The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of 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 ...

and its associated public bodies.

Membership

Membership of the committee is as follows:

Changes since 2024

2019-2024 Parliament

The chair was elected on 29 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020.

Changes 2019-2024

2017-2019 Parliament

The chair was elected on 12 July 2017, with the members of the committee being announced on 11 September 2017.

Changes 2017–2019

2015-2017 Parliament

The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 8 July 2015.

Changes 2015-2017

2010-2015 Parliament

The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010.

Changes 2010-2015

Significant inquiries

The committee has been involved in a number of significant investigations.

Welfare safety net inquiry (2015)

On 18 September 2015, the committee announced that it was beginning an enquiry into the 'welfare safety net'. The committee's chair, in launching the enquiry, said: "There is a great deal of concern that some of the least advantaged people are slipping through our safety net into a state of hunger. Our welfare safety net has developed over decades because there is a level below which we as a society do not believe anyone should fall, no matter where they live. We want to understand how local councils are adapting and coping with the changes in benefits and the extra responsibilities on them to meet genuine need and maintain that basic safety net."

Two child limit (2019)

In 2019 the Work and Pensions Select Committee recommended ending the two-child limit on welfare payments. The committee heard evidence from charities, economists and faith groups and stated the limit had, “unintended consequences that no government should be willing to accept”. The committee stated the justification for the limit assumed all pregnancies were planned, that distinguishing between families on benefits and families in work was “crude and unrealistic”, further evidence did not support the case that the two child limit might encourage parents to increase their incomes from work. The committee argued for no significant distinction between households on benefits and those working. In April 2019, 72% of families getting tax credits were in work. In May 2019, 28% of working-age

housing benefit Housing Benefit is a means-tested social security benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the state ...

claimants were, “in employment and not on passported benefit”. in October 2019, 33% of

Universal Credit Universal Credit is a United Kingdom based Welfare state in the United Kingdom, social security payment. It is Means test, means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits, for working-age households with a low income: income-related Emp ...

claimants were recorded as employed. Frank Field MP said, “Any family in this country, except the super-rich, could fall foul of the two-child limit if their circumstances changed for the worse. This is exactly why social security must act as a national insurance scheme covering people when they’re most exposed to hardship – not increase it.”End two-child benefits limit, say cross-party MPs
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The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

References

External links

Work and Pensions CommitteeRecords for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary Archives
{{UKParliamentCommittees British economic policy Select Committees of the British House of Commons Department for Work and Pensions Social security in the United Kingdom Pensions in the United Kingdom 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom