# Work and Pensions Select Committee

The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pensions and its associated public bodies.

## Membership

Membership of the committee is as follows:
| Member | Party | Constituency |
| Debbie Abrahams MP (chair) | Labour | Oldham East and Saddleworth |
| Johanna Baxter MP | Labour | Paisley and Renfrewshire South |
| Peter Bedford MP | Conservative | Mid Leicestershire |
| Steve Darling MP | Liberal Democrats | Torbay |
| Damien Egan MP | Labour | Bristol North East |
| Gill German MP | Labour | Clwyd North |
| Amanda Hack MP | Labour | North West Leicestershire |
| Danny Kruger MP | Conservative | East Wiltshire |
| Frank McNally MP | Labour | Coatbridge and Bellshill |
| John Milne MP | Liberal Democrats | Horsham |
| David Pinto-Duschinsky MP | Labour | Hendon |

### Changes since 2024

| Date | Outgoing Member & Party | Outgoing Member & Party | Constituency | → | New Member & Party | New Member & Party | Constituency | Source |
| 16 December 2024 | | Neil Coyle MP (Labour) | Bermondsey and Old Southwark | → | | Frank McNally MP (Labour) | Coatbridge and Bellshill | Hansard |
| 17 March 2024 | | Ben Obese-Jecty MP (Conservative) | Huntingdon | → | | Danny Kruger MP (Conservative) | East Wiltshire | Hansard |

## 2019-2024 Parliament

The chair was elected on 29 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020.
| Member | Party | Constituency |
| Stephen Timms MP (chair) | Labour | East Ham |
| Debbie Abrahams MP | Labour | Oldham East and Saddleworth |
| Shaun Bailey MP | Conservative | West Bromwich West |
| Siobhan Baillie MP | Conservative | Stroud |
| Neil Coyle MP | Labour | Bermondsey and Old Southwark |
| Steve McCabe MP | Labour | Birmingham Selly Oak |
| Nigel Mills MP | Conservative | Amber Valley |
| Selaine Saxby MP | Conservative | North Devon |
| Dr Ben Spencer MP | Conservative | Runnymede and Weybridge |
| Chris Stephens MP | Scottish National Party | Glasgow South West |
| Desmond Swayne | Conservative | New Forest West |
* ↑ Whip suspended from 11 February 2022 to 25 May 2023.

### Changes 2019-2024

| Date | Outgoing Member & Party | Outgoing Member & Party | Constituency | → | New Member & Party | New Member & Party | Constituency | Source |
| 9 January 2023 | | Chris Stephens MP (SNP) | Glasgow South West | → | | David Linden MP (SNP) | Glasgow East | Hansard |
| 18 December 2023 | | Steve McCabe MP (Labour) | Birmingham Selly Oak | → | | Marsha de Cordova MP (Labour) | Battersea | Hansard |

## 2017-2019 Parliament

The chair was elected on 12 July 2017, with the members of the committee being announced on 11 September 2017.
| Member | Party | Constituency |
| Frank Field MP (Chair) | Labour | Birkenhead |
| Heidi Allen MP | Conservative | South Cambridgeshire |
| Alex Burghart MP | Conservative | Brentwood and Ongar |
| Marsha de Cordova MP | Labour | Battersea |
| Neil Coyle MP | Labour | Bermondsey and Old Southwark |
| Ruth George MP | Labour | High Peak |
| Steve McCabe MP | Labour | Birmingham Selly Oak |
| Chris Stephens MP | Scottish National Party | Glasgow South West |

### Changes 2017–2019

| Date | Outgoing Member & Party | Outgoing Member & Party | Constituency | → | New Member & Party | Constituency | Source |
| 16 October 2017 | New seat | New seat | New seat | → | Andrew Bowie MP (Conservative) | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | Hansard |
| 16 October 2017 | New seat | New seat | New seat | → | Jack Brereton MP (Conservative) | Stoke-on-Trent South | Hansard |
| 16 October 2017 | New seat | New seat | New seat | → | Chris Green MP (Conservative) | Bolton West | Hansard |
| 23 October 2017 | | Marsha de Cordova MP (Labour) | Battersea | → | Emma Dent Coad MP (Labour) | Kensington | Hansard |
| 20 February 2018 | | Chris Green MP (Conservative) | Bolton West | → | Nigel Mills MP (Conservative) | Amber Valley | Hansard |
| 4 June 2018 | | Andrew Bowie MP (Conservative) | Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine | → | Justin Tomlinson MP (Conservative) | North Swindon | Hansard |
| 4 June 2018 | | Emma Dent Coad MP (Labour) | Kensington | → | Rosie Duffield MP (Labour) | Canterbury | Hansard |
| 26 November 2018 | | Justin Tomlinson MP (Conservative) | North Swindon | → | Derek Thomas MP | St Ives | Hansard |
| 11 February 2019 | | Alex Burghart MP (Conservative) | Brentwood and Ongar | → | Anna Soubry MP (Conservative) | Broxtowe | Hansard |

## 2015-2017 Parliament

The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 8 July 2015.
| Member | Party | Constituency |
| Frank Field MP (Chair) | Labour | Birkenhead |
| Debbie Abrahams MP | Labour | Oldham East and Saddleworth |
| Heidi Allen MP | Conservative | South Cambridgeshire |
| Mhairi Black MP | Scottish National Party | Paisley and Renfrewshire South |
| Karen Buck MP | Labour | Westminster North |
| John Glen MP | Conservative | North East Hertfordshire |
| Richard Graham MP | Conservative | Salisbury |
| Emma Lewell-Buck MP | Labour | South Shields |
| Craig Mackinlay MP | Conservative | South Thanet |
| Jeremy Quin MP | Conservative | Horsham |
| Craig Williams (British politician) MP | Conservative | Cardiff North |

### Changes 2015-2017

| Date | Outgoing Member & Party | Constituency | → | New Member & Party | Constituency | Source |
| 26 October 2015 | Debbie Abrahams MP (Labour) | Oldham East and Saddleworth | → | Steve McCabe MP (Labour) | Birmingham Selly Oak | Hansard |
| 1 February 2016 | Emma Lewell-Buck MP (Labour) | South Shields | → | Neil Coyle MP (Labour) | Bermondsey and Old Southwark | Hansard |
| 31 October 2016 | Jeremy Quin MP (Conservative) | Horsham | → | James Cartlidge MP (Conservative) | South Suffolk | Hansard |
| 31 October 2016 | Craig Williams MP (Conservative) | Cardiff North | → | Luke Hall MP (Conservative) | Thornbury and Yate | Hansard |
| 19 December 2016 | John Glen MP (Conservative) | Salisbury | → | Royston Smith MP (Conservative) | Southampton Itchen | Hansard |

## 2010-2015 Parliament

The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010.
| Member | Party | Constituency |
| Anne Begg MP (Chair) | Labour | Aberdeen South |
| Harriett Baldwin MP | Conservative | West Worcestershire |
| Karen Bradley MP | Conservative | Staffordshire Moorlands |
| Karen Buck MP | Labour | Westminster North |
| Margaret Curran MP | Labour | Glasgow East |
| Richard Graham MP | Conservative | Gloucester |
| Kate Green MP | Labour | Stretford and Urmston |
| Oliver Heald MP | Conservative | North East Hertfordshire |
| Sajid Javid MP | Conservative | Bromsgrove |
| Stephen Lloyd MP | Liberal Democrats | Eastbourne |
| Shabana Mahmood MP | Labour | Birmingham Ladywood |

### Changes 2010-2015

| Date | Outgoing Member & Party | Constituency | → | New Member & Party | Constituency | Source |
| 2 November 2010 | Karen Buck MP (Labour) | Westminster North | → | Alex Cunningham MP (Labour) | Stockton North | Hansard |
| 2 November 2010 | Margaret Curran MP (Labour) | Glasgow East | → | Glenda Jackson MP (Labour) | Hampstead and Kilburn | Hansard |
| 2 November 2010 | Shabana Mahmood MP (Labour) | Birmingham Ladywood | → | Teresa Pearce MP (Labour) | Erith and Thamesmead | Hansard |
| 29 November 2010 | Richard Graham MP (Conservative) | Gloucester | → | Andrew Bingham MP (Conservative) | High Peak | Hansard |
| 29 November 2010 | Sajid Javid MP (Conservative) | Bromsgrove | → | Brandon Lewis MP (Conservative) | Great Yarmouth | Hansard |
| 27 June 2011 | Alex Cunningham MP (Labour) | Stockton North | → | Debbie Abrahams MP (Labour) | Oldham East and Saddleworth | Hansard |
| 25 October 2011 | Kate Green MP (Labour) | Stretford and Urmston | → | Sheila Gilmore MP (Labour) | Edinburgh East | Hansard |
| 29 October 2012 | Harriett Baldwin MP (Conservative) | West Worcestershire | → | Aidan Burley MP (Conservative) | Cannock Chase | Hansard |
| 29 October 2012 | Andrew Bingham MP (Conservative) | High Peak | → | Jane Ellison MP (Conservative) | Battersea | Hansard |
| 29 October 2012 | Karen Bradley MP (Conservative) | Staffordshire Moorlands | → | Graham Evans MP (Conservative) | Weaver Vale | Hansard |
| 29 October 2012 | Oliver Heald MP (Conservative) | North East Hertfordshire | → | Nigel Mills MP (Conservative) | Amber Valley | Hansard |
| 29 October 2012 | Brandon Lewis MP (Conservative) | Great Yarmouth | → | Anne Marie Morris MP (Conservative) | Newton Abbot | Hansard |
| 10 June 2013 | Aidan Burley MP (Conservative) | Cannock Chase | → | Mike Freer MP (Conservative) | Finchley and Golders Green | Hansard |
| 4 November 2013 | Jane Ellison MP (Conservative) | Battersea | → | Kwasi Kwarteng MP (Conservative) | Spelthorne | Hansard |
| 4 November 2013 | Mike Freer MP (Conservative) | Finchley and Golders Green | → | Dame Angela Watkinson MP (Conservative) | Hornchurch and Upminster | Hansard |
| 27 January 2014 | Stephen Lloyd MP (Liberal Democrats) | Eastbourne | → | Mike Thornton MP (Liberal Democrats) | Eastleigh | Hansard |
| 8 September 2014 | Dame Angela Watkinson MP (Conservative) | Hornchurch and Upminster | → | Paul Maynard MP (Conservative) | Blackpool North and Cleveleys | Hansard |

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