The Benefits Agency (BA) was an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...

of the British

Department of Social Security A ministry of social security or department of social security is a government entity responsible for social security affairs. It may be a ministry office, a department, or, as in the United States, a nominally independent agency. Notable ones ar ...

(subsequently the

Department for Work and Pensions The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, pensions and child maintenance ...

), set up in 1991 to "create and deliver an active modern social security service, which encourages and enables independence and aims to pay the right money at the right time". The BA was merged with the Employment Service in April 2001 to form Jobcentre Plus.

References

Pensions in the United Kingdom Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom Employment agencies of the United Kingdom {{government-stub