what fiscal steps her Department is taking to support pensioners with the cost of living in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) England.
Answer: The Government is honouring its commitment to the Triple Lock with a recent 4.1% increase to the basic State Pension, the new State Pension, and the standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit. Over this Parliament (2029/30), the OBR forecasts that the G...
Answered 25 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44785More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will take steps to (a) update the basic rate of Universal Credit annually inline with inflation and (b) introduce an essentials guarantee to reflect the cost of living.
Answer: We will bring in a permanent, above inflation, rise to the standard allowance in Universal Credit for the first time ever by raising the standard allowance above inflation from 2026/27 until 2029/30. This is in stark contrast to a freeze between 2016/17 a...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordWorkplace Pensions: Index LinkingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 27073More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Work and Pensions Select Committee report entitled Defined benefit pension schemes, published on 26 March 2024, HC 144, whether her Department plans to implement pre-1997 indexatio
Answer: The PPF and FAS rules on indexation have been the subject of much discussion. I am aware of the concerns surrounding the matter and understand the problems experienced by Defined Benefit pension scheme members adjusting to an income in retirement which ma...
Answered 3 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPoverty: Older PeopleDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20093More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help tackle poverty experienced by older people, in the context of changes to the eligibility criteria for the winter fuel payment.
Answer: The Government is honouring our commitment to the Triple Lock with a 4.1% increase to the basic State Pension and the new State Pension; and we are also increasing the standard minimum guarantee in Pension Credit by 4.1%. As such, according to the latest ...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: Young PeopleDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16011More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Universal Credit rules for young people living in supported housing on their ability to find work.
Answer: People on a low income living in supported housing, can claim Universal Credit for help with their daily living costs and Housing Benefit for help with their housing costs. Customers living in supported housing are also able to access more housing support...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 23 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10821More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions her Department has had with stakeholders on the future of the two child limit.
Answer: Ministers meet regularly with stakeholders to discuss a broad range of topics relating to Universal Credit. Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to ...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament record
Explore activity by topic or department
Written questions by answering department
4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
View as listWhat this shows and doesn't show
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →