Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the policy of the Pensions Regulator for using the term "gender" in place of the Equality Act 2010's terms of (1) "sex", and (2) "gender reassignment" in its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR’s) strategy is wide-ranging, to ensure that it is fully inclusive and includes groups beyond the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, that encompass sex and gender reassignment. TPR uses ‘gender’ as was defined by the Office of National Statistics at the time the strategy was published, and will review their EDI Policy at the point of strategy refresh or when ONS issue new guidance, if earlier.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether simpler pension fund statements are being produced and sent to clients by all pension providers as required.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
From October 2022, new requirements were introduced for schemes used for automatic enrolment to provide a simpler annual benefit statement. The Department continues to work with the Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator to ensure compliance. Additionally, the Department plans to monitor/review the regulations within 5 years of being introduced as per the regulations (Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) (Statements of Benefits: Money Purchase Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations 2021)).
The Department publishes annual official statistics on workplace pension participation and saving trends. This provides estimates on the total amount saved into workplace pensions for those eligible for Automatic Enrolment, which was over £131bn in 2023. The table below holds the estimates of the total amount saved over the last 5 years, in 2023 earnings terms, which are also found in the official statistics noted above. As requested, the breakdowns by DB and DC schemes and other/unknown are also shown.
(£ Billions) in 2023 earnings terms | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Defined Contribution (DC) | 49.3 | 49.9 | 53.8 | 55.7 | 60.8 |
Defined Benefit (DB) | 63.8 | 68.6 | 72.5 | 64.8 | 65.8 |
Other/Unknown | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 5.2 |
Total | 114.6 | 120.5 | 128.7 | 122.8 | 131.8 |
Notes: Estimates of amounts saved into workplace pensions are derived from ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data. The saving attributed to ‘other/unknown’ is a result of respondents answering ‘unknown’ or failing to answer when asking what their workplace pension scheme type was, despite reporting a positive value of pension saving.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total contributions into (1) defined contribution, (2) defined benefit, and (3) other, pension schemes for the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
From October 2022, new requirements were introduced for schemes used for automatic enrolment to provide a simpler annual benefit statement. The Department continues to work with the Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator to ensure compliance. Additionally, the Department plans to monitor/review the regulations within 5 years of being introduced as per the regulations (Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) (Statements of Benefits: Money Purchase Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations 2021)).
The Department publishes annual official statistics on workplace pension participation and saving trends. This provides estimates on the total amount saved into workplace pensions for those eligible for Automatic Enrolment, which was over £131bn in 2023. The table below holds the estimates of the total amount saved over the last 5 years, in 2023 earnings terms, which are also found in the official statistics noted above. As requested, the breakdowns by DB and DC schemes and other/unknown are also shown.
(£ Billions) in 2023 earnings terms | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Defined Contribution (DC) | 49.3 | 49.9 | 53.8 | 55.7 | 60.8 |
Defined Benefit (DB) | 63.8 | 68.6 | 72.5 | 64.8 | 65.8 |
Other/Unknown | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 5.2 |
Total | 114.6 | 120.5 | 128.7 | 122.8 | 131.8 |
Notes: Estimates of amounts saved into workplace pensions are derived from ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) data. The saving attributed to ‘other/unknown’ is a result of respondents answering ‘unknown’ or failing to answer when asking what their workplace pension scheme type was, despite reporting a positive value of pension saving.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the terms of reference of the planned review of Universal Credit mentioned in the Labour Party Manifesto 2024; when they intend to publish its findings; and what mechanisms are planned to ensure that the voices of those with experience of claiming universal credit are heard.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do. We have begun this work with the announcement of the Fair Repayment Rate in the Budget and we will continue to work with stakeholders closely as the review progresses. We will regularly update Parliament on progress.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the total amount deducted from benefit payments to pay for claimants' court imposed fines each year for the ten previous years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 provides the total amount deducted from Universal Credit payments to repay a Court Fine debt for each financial year from April 2018 to August 2024.
Table 1: the total amount deducted from Universal Credit payments for Court Fines, April 2018 to August 2024 | |
Financial Years | Total Amount Deducted for Court Fines |
Apr-18 to Mar-19 | £2,000,000 |
Apr-19 to Mar-20 | £49,000,000 |
Apr-20 to Mar-21 | £95,000,000 |
Apr-21 to Mar-22 | £52,000,000 |
Apr-22 to Mar-23 | £45,000,000 |
Apr-23 to Mar-24 | £58,000,000 |
Apr-24 to Aug-24 | £28,000,000 |
Notes:
1. Monetary amounts have been rounded to the nearest million.
2. Court fines are classed as a Third Party Deduction. Data for Third Party Deductions is incomplete before April 2018, so we can't provide data for earlier years.
3. Data up to August 2024 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Deductions Statistics.
4. Data for 2018/19 only includes Universal Credit full service claims. Data on Universal Credit live service for 2018/19 is not available. In May 2016 the Universal Credit full service for all claimant types began to rollout nationally and was completed by the end of 2018.
5. Comparison across the different financial years is problematic due to changes in the deductions policy for Universal Credit, which would have affected the number of households having a third party deduction.
6. Figures have been provided for Universal Credit households in Great Britain. Northern Ireland claims are administered by the Department for Communities.
7. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
8. The methodology used is different to those used to derive the Official Statistics Household series and therefore, figures may not be comparable.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - East Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for responding to her Department's closed consultation entitled Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper, published on 29 April 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2024 to question number 6515. The answer can be found here: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Health and Safety Executive are evaluating the safety case for blending hydrogen in the transmission network; and what the Health and Safety Executive's planned timetable is for a decision.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a strategic objective to enable industry to innovate safely to prevent major incidents, supporting the move towards Net Zero. As part of this objective HSE is working to review and understand key technologies, such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
HSE is currently reviewing the evidence on safety for the potential use of 100% hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas. HSE understands that the full evidence base for blending hydrogen in the transmission network is not due to be completed until December 2024. HSE is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to ensure HSE's resources are appropriately deployed to support Government’s net zero priorities.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of disability benefits in (a) 2025 and (b) 2026.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Forecast expenditure on Disability benefits are only available by financial year, in 2025/26 they’re forecast to be £43.8 billion, and £46.4 billion in 2026-27. (Figures quoted in real terms based on 2024/25 prices).
Disability benefits expenditure covers Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment, and Attendance Allowance. Full details of this expenditure can be found in the published Outturn and Forecast Tables.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure problems arising from menstrual health conditions, such as endometriosis, are accepted by employers as justified workplace absences.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Officials from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for Equality and Opportunity met with Endometriosis UK to discuss the development of Equality Action Plans on 13th November 2024.
On 18th October 2024 the Government appointed Mariella Frostrup as the new Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause and wider women’s health issues including menstrual health conditions.
This appointment comes as the government has proposed a wide-ranging set of generational reforms to boost protections for workers. The Employment Rights Bill is the first phase of delivering the Government’s plan to Make Work Pay, supporting workers through strengthening statutory sick pay, making flexible working the default, and requiring large employers to produce equality action plans.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will increase funding for the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Spending on Access to Work was around £257.8m in 2023/24, a real-terms increase of 33% compared to 2022/23, and it has increased every year since 2021/22. The Department is working through how to allocate its funding settlement from the 2024 Spending Review for 2025/26. At the Spending Review next year, funding for years beyond that will be agreed.
To support more disabled people and those with health conditions to enter and stay in work, as part of the Get Britain Working plans, the Government is launching Keep Britain Working. This is an independent review into the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces.