Mel Stride MP: written questions
129 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Social Security BenefitsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43444More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her Department's policy that people with (a) more than £16,000 in savings, (b) a full National Insurance record and (c) a work-limiting health condition will not be eligible for support th
Answer: This is not current government policy. We are consulting on plans for a new “Unemployment Insurance”. We are asking about what the right level of support is and how long it should last, and we would welcome your response. No final decisions have been take...
Answered 10 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: ReformDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43443More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department's proposed reforms to contributory out of work benefits are expected to reduce contributory benefits as a proportion of overall welfare expenditure.
Answer: Our proposed reforms to contributory benefits are about creating a more proactive, pro-work system that actually supports individuals. While the reforms are part of a package that will make the benefits system more affordable, they will also ensure that t...
Answered 9 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment and Support AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43442More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of new style Employment and Support Allowance claims have been in payment for at least (a) three, (b) six, (c) 12, and (d) 18 months for (i) the Work Related Activity Group and (ii) the
Answer: The following table shows the volume of new style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) and Support Group (SG) claims that have been in payment for at least three, six, 12 and 18 months. Volumes of ESA claims that have ...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: FinanceMinistry of DefenceTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43441More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether capital departmental expenditure by his Department can fund an expansion in the size of the armed forces; and how much and what proportion of the additional defence expenditure announced at the Spring Sta
Answer: Any expansion in the size of the Armed Forces would predominantly result in an increase to resource spending rather than capital spending. However, the capitalisation of workforce costs directly employed in bringing a capital asset into service is allowed...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: FinanceTreasuryTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43440More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the additional defence expenditure she announced at the Spring Statement falls under capital departmental expenditure limits; what proportion falls under resource departmental expenditure limits;
Answer: The Chancellor’s Spring Statement document, published on 26 March, set out the Resource DEL and Capital DEL uplifts to defence spending over the scorecard period.A greater proportion of the uplift will be Capital DEL funding. This reflects the needs of de...
Answered 11 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic ExpenditureTreasuryTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43439More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40157 on Public Expenditure, and with reference to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's statement to the House on 28 October 2024, Official Report, column 562, wh
Answer: At Autumn Budget 2024, the government confirmed new fiscal rules to put the public finances on a sustainable path, and prioritise investment to support long-term growth. The stability rule is that the current budget must be in surplus in 2029-30, until 29...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordEconomic Policy and Fiscal PolicyTreasuryTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43438More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, how the policies scored at the Spring Statement differ from the policies announced b
Answer: In response to feedback from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government made amendments to the policy parameters of two measures. Firstly, the Universal Credit standard allowance will reach £106 per week in 2029-30, an increase above inflation. ...
Answered 11 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: HealthTreasuryTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43437More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, what changes were made to the reduction in the level of the Universal Credit health
Answer: In response to feedback from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government made amendments to the policy parameters of the changes to the Universal Credit health element. The government is freezing the reduced Universal Credit health element level ...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditTreasuryTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43436More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025, what changes were made to the universal credit standard allowance increase following
Answer: In response to feedback from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government made amendments to the policy parameters of the Universal Credit standard allowance change. The UC standard allowance will reach £106 per week in 2029-30, an increase above ...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic ExpenditureTreasuryTabled 21 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40157More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which financial year the current budget was last in surplus.
Answer: The last financial year for which the current budget was in surplus was 2018-19, when there was a surplus of £0.8 billion. This was the only surplus since 2001-02, when the current budget was in surplus by £6.9 billion. The OBR has today forecast that the...
Answered 26 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: ExpenditureTreasuryTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 34812More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Overseas Development Assistance budget will remain the only funding source for the increase in defence spending throughout this Parliament.
Answer: On 25 February 2025 the Prime Minister announced that NATO qualifying defence spending will increase to 2.5% GDP by 2027-28, with Official Development Assistance reducing from 0.5% GNI to 0.3% GNI by the same time point, meaning the uplift is fully funded...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: ExpenditureTreasuryTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 34811More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of whether real-terms or nominal figures provide the most accurate metric for evaluating an increase in defence spending.
Answer: £13.4bn represents the increase in total NATO qualifying defence spending from 2024-25 to 2027-28 based on OBR forecasts. As the Prime Minister has announced, defence spending will reach 2.5% GDP in 2027-28. Our GDP percentage spent on defence is the key ...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: FinanceMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 34810More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the £13.4 billion for the armed forces was calculated based on NATO-qualifying spending; and what his Departmental budget will be in the 2027-28 financial year.
Answer: The £13.4 billion increase relates to total NATO qualifying defence spend. This is the increase in cash terms between defence spending in 2027-28 and what the UK spends today. HMT is currently undertaking the second phase of the Spending Review, which wil...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: FinanceTreasuryTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 34809More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prime Minister’s oral statement on Defence and Security of 25 February 2025, Official Report, column 631, what the level of defence spending was due to be in the 2027-28 financial year prior to
Answer: Departmental budgets from 2026-27 to 2028-29 will be determined as part of the ongoing Spending Review, details of which will be announced on 11 June 2025.
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: FinanceTreasuryTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 34808More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prime Minister’s oral statement on Defence and Security of 25 February 2025, Official Report, column 631, how much and what proportion of the £13.4 billion increase in defence spending is new m
Answer: £13.4bn represents the forecast increase in total NATO qualifying defence spending between 2024-25 to 2027-28. This increase comprises the reallocated ODA funding, as well as forecast increases to existing NATO qualifying spend based on OBR forecasts, ove...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordWork Capability AssessmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34602More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Tables in the document entitled Work Capability Assessment Reform: update to estimated number of claimants affected, dated 18 April 2024, what her Department's estimate is of the n
Answer: The figures requested can be found in the table below: Note – This reform was planned and made by the previous Government, but the figures reflect the latest OBR forecasts and assumptions. Number of claimants affected by Work Capability Assessment Reform,...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34601More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's timetable is for abolishing the couple's administrative earnings threshold; and what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the abolition of the couple's administrative e
Answer: The previous administration planned to abolish the Couples AET to increase compliance and conditionality requirements on working households, without clear evidence that this would be cost-effective. The Government’s plans for supporting working households...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordWork Capability AssessmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34600More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it remains her Department's policy to begin the rollout of the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment and the categories of Limited Capability for Work and Limited Capability for Work Relat
Answer: We’ve been clear that WCA isn’t working and needs to be reformed or replaced. We are working to develop proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits and will set them out in a green paper in the spring. As part of the Get Britain W...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordOffice for Budget Responsibility: ForecastsTreasuryTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34599More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the estimated economic impact of additional public investment within the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts reflects the composition of that investment spending in each year of the forecast period.
Answer: The independent Office for Budget Responsibility produces comprehensive economic and fiscal forecasts twice a year. This includes a judgement on how public investment levels impact the economy. This judgement is based on the Public Investment and Potentia...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCapital Investment: Government DepartmentsTreasuryTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34598More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will provide a breakdown by department of the additional capital expenditure announced at the October Budget for each financial year up to 2029-30.
Answer: At Autumn Budget 2024 the government announced over £100 billion of additional capital investment over the next five years compared to the plans the government inherited. In 2025-26, this amounts a £13 billion increase compared to Spring Budget 2024 plans...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector Debt: Budget October 2024TreasuryTabled 28 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34597More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the forecast level of (a) public sector net debt, (b) public sector net debt excluding Bank of England and (c) public sector net financial liabilities was at the time of the Autumn Budget 2024 in (i) cash terms
Answer: At Autumn Budget 2024, the government put the public finances on a sustainable path by strengthening the fiscal framework, including announcing new fiscal rules, and taking difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending. The information requested is all...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordSelf-employed: TaxationTreasuryTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13426More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 3 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, whether self-employed people are classed as working.
Answer: A working person is someone who goes out to work and works for their income. The government has committed to not increase taxes on working people, which is why it is not increasing the basic, higher or additional rates of Income Tax, National Insurance co...
Answered 21 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordBudget October 2024TreasuryTabled 11 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13425More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 3 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, what her definition is of working people.
Answer: A working person is someone who goes out to work and works for their income. The government has committed to not increase taxes on working people, which is why it is not increasing the basic, higher or additional rates of Income Tax, National Insurance co...
Answered 21 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAccess to Work ProgrammeDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 24 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10978More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral answer of 7 October 2024 from the Minister for Employment, Official Report, column 6, what changes have been made to the Access to Work Scheme since the beginning of this Parl
Answer: Since the beginning of this Parliament the Department for Work and Pensions has taken steps to improve operational guidance and process to ensure Access to Work grants are awarded consistently and as quickly as possible. Since July 2024, twenty-three addi...
Answered 30 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordWinter Fuel PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 23 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 10686More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the correspondence from the Chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee entitled The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payments Regulations 2024: letter to the Secretary of State for Work an
Answer: In line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, an equality analysis was produced as part of the ministerial decision-making process. The Department will continue to monitor and review the impact of the policy, using this to inform any f...
Answered 28 Oct 2024
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →