Department for Work and Pensions

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The Department for Work and Pensions (or DWP) (Welsh: Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau) is the largest government department in the Government of the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001, from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security. It is currently headed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a Cabinet position.

Contents 1 Purpose 2 Ministerial team 3 Permanent Secretary 4 Services 5 Location and staffing 6 See also 7 References 8 External links 8.1 Video clips

[edit] Purpose

The department's mission statement is "To promote opportunity and independence for all through modern, customer-focused services".

[edit] Ministerial team

Source: [1]

• Secretary of State for Work and Pensions - Yvette Cooper MP
  • Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society - Angela Eagle MP
  • Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform - Jim Knight MP (attends cabinet when responsibility is on agenda)
    • Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Lord McKenzie of Luton (jointly with DCLG)
    • Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Helen Goodman MP
    • Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People - Jonathan Shaw MP

[edit] Permanent Secretary

The Permanent Secretary is Sir Leigh Lewis KCB. In November 2005, he replaced Sir Richard Mottram, who moved to the Cabinet Office. Mottram had moved in 2002 from the same post at the Department for Transport to succeed Rachel Lomax, who had followed the opposite route and who then moved to the Bank of England as deputy governor in 2003.

[edit] Services

The Department for Work and Pensions has many businesses and sectors:

• Jobcentre Plus, a service dedicated to helping people back into work and administering related and other, Social Security benefits (Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance, Bereavement Benefits, Maternity Allowance, Industrial Injuries Benefits, Social Fund).
• The Pension, Disability and Carers Service, created in April 2008^[1], this sector brings together two existing services:
  • The Pension Service facilitating the state pension and pension credit systems and providing information on other related issues.
  • The Disability and Carers Service, providing financial and practical support to disabled people and their carers.
• Debt Management, recovering over or wrongly paid benefit, or outstanding Social Fund loans.
• The Rent Service, provides a rental valuation service for Housing Benefit purposes and provides advice to landlords and the public on matters related to fair rent valuations.
• Age Positive, the campaign that promotes the benefits of employing a mixed-age workforce that includes older and younger people and to help employers comply with legislation to outlaw age discrimination in employment.

The department has responsibility for the Health and Safety Executive, Directgov and the Employment Medical Advisory Service and the personal accounts delivery authority (PADA)

[edit] Location and staffing

The department's central administrative office is in Whitehall, London. There are a number of other regional offices and Jobcentres where members of the public can visit to find out information. The Pension Service has 133 specialised teams across the country called Local Service, who can visit pensioners in their homes if this is preferred.

The department's annual "expenditure limit" (budget) figures are, at the time of the 2004 Spending Review: 2004-05: £8,164m, 05-06: £8,432m, 06-07: £8,212m and 07-08: £8,105m.^{[citation needed]}

The DWP employed (in 2003) 131,000 members of staff to discharge all of its functions. This figure will be reduced by 30,000 by 2008, with a further 10,000 being moved to front-line services. This is part of the Government's pledge to reduce civil servant numbers by 100,000. Nevertheless, the department is still the largest (in staffing terms) Whitehall department.

[edit] See also

• Pensions Commission
• Office of Manpower Economics
• United Kingdom budget
• Benefit fraud
• Welfare Rights

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Department for Work and Pensions website
• Directgov disabled people - Part of Department for Work and Pensions

[edit] Video clips

• DWP YouTube channel

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