Department for Work and Pensions
The Department is responsible for delivering support and advice through a modern network of services to people of working age, employers, pensioners, families and children and disabled people. Its key aims are to help its customers become financially independent and to help reduce child poverty.
Contact information
- Address: Caxton House, 4th Floor, Tothill Street, London SW1H 2NS
- Website: www.dwp.gov.uk/ [External website]
- Telephone: 020 7340 4000
- Generic Email format: firstname.lastname@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Parliamentary Branch
Ministerial & Treat Officially Correspondence Section
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Ministers
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: The Rt Hon James Purnell MP
Leads on:
- The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for all work and pension matters as well as public expenditure matters.
Private Office to James Purnell
Minister of State (Employment and Welfare Reform) and Minister for London: The Rt Hon Tony McNulty MP
Leads on:
- Labour market and the economy
- Labour market statistics
- Welfare Reform
- Jobcentre Plus
- Employment programmes, including the future of the New Deal
- European Social Fund
- Ethnic minority employment (Chair of EME taskforce)
- Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
- Adult Disadvantage
- Fraud and Error
- Income Support
- Jobseeker's Allowance
- Cities Strategy
- London Child Poverty
- Employers (including the Commission for Employment and Skills)
- Skills
- Disadvantaged areas and regional issuesTax Credits (where DWP has an interest)
- Habitual Residency Test
- National Insurance Numbers (NINOs)
- Benefit Simplification
- Minister for London
Private Office to Tony McNulty
Minister of State (Pensions and the Ageing Society) and Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber: The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP
Leads on:
- Pensions Reform
- Personal Accounts
- The Pension, Disability and Carers Service
- State Pensions provision including Pension credit
- Ageing society strategy
- Extending working lives (including age-discrimination in relation to retirement)
- Better regulation
- Financial Capability
- Post Office Card Account
- Methods of Payment Reform
- Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber
Private Office to Rosie Winterton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State: Lord McKenzie of Luton
Leads on:
- Lead on all DWP issues in the Lords
- Health and Safety at work
- The Health and Safety Executive
- Health, Work and Well-being
- Sickness absence and vocational rehabilitation
- Statutory Sick Pay
- Asbestos compensation
- Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance
- Maternity Pay
- Research and statistics
- Freedom of Information within DWP
- DWP human rights issues
- Data Protection within DWP
- DWP's climate change adaptation policy
Lord McKenzie also works with the Pensions Minister on pensions issues, including Personal Accounts, and specifically leads on:
- Private Pensions (including the Pensions Regulator)
- Pensions Protection Fund
- Financial Assistance Scheme
- Deregulation
Private Office to Lord McKenzie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Disabled People) and Minister for the South East: Jonathan Shaw MP
Leads on:
- Office for Disability Issues
- Disability Legislation
- Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Equality Bill
- Disability Living Allowance / Attendance Allowance
- Motability
- Carer's Allowance / Carer's Benefit
- Access to Work
- Workstep
- Remploy & Supported Employment
- Independent Living Fund
- Incapacity Benefit / Employment Support Allowance implementation
- Lead responsibility for disability and carers issues in PDCS.
- Vaccine Damage Payments
- International Relations
- European Union Business
- Departmental Management Issues
- DWP Change Programme
- Varney and Service Transformation
- Departmental IT and data security
- The Euro
- Minister for the South East
Lead in the Commons:
- Health and Safety at work
- Health, Work and Well-being
- DWP Human Rights issues
- Freedom of Information within DWP
Private Office to Jonathan Shaw
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State: Kitty Ussher MP
Leads on:
- Financial Inclusion
- Debt Management
- Social Fund
- Students
- Housing and Council Tax Benefit policy and delivery
- Bereavement Benefit
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Compensation Recovery Unit
- Social Security Advisory Committee
- Child Poverty and young people
- Child Maintenance / Support
- Childcare
- Lone Parents and partners
- Work Incentives
- Better Buildings
Leads in the Commons on:
- Departmental green issues
- Maternity Pay
Support in the Commons on:
Private Office to Kitty Ussher
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Private Offices
Private Office to The Rt Hon James Purnell MP
Private Office to The Rt Hon Tony McNulty MP
Private Office to The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP
Private Office to Lord McKenzie of Luton
Private Office to Jonathan Shaw MP
Private Office to Kitty Ussher MP
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Executive Agencies
Child Support Agency
The Child Support Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions. The CSA exists to deliver a professional, efficient and sensitive child support service, which plays its part in ensuring that children, whose parents do not live together, are financially supported and kept out of poverty. Its role is to make a speedy and accurate assessment of child maintenance, ensure that this is paid on time, and help clients as they go through this activity.
Pension, Disability and Carers Service
The Disability and Carers Service and the Pensions Service merged with effect from 1 April 2008. The Pension Service is a dedicated service for current and future pensioners. It provides state financial support to over 11 million pensioners delivered at a national and local level and in partnership with other organisations. It also helps people to plan and provide for retirement. The Disability and Carers Service supports disabled people and their carers, whether or not they work. It is responsible for delivering Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Carer's Allowance.
Rent Service
The Rent Service makes fair rent evaluations for regulated and secure tenancies, and determines whether Housing Benefit claimants (and prospective claimants) are being asked to pay more rent than their landlord might reasonably expect in open market conditions.
Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions. DWP's overall goal for people of working age is to promote work for those who can and support for those who cannot. Fundamental to this goal is the creation of Jobcentre Plus, which has brought together the former Employment Service and those parts of the Benefits Agency which support people of working age, into a single integrated business with a clear focus on work. The first Pathfinder offices of the new organisation were opened in October 2001. There are now 272 offices, covering a quarter of Great Britain, providing a new integrated service to our customers. Jobcentre Plus' aim is to help more people into work and employers to fill their vacancies, and to provide people of working age with the help and support they are entitled to. As a result Jobcentre Plus will contribute to the Government's aim of tackling poverty, reducing worklessness, promoting growth and opportunity, and modernising Government..
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