Sir George Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Chingford and Woodford Green, formerly Chingford, since 1992.
Welfare reforms are changes in the operation of a given welfare system aimed at improving the efficiency, equity and administration of government assistance programs. Reform programs may have a various aims, sometimes the focus is on reducing the number of individuals receiving government assistance and welfare system expenditure, at other times reforms may aim to ensure greater fairness, effectiveness and allocation of welfare for those in need. Classical liberals, libertarians, and conservatives generally argue that welfare and other tax-funded services reduce incentives to work, exacerbate the free-rider problem, and intensify poverty. On the other hand social democrats and socialists generally criticize welfare reforms that minimize the public safety net and strengthens the capitalist economic system. Welfare reform is constantly debated because of the varying opinions on a government's need to balance providing guaranteed welfare benefits and promoting self-sufficiency.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK's biggest public service department it administers the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers. It is the second largest governmental department in terms of employees, and the second largest in terms of expenditure.
The parliamentary under-secretary of state is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister of State, which is itself junior to a Secretary of State.
Esther Louise McVey, Lady Davies, is a British Conservative Party politician and television presenter who has been serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton since 2017, and served as the MP for Wirral West from 2010 to 2015. She previously served in cabinet as Minister of State for Employment from 2013 to 2015, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2018, Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2019 to 2020 and Minister of State without Portfolio from 2023 to 2024.
David Anthony Freud, Baron Freud, is a British politician, life peer, and former investment banker who served as Minister for Welfare Reform from 2010 to 2016. Before he joined the Conservative Party, he was vice-chairman of investment banking at UBS and a government adviser on welfare reform.
Dame Thérèse Anne Coffey is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from September to October 2022 under Liz Truss. She has also served as Environment Secretary, Health Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary. A member of the Conservative Party, Coffey was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal from 2010 to 2024.
Stephen Anthony McPartland is a former British Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Stevenage from 2010 to 2024. He is the author of the McPartland Review into Cyber Security as an enabler of Economic Growth, is a strategic consultant and non-executive specialist in risk, governance, cyber security and digital sustainability.
Justin Paul Tomlinson is a British politician and former marketing executive who served as Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Swindon from 2010 to 2024.
Universal Credit is a United Kingdom based social security payment. It is means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits, for working-age households with a low income: income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), and Income Support; Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Working Tax Credit (WTC); and Housing Benefit. An award of UC is made up of different elements, which become payable to the claimant if relevant criteria apply: a standard allowance for singles or couples, child elements and disabled child elements for children in the household, housing cost element, childcare costs element, as well as elements for being a carer or having an illness or disability and therefore having limited capability to work.
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, commonly referred to as the Social Justice Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibility for community planning, housing, social security, the third sector. The current Cabinet Secretary is Shirley-Anne Somerville since 2023.
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which makes changes to the rules concerning a number of benefits offered within the British social security system. It was enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 8 March 2012.
Victoria Mary Prentis, is a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, Prentis served as the Member of Parliament for Banbury from 2015 until her defeat in 2024.
Kelly Jane Tolhurst is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and Strood from 2015 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Schools and Childhood from September to October 2022.
Amanda Jane Solloway is a British politician who served as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from September 2022 to July 2024 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Affordability and Skills from February 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Derby North between 2019 and 2024, having previously served from 2015 to 2017.
Matthew Thomas Pennycook is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Greenwich and Woolwich since 2015. He has served as Minister of State for Housing and Planning since July 2024.
The benefit cap is a UK welfare policy that limits the amount in state benefits that an individual household can claim per year. It was introduced by the Cameron–Clegg coalition government in 2013 as part of the coalition government's wide-reaching welfare reform agenda which included the introduction of Universal Credit and reforms of housing benefit and disability benefits. The government cited wide public support for the measure, despite it being highly controversial. The benefit cap primarily affects families with children, high rents, or both. By 2024, two-thirds of the families affected by the cap were single-parent families, half of which had a child under five.
The Minister of State for Social Security and Disability is a junior minister in the Department for Work and Pensions of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for disabled people. The role has also been known as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Disabled People, Health and Work.
Social Security Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government with responsibility for social security provision.
