Baroness Altmann

It is against the law to discriminate against someone because of their age or because of being pregnant or on maternity leave.

Under Health and Safety legislation, employers have a legal responsibility to protect workers and others from risk to their health and safety. They should do everything reasonably practicable to minimise the risks. Clinically vulnerable individuals, who are at higher risk of severe illness, have been asked to take extra care in observing social distancing and should be helped to work from home, either in their current role or in an alternative role.

If clinically vulnerable individuals cannot work from home, they should be offered the option of the safest available on site roles, enabling them to stay 2m away from others. The Health and Safety risk assessment should reflect this.

The Health and Safety Executive has guidance for business on how to manage risk and risk assessment at work along with specific advice to help control the risk of coronavirus in workplaces.

The total number of self-employed Universal Credit claimants in January 2023 was 493,300. This has been rounded to the nearest 100.

The latest statistics published monthly on Stat-Xplore show that, from the 5.8 million people on Universal Credit in February 2023, 2.2 million were in employment and 3.6 million were not in employment.

Universal Credit is designed to reduce as household earnings increase, so the number of high income households receiving UC would likely be very small. The level at which entitlement ends will differ depending on individual circumstances and other unearned income.

As earnings information is only available at household level this has been provided below

In January 2023 there were:

• 2,610,500 households with no take home pay
• 974,000 households with monthly take home pay between £0 - £1048
• 662,500 households with monthly take home pay between £1048 - £2084
• 121,600 households with monthly take home pay between £2084 - £2917
• 29,400 households with monthly take home pay between £2917 - £4167
• 1,300 households with monthly take home pay greater than £4167.

Notes:

1. The figures provided are monthly equivalents of the annual incomes specified in the question.
2. These figures have been rounded to the nearest 100

This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.

Following the successful launch of our campaign to increase up-take of Pension Credit, we have received an unprecedented number of claims. We have increased the resources available to process the extra volume of claims and have also adapted our claims processing approach, which has enabled us to improve productivity and clear claims more effectively.

We are now clearing more cases per day than we are receiving. We are also prioritising the oldest cases, and those presenting in hardship, to ensure we get payments to those most in need.

With these measures in place and, assuming the current volumes of new claims for Pension Credit, we anticipate that both processing times and outstanding cases will return to the levels we had before the recent three-fold increase in claims.

Successful claims and arrears will be paid accordingly to ensure all those who are entitled do not miss out.

For the benefits listed there are many different rates. The tables in the spreadsheet attached show a selection of illustrative examples for each benefit in both cash and real terms.

Child Tax Credits are administered by HMRC and are not a DWP responsibility. Rates are therefore not provided here.

The information requested is available on the MoneyHelper pension take up data dashboard, where it is published quarterly by financial year. It is provided quarterly by calendar year below:

*Q1 data from 2018 is not available

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publish data on their website, based on what is reported to them, on the number of flexible payments made from pensions, the number of individuals who have received these flexible payments and the total value of all flexible payments. As this includes all flexible pension payments, the data represents a proportion of payments made from trust-based Defined Contribution (DC) schemes as well as contract-based schemes. As of December 2021, 1.9 million individuals have taken 16.0 million flexible payments from their DC pensions since the introduction of Pension Freedoms in 2015.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) publishes data on their website from trust-based DC schemes on an annual basis. This publication provides a high-level snapshot of the current landscape of occupational DC trust-based pension provision in the UK, including information on the number, memberships, and assets of schemes. The most recent publication is TPR’s 12^th edition, DC Trust: scheme return data 2021 to 2022, which includes data captured since 2015.

Included in this, they report the number of members for whom each scheme is directly providing (self-annuitisation) or facilitating (lifetime annuities) annuity payments. At the end of 2021, there were 1,000 memberships receiving lifetime annuities, excluding hybrid schemes (which have a mixture of guarantees and investments), and less than 1000 memberships receiving self-annuitisations, also excluding hybrid schemes. Number of memberships, or number of pension pots, does not equate to number of individuals, as many people are members of more than one pension scheme.

The data in this publication from TPR does not capture all pensioner members, as some members will have retired but transferred out of their scheme.

Members who transfer out of a trust-based DC scheme and access their pension savings via a contract-based provider will be included in the data collected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and published in their Retirement Income Market Data. However, data is not currently collected on volumes of members that transfer out of trust-based DC schemes with the intention of accessing their savings. The FCA data shows that from October 2015- March 2021, over 3.3 million DC pots have been accessed in the contract-based market. This data is presented in Table 1 and can be found on the FCA webpage: Retirement income market data 2020/21. This data is also provided broken down by year in Annex A.

*Volumes prior to April 2018 were drawn from a representative sample of firms. The FCA started collecting data from all regulated firms providing retirement income products from 1 April 2018.

The information requested is available on the MoneyHelper pension take up data dashboard, where it is published quarterly by financial year. It is provided quarterly by calendar year below:

*The Pensions Helpline is a general pensions guidance service that anyone can contact with any pensions query – this service does not require appointments booked and is delivered across multiple channels. As such, this data includes the following:

• Helpline calls
• Webchat
• Online enquiries
• Attendance at outreach events

**MoneyHelper Pensions virtual appointments cover Divorce appointments, Mid-Life Pensions Review appointments for the self-employed, and Pension Loss appointments. Data on Pensions Safeguarding appointments has not yet been published.

*The Pensions Helpline is a general pensions guidance service that anyone can contact with any pensions query – this service does not require appointments booked and is delivered across multiple channels. As such, this data includes the following:

• Helpline calls
• Webchat
• Online enquiries
• Attendance at outreach events

**MoneyHelper Pensions virtual appointments cover Divorce appointments, Mid-Life Pensions Review appointments for the self-employed, and Pension Loss appointments. Data on Pensions Safeguarding appointments has not yet been published.

The below data on customer satisfaction is collected post-appointment.

Prior to the formation of the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) in 2019, satisfaction data was taken from the Pension Wise annual service evaluation and was not published quarterly. During this time The Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service, and Pension Wise had in place their own Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), along with different approaches to measuring performance. MaPS wanted to have a single programme measuring performance of their three service areas in a more consistent and joined up way. During 2020/21, there was no Pension Wise evaluation because MaPS were setting in place a new evaluation programme to achieve this.

Satisfaction data from 2021/22 is published quarterly by financial year on the MoneyHelper pensions take up dashboard. Pension Wise satisfaction scores for telephone appointments are provided quarterly by calendar year below – Q4 data is not yet available.

The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021 introduced a double lock and allowed the Government to increase pensions by the higher of inflation or 2.5 per cent. From April 2022 state pensions will be increased by 3.1 per cent and this represents an additional £4bn spend on pensioner benefits in 2022/23. It should also be remembered that last year when earnings were negative this would have resulted in pensions being frozen, despite CPI being 0.5 per cent pensioners in receipt of state pension saw an increase of 2.5 per cent.

Pension Credit also provides invaluable financial support for vulnerable pensioners. Around 1.4 million eligible pensioners across Great Britain receive some £5bn in Pension Credit, which tops up their retirement income and is a passport to other financial help such as support with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and a free TV licence for those over 75.

Local Authorities in England have discretion to design their own bespoke local schemes within the overall parameters of the Household Support Fund, with support primarily focused on food, energy & water bills and wider essentials. Up to 50 per cent of the Fund is available for councils to spend on households without children, including those of State Pension age.

Other support for pensioners includes Winter Fuel Payments which continue to be payable to customers of State Pension age. We pay £200 to households with a customer aged between 66 and 79 and £300 to a household with someone aged 80 or over. We pay over 11 million winter fuel payments annually at a cost of £2bn which is a significant contribution to winter fuel bills.

Cold Weather Payments are also available and help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit.

The Warm Home Discount Scheme provides those in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit a discount of £140 on their energy bill providing their supplier is part of the scheme. There are now 200 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (both before and after housing costs) than in 2009/10.

There are now 200 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (both before and after housing costs) than in 2009/10.

We have deployed significant additional resource into the processing of new State Pension claims, the payment of which was particularly affected by the impact of the pandemic.

As a result, all claims received by DWP for UK State Pension should be paid on time, other than for those customers where further information is required, or evidence is awaited. State Pension is paid in arrears and, in most instances, the first payment will be due four weeks after the customer’s 66^th Birthday.

I refer you to the information published on gov.uk on 22 October 2021. Please see attached document.

The information requested is not normally held as part of normal business and cannot be provided as this would incur disproportionate cost.

We encourage everyone to apply for the support they are entitled to. Information on how to make a claim can be found on GOV.UK.

The correction activity, which started on 11 January 2021, is identifying people over age 80 who may have been underpaid Category D State Pension in accordance with the law.

The law, which has been in place under successive governments, is that anyone who is not getting any State Pension when they reach age 80, is required to make a claim to get Category D State Pension (Social Security Administration Act 1992 (Section 1)). There is information on how to make a claim on GOV.UK.

The Department strives every day to deliver the highest possible customer service to millions of people we support.

It is not possible to comment on substantive assertions.

Department staff receive comprehensive training to ensure that they provide customers with accurate information. If a customer feels that we may have given inaccurate information, we will investigate this thoroughly.

The Department is delivering enhanced training for all staff dealing with State Pension cases and we have ensured that all staff, including our partner G4S, have updated lines to take when handling calls from customers.

As set out in the written statement of 4^th March 2021, laid in both Houses, the Department IT systems produce an electronic prompt to consider if an individual’s State Pension amount should be increased. The prompt requires Department Staff to take further manual action and, in some cases, this did not take place.

The Department is undertaking additional quality assurance checks to ensure that State Pension payments are accurate.

Where underpayments are identified, the Department is contacting individuals to inform them of the changes to their State Pension amount and of any arrears payment they will receive in accordance with the law.

There are now 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty than in 2009/10. The percentage of women aged 75 and over in absolute poverty after housing costs fell from 18 per cent in 2009/10 to 15 per cent in 2019/20.

The Government is committed to continuing to reduce pensioner poverty and Pension Credit has an important role to play, as a source of financial support for all eligible pensioners.

Department of Work and Pension Ministers recently met with stakeholders with an interest in pensioners’ financial wellbeing and the Director General of the BBC to explore opportunities to work together to support the promotion of Pension Credit.

The department continues to make the best use of all our channels to reach those who might be eligible as well as their family and friends. For example, over 11 million pensioners in Great Britain recently received messaging about Pension Credit with their annual State Pension up-rating letter. This highlighted that an award of Pension Credit can mean being eligible for other benefits such as Housing Benefit or a free over-75 TV licence. We also make use of proactive press activity and social media posts to encourage older people to check if they are eligible.

Our online Pension Credit material on gov.uk has also recently being updated, providing helpful information on how Pension Credit can help pensioners and how easy it is to claim particularly with the online service we introduced last year which enables family, friends and organisations to help pensioners, including older women pensioners, make a claim.

The government keeps all aspects of private pensions policy under review but there are no current plans to change the regulatory framework.

Employers have a duty to enrol their workers in a workplace pension scheme that is a qualifying scheme for automatic enrolment in accordance with the requirements set out in the Pensions Act 2008.

An automatic enrolment scheme must meet certain quality requirements. This is underpinned by the wider regulatory framework for all occupational and group personal pension schemes which helps to safeguard members’ pensions. Compliance and enforcement of these standards is the responsibility of The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority.

I can confirm that the figures provided in HL14861 only include those aged over 80 that are currently in receipt of a State Pension.

The Department does not hold the information to answer how many individuals are not in receipt of State Pension.

As part of the introduction of automatic enrolment, requirements were put in place, under the Pensions Act 2008, to ensure that workplace pension schemes selected by an employer to meet their obligations satisfy certain quality and governance standards. The Pensions Regulator enforces employer compliance with the Automatic Enrolment duties.

The Government regularly undertakes public consultations on private pensions policy and encourages all interested parties, including scheme members to submit their views.

In 2020, the department undertook a review of the charge cap and accompanying Pensions Charges Survey. The review concluded that the current level of the charge cap remained appropriate at 0.75 per cent of funds under management within the default arrangement, or an equivalent combination charge.

On 24th May, the department launched a public consultation looking at Permitted Charges within DC Pensions. The consultation seeks views on a proposal to move to a universal charging structure within the charge cap to improve member comprehension of charges, and in turn better enable members to compare pension products if they wish. This consultation also confirms our intention to set a de Minimis on the charging of flats fees within the cap. This will help limit the erosion of small pots of £100 or less, where a flat fee is charged.

As part of the introduction of automatic enrolment, requirements were put in place, under the Pensions Act 2008, to ensure that workplace pension schemes selected by an employer to meet their obligations satisfy certain quality and governance standards. The Pensions Regulator enforces employer compliance with the Automatic Enrolment duties.

The Government regularly undertakes public consultations on private pensions policy and encourages all interested parties, including scheme members to submit their views.

In 2020, the department undertook a review of the charge cap and accompanying Pensions Charges Survey. The review concluded that the current level of the charge cap remained appropriate at 0.75 per cent of funds under management within the default arrangement, or an equivalent combination charge.

On 24th May, the department launched a public consultation looking at Permitted Charges within DC Pensions. The consultation seeks views on a proposal to move to a universal charging structure within the charge cap to improve member comprehension of charges, and in turn better enable members to compare pension products if they wish. This consultation also confirms our intention to set a de Minimis on the charging of flats fees within the cap. This will help limit the erosion of small pots of £100 or less, where a flat fee is charged.

As part of the introduction of automatic enrolment, requirements were put in place, under the Pensions Act 2008, to ensure that workplace pension schemes selected by an employer to meet their obligations satisfy certain quality and governance standards. The Pensions Regulator enforces employer compliance with the Automatic Enrolment duties.

The Government regularly undertakes public consultations on private pensions policy and encourages all interested parties, including scheme members to submit their views.

In 2020, the department undertook a review of the charge cap and accompanying Pensions Charges Survey. The review concluded that the current level of the charge cap remained appropriate at 0.75 per cent of funds under management within the default arrangement, or an equivalent combination charge.

On 24th May, the department launched a public consultation looking at Permitted Charges within DC Pensions. The consultation seeks views on a proposal to move to a universal charging structure within the charge cap to improve member comprehension of charges, and in turn better enable members to compare pension products if they wish. This consultation also confirms our intention to set a de Minimis on the charging of flats fees within the cap. This will help limit the erosion of small pots of £100 or less, where a flat fee is charged.

As of March 2021, there were 15,739 women, and 5,354 men living in the UK that were aged 80 or over and in receipt of a State Pension of less than £80.45.

1) On the 4 March, I laid a written statement (UIN HLWS818) to inform the House that the Department had formally commenced a State Pension correction exercise on 11 January 2021. The estimates around the number of individuals effected by this issue are highly uncertain and will be continuously revised as the correction activity progresses.

2) No assessment has been made.

Automatic enrolment has been a great success, with over 10 million employees enrolled and more than 1.7 million employers having met their duties to date. Government has put in place a robust, proportionate compliance framework. This is administered by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), and includes detailed regulatory guidance about how to comply with the law. An employer is required to select a qualifying pension scheme; enrol qualifying staff into that scheme, and deduct any contributions payable under automatic enrolment.

Employers as well as the trustees or managers of pension schemes must keep certain records including details of the pension contributions payable in each relevant pay reference period by an employer to the scheme. This includes the contributions due on the employer’s behalf and deductions made from an individual’s earnings. As part of the Regulator’s guidance, employers and pension scheme trustees or managers must hold information about payment schedules and contributions for six years, except for opt-outs which must be kept for a minimum of four years.

TPR has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of defined contribution pension schemes and managers of personal pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions, provide information to help members check their contributions and report material payment failures to TPR. As part of TPR’s codes of practice and guidance, there is a requirement for scheme providers to have sufficient monitoring processes in place. This includes having a risk based approach to monitor employers who should have in place appropriate internal controls to ensure correct and timely payment of contributions due to meet their employer duties. If the trustee or manager becomes aware that this is not the case, or that the employer does not appear to be taking adequate steps to remedy the situation, for example where there are repetitive and regular payment failures, then it must be reported to TPR. The responsibility lies with the employer to ensure their payroll processes are correct whether in house or outsourced. TPR’s compliance checks include checks of employer payroll processes and detailed reviews of payroll software. TPR does hold payment failure reports from pension providers but these do not necessarily represent data errors.

In addition, TPR publishes regular assessments of its automatic enrolment compliance and enforcement activities as well as an annual commentary and analysis report, both of which are available on its website.

There has been no assessment of the numbers requested since there was no such State Pension rule change in 2009.

It remains the policy, when assessing entitlement to Universal Credit, that all contributions to personal and occupational pension schemes are deducted from the calculation of earnings in the same way as any National Insurance or income tax paid in the assessment period. This ensures equity of treatment of pension contributions in the calculation of Universal Credit.

Pension contributions are not used in the calculation of earnings. The earnings figure used in the calculation of UC entitlement is gross earnings less any occupational or personal pension contributions, tax and National Insurance contributions. From this figure any applicable work allowance and the earnings taper is applied to establish the amount of earnings to be used for a claimant in the calculation of their UC award.

The earnings figure used in the calculation of Universal Credit entitlement is gross earnings: gross taxable pay minus income tax, National Insurance contributions, and ignoring 100 per cent of contributions made to an occupational or personal pension. Adjustments are made to ensure fairness of treatment between those pension contributions made under net pay arrangements and relief at source pension contributions.

Pension contributions made by a claimant to a relief at source pension scheme, reported via Real Time Information, are automatically deducted from the earnings used to calculate their Universal Credit award.

As has been the case under successive governments of different political persuasions. Those who are already getting a State Pension based on their own National Insurance contributions must make a separate claim for the top up if their husband reached State Pension age before 17 March 2008.

Any women who believe they are being underpaid State Pension should contact the Department. Details on how to do this through the Pension Service are available on the Gov.uk website.

We are checking to find other individuals who may have been affected.

No estimate has been made on the cost of uprating the Pension Credit by the triple lock over the next 20 years, instead of uprating by earnings.

The table below provides the estimated cost to the Exchequer for each of the next 20 years of increasing state pensions by the best of price or earnings inflation (‘double lock’) in place of a triple lock.

The figures assume that the change in uprating happens from 2023/24. They are based on analysis done in 2018, so they do not take into account any impacts of covid-19.

Source: DWP modelling. The figures include the cost of the State Pension. They do not include the cost of Pension Credit or other pensioner benefits.

Data on pensioners’ incomes at the breakdowns requested are not available.

Data on estimates of the levels, sources and distribution of pensioners’ incomes can be found on the government website www.gov.uk.

The employer debt legislation (section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations 2005) sets out the requirements on departing employers where any shortfall between liabilities and assets in a Defined Benefit pension scheme is treated as due.

Trustees of all occupational pension schemes including non-associated multi-employer pension schemes have a duty to employers contributing to the scheme to ensure that the scheme is correctly administered in accordance with its rules and that the promised benefits are paid. Where a restructuring event takes place, trustees are required to consult the exiting employer and receiving employer about the likelihood of the receiving employer being able to meet all the exiting employer’s liabilities in relation to the scheme. The trustees must also notify the exiting and receiving employer (in writing) of their decision as to whether they consider the receiving employer capable of meeting all the exiting employer’s liabilities to the scheme.

Whilst there is no general requirement for trustees to consult employers when granting apportionment arrangements to departing employers, the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations 2005 require the consent of employers within the scheme when trustees grant Regulated Apportionment Arrangements, Scheme Apportionment Arrangements and Flexible Apportionment Arrangements to departing employers.

The Government’s Green and subsequent White Paper on Defined Benefit pension schemes looked very closely at this issue and considered carefully what could be done to relieve the pressure some employers face from their obligation to pay an employer debt.

The White Paper concluded that the existing arrangements in legislation, along with the deferred debt arrangement introduced in April 2018, provide enough flexibility for employers to manage their employer debts and the current “full-buyout” calculation method is the most secure and effective way of protecting members and remaining employers in a multi-employer scheme.

Successive governments have put in place a robust, proportionate, compliance framework for automatic enrolment, which is administered by The Pensions Regulator, and includes detailed regulatory guidance about how to comply with the law.

In addition, employers and their pension scheme trustees, managers and providers must keep certain records including details of the pension contributions payable in each relevant pay reference period by an employer to the pension scheme, and the amounts payable. This includes the contributions due on the employer’s behalf and deductions made from an individual’s earnings towards automatic enrolment.

The Pensions Regulator has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of trust based defined contribution pension schemes and managers of contract based defined contribution pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions, provide information to help members check their contributions and report material payment failures to The Pensions Regulator.

The Pensions Regulator receives payment failure reports from pension providers, but these do not necessarily represent data errors. While The Pensions Regulator does not hold statistics on contribution data errors, the regulatory regime is designed so that errors can be identified and material failures can be reported. The Pensions Regulator can then require restitution and, where necessary, make use of its enforcement powers.

The Pensions Regulator publishes regular assessments of its automatic enrolment compliance and enforcement activities as well as an annual commentary and analysis report, both of which are available on its website.

All immunocompromised people have been offered a COVID-19 vaccination. We continue to monitor vaccine efficacy to identify groups, such as the immunocompromised, who may require additional support. Immunocompromised individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments such as monoclonal antibody therapies, novel antivirals and repurposed compounds.

It is not yet possible to determine the exact cohort of patients who may benefit from these treatments, as this will depend on results released by ongoing trials as they conclude, licensing approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and deployment planning. We are taking steps to ensure supply of treatments in the event that they are found to be effective. We are developing options for further clinical trials where necessary.

Convalescent plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 was found to not provide a clinical benefit in hospitalised patients in the RECOVERY clinical trial. However, we keep the evidence under review for all neutralising antibody therapies including convalescent plasma. The NHS Blood and Transplant study C-VELVET will provide information on the levels of antibodies produced by patients post vaccination and could support further research and development of antibody therapies.

The Department has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to review how Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions were used during the COVID-19 pandemic, building on concerns that the CQC reported earlier in the year. Interim findings are expected to be reported later this year with a final report in early 2021.

Until the review reports its findings in early 2021, we will continue to work across the health and care system to address the issue. The Adult Social Care Winter Plan reiterates that DNACPR decisions should only ever be made on an individual basis and should be led by the clinical team. All health professionals nationally are expected to follow the clear statements on the use of individual DNACPR orders.

We are working with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the National Health Service to ensure everyone discharged from hospital has an updated COVID-19 test result and anyone testing positive is discharged to a setting that is assured to be able to provide safe care.

The CQC has worked with experts to develop an online infection prevention and control (IPC) inspection tool. If settings meet the expectations set out in the CQC’s IPC tool, they will be assured as having the practices and processes in place, at the time of the inspection, to provide appropriate post-discharge care for people who have tested COVID-19 positive.

We understand how vital it is to allow care home residents to meet their loved ones safely. We appreciate the particular challenges visiting restrictions pose for people with dementia, people with learning disabilities and autistic adults, amongst others, as well as for their friends and family.

On 16 November, we began a trial of testing visitors to care homes. The aim is to support care home providers and families to work together to find the right balance between the benefits of visiting on wellbeing and quality of life, and the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to social care staff and vulnerable residents. This trial is currently taking place in around 21 care homes across three local authorities - Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire - with a view to rolling out nationally in December.

Visitors will still be expected to follow infection prevention and control procedures. Holding hands and hugs can be allowed with a negative test and personal protective equipment, but visitors should minimise contact as much as possible to reduce the risk of transmission.

We draw on a range of information to assess the financial position of the care sector in England. The Adult Social Care – our COVID-19 Winter Plan 2020/21, published on 18 September, underlines the Government’s commitment to support local authorities in England and the wider care sector, including care homes, to ensure that high quality, safe and timely care is provided to everyone who needs it. A copy of the Plan is attached.

We recognise that COVID-19 is imposing significant pressures on the social care sector. We have now made £4.6 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care. The responsibility for adult social care in Wales is a devolved matter.

Local authorities have the autonomy and flexibility to determine the fee rates they pay care providers. Their decision on appropriate rates of care is based on local market conditions. The Department continues to support local authorities with their Care Act 2014 duties to ensure that their local market remains effective and able to meet people’s care needs.

We are committed to bringing forward a plan for social care to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

Where individuals are not eligible for financial support, they make their own arrangements for care services and pay the fees. The fees are set out in a contract between the individual and the care provider.

We are committed to bringing forward a plan for social care to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

In England, there have been no estimates made of this kind. The Government cannot comment for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland as this is a devolved matter.

The long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on service provision and outcomes will be widespread and complex to identify and evaluate.

Critical care services, including for heart disease and stroke, as well as urgent and essential cancer treatments have remained open and continued throughout the pandemic, and have not been interrupted. The data show that the timeliness and quality of care have been broadly equivalent to, or better than, pre-COVID-19.

In England, there have been no estimates made of this kind. The Government cannot comment for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland as this is a devolved matter.

The long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on service provision and outcomes will be widespread and complex to identify and evaluate.

Critical care services, including for heart disease and stroke, as well as urgent and essential cancer treatments have remained open and continued throughout the pandemic, and have not been interrupted. The data show that the timeliness and quality of care have been broadly equivalent to, or better than, pre-COVID-19.

We are aware that limiting visits out of care homes is difficult for many families and residents. The Government recognises that this is a particularly challenging time for many disabled people and we are absolutely committed to ensuring they receive the support they need.

Guidance on visits out of care homes is in development and will be published shortly.

Public Health England’s report found that COVID-19 diagnosis rates increased with age for both males and females. When compared to all-cause mortality in previous years, deaths from COVID-19 have a slightly older age distribution, particularly for males.

Among people with a positive test, those who were between 50-59 were nine times more likely to die, compared with those under 40. Also, people who were between 60-69 were 25 times more likely to die than those under 40.

These disparities exist after taking ethnicity, deprivation and region into account, but they do not account for the effect of comorbidities or occupation, which may explain some of the differences.

Public Health England (PHE) led a rapid review to better understand how a number of different factors can impact on how people are affected by COVID-19. This included an analysis of age, sex (male and female), deprivation, geography, ethnicity, and other factors, where surveillance data was available to PHE.

The review found that among people with a positive test, those who were 80 or older were 70 times more likely to die, compared with those under 40. These were the largest disparities found in this analysis and are consistent with what has been previously reported in the United Kingdom.

No comparisons have been made between the vulnerability of someone aged between 70 and 80 and someone aged 40 with underlying health problems to the impact of COVID-19.

Some analyses outlined in the review are provisional and will continue to be improved. Further work is planned to obtain, link and analyse data that will complement these analyses.

A copy of PHE’s report Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19 is attached.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the financial health of the largest and most difficult-to-replace adult social care providers through its Market Oversight Scheme. The scheme covers both commercial providers and charities. Under the scheme, the CQC has a duty to notify local authorities if they consider that a provider’s services are likely to be disrupted because of business failure. This allows local authorities time to step in and ensure that people continue to receive the services they need. As a minimum, all providers in the scheme are required to provide the CQC with financial information on a quarterly basis. However, where the CQC perceives a greater risk to continuity of care, more regular engagement is undertaken.

We recognise the pressures that all parts of the sector are facing, and we provided local authorities with £1.6 billion funding in March to help them deal with the immediate impacts of COVID-19. On top of this, on 18 April the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP) announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support local authorities delivering essential frontline services.

On 13 May we announced an additional £600 million for an Infection Control Fund for Adult Social Care. This funding is to support adult social care providers in England reduce the rate of transmission in and between care homes and to support workforce resilience.

Information is not available in the format requested.

The attached table shows a count of the finished discharge episodes, with the number of diagnosis confirmed by test and diagnosis not confirmed by test for all discharges listed by destination for each month in 2020.

The data shows the number of completed episodes and not the number of people as some individuals may have been admitted and discharged on more than one occasion during the period.

The data is provisional and is subject to review.

On 2 June Public Health England published Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19. This report was subsequently updated in August 2020. The report finds that among people already diagnosed with COVID-19, people who were 80 years or older were seventy times more likely to die than those under 40. It also sets out that the risk of dying among those diagnosed with COVID-19 was also higher in males than females; higher in those living in the more deprived areas than those living in the least deprived; and higher in those in black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups than in white ethnic groups. The report notes that these inequalities largely replicate existing inequalities in mortality rates in previous years, except for BAME groups, as mortality was previously higher in white ethnic groups. The report’s analyses take into account age, sex, deprivation, region and ethnicity, but it does not take into account the existence of co-morbidities, which are strongly associated with the risk of death from COVID-19 and are likely to explain some of the differences. A copy of the report is attached.

On 22 October the Minister for Equalities, (Kemi Badenoch MP) published the first Quarterly report on progress to address COVID-19 health inequalities report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on progress to tackle COVID-19 disparities experienced by individuals from an ethnic minority background, making 13 recommendations. This includes reviewing the effectiveness and impact of current actions being undertaken by relevant Government departments to directly lessen disparities in infection and death rates of COVID-19. As well as taking action to modify existing policy and policy in development to address these disparities, all of which the Prime Minister has accepted. A copy of this quarterly report is attached.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the financial health of the largest and most difficult-to-replace adult social care providers through their Market Oversight Scheme. Under the scheme, they have a duty to notify local authorities if they consider that a provider’s services are likely to be disrupted because of business failure. This allows local authorities time to step in and ensure that people continue to receive the services they need. As a minimum, all providers in the Market Oversight Scheme are required to provide the CQC with financial information on a quarterly basis. However, where the CQC perceives a greater risk to continuity of care, more regular engagement is undertaken.

We recognise the pressures that all parts of the sector are facing, and we have provided councils with £1.6 billion funding in March to help local authorities deal with the immediate impacts of COVID-19. On top of this, on 18 April the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support local authorities delivering essential frontline services.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the financial health of the largest and most difficult-to-replace adult social care providers through their Market Oversight Scheme. Under the scheme, they have a duty to notify local authorities if they consider that a provider’s services are likely to be disrupted because of business failure. This allows local authorities time to step in and ensure that people continue to receive the services they need. As a minimum, all providers in the Market Oversight Scheme are required to provide the CQC with financial information on a quarterly basis. However, where the CQC perceives a greater risk to continuity of care, more regular engagement is undertaken.

We recognise the pressures that all parts of the sector are facing, and we have provided councils with £1.6 billion funding in March to help local authorities deal with the immediate impacts of COVID-19. On top of this, on 18 April the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support local authorities delivering essential frontline services.

Care and support is arranged on an open market where prices and fee rates are negotiated locally by commissioners for state funded clients, whilst individuals and their families do so for those who self-fund. The Government has no say in these individual negotiations, as the level of fees charged to people who fund their own care is a private contractual arrangement.

The Government has taken and continues to take steps to support adult social care providers and local authorities, including providing regular advice and guidance, and working with the sector on contingency and preparedness.

We recognise the pressures that all parts of the sector are facing, and we have announced £1.6 billion to help local authorities deal with the immediate impacts of COVID-19. On top of this, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an additional £1.6 billion of funding to support local authorities delivering essential frontline services.

The number of flu cases and deaths as a result of related complications varies each flu season. The average number of estimated deaths in England over the last five seasons (2014/15 to 2018/19) was 17,000 deaths annually. This ranged from 1,692 deaths last season (2018/19) to 28,330 deaths in 2014/15. Of these deaths, many were in people with underlying health conditions.

The following table shows the number of deaths associated with influenza observed through the FluMOMO algorithm with confidence intervals, England, 2014 to 2015 season to 2018 to 2019.

*Data up to epidemiological week 15 2019

Notes:

1. Source: Surveillance of Influenza and other respiratory viruses in the UK 2018 to 2019 report,
2. The above annual data is modelled data.

Influenza related mortality data from hospital confirmed deaths are published weekly, but the modelled data on all deaths due to flu related complications are not available at a monthly or quarterly level. However, a weekly flu report is published throughout the flu season, providing information, data on flu cases and cases of mortality.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided information relating to care homes that fall within the Market Oversight scheme.

The following table shows Market Oversight CQC registered care home beds and locations, by region, as at 1 February 2020

The UK is strongly opposed to the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel. While we do not hesitate to express disagreement with Israel whenever we feel it necessary, we are firmly opposed to boycotts/sanctions.

We believe that open and honest discussions, rather than imposing sanctions or supporting anti-Israeli boycotts, best supports our efforts to help progress in the peace process and achieve a negotiated solution.

The UK is responding to requests by the Greek Government to provide specific humanitarian goods and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is urgently making plans for the delivery of these goods.

The UK has a long and proud history of welcoming those in need and escaping persecution. Throughout the pandemic the UK has remained ready to receive those accepted for transfer under the Dublin III Regulation. We remain in regular contact with sending Member States, including Greece, who are responsible for arranging transfers.

We strongly condemn the detention of Rami Aman by Hamas. The UK retains a policy of no contact with Hamas in its entirety. Hamas has de facto control over the Gaza Strip. We monitor the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories closely, including reporting on human rights violations in the FCO's annual Human Rights and Democracy Report.

Monetary policy, including quantitative easing, is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England. The Government is working closely with the Bank to ensure that monetary and fiscal policy are well coordinated, and fully supports the Bank in their mission to drive down inflation. The Government does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.

The latest information is available in Hansard under reference HL1263, which gives this specific breakdown for the 2019 to 2020 tax year. Breakdowns of ISAs by age bands for tax year 2020 to 2021 will be published in HMRC’s Annual savings statistics in June 2023. These statistics show ISA breakdowns for individuals aged over 65.

The long-standing tax treatment of social security benefits is based on how each type of payment would otherwise be treated in income tax legislation.

Whether a benefit is taxable or exempt from income tax is set out in the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA).

The position for the most common UK state benefits is summarised online at gov.uk^[1].

The most common taxable State benefits include Bereavement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, contribution- based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Incapacity Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), pensions paid by the Industrial Death Benefit scheme, the State Pensions, and Widowed Parent’s Allowance. For an extensive list of taxable UK benefits please refer to section 660^[2] ITEPA.

The most common tax-exempt state benefits include Attendance Allowance, Bereavement support payment, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Guardian’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Industrial Injuries Benefit, Maternity Allowance, Pension Credit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Severe Disability Allowance, Universal Credit, War Widow’s Pension, Winter Fuel Payments, and Working Tax Credit. An extensive list of UK social security benefits wholly exempt from income tax can be found at section 677^[3] ITEPA.

[1] www.gov.uk/income-tax/taxfree-and-taxable-state-benefits

[2] Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (legislation.gov.uk)

[3] Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (legislation.gov.uk)

The principal finding of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) 2018 Investment Consultants Market Investigation report was that the investment consultancy and fiduciary management market was insufficiently competitive, leading to adverse impacts for their customers. One of the recommendations of that report was that investment consultants should be brought into Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulation.

In the March 2019 response to the recommendations of the CMA’s final report, HM Treasury committed to consulting on the CMA’s recommendation that the FCA’s regulatory perimeter be extended to cover the activities of investment consultants. A number of other priorities, including the urgent work required to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, meant that the work to develop this consultation has been delayed.

However, a number of other recommendations made by the CMA to address competition in this market have been taken forward, such as the Department for Work and Pensions’ legislation requiring pension scheme trustees to carry out a competitive tender for fiduciary management services.

HM Treasury works closely with the FCA and has held regular discussions with them on this matter.

The principal finding of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) 2018 Investment Consultants Market Investigation report was that the investment consultancy and fiduciary management market was insufficiently competitive, leading to adverse impacts for their customers. One of the recommendations of that report was that investment consultants should be brought into Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulation.

In the March 2019 response to the recommendations of the CMA’s final report, HM Treasury committed to consulting on the CMA’s recommendation that the FCA’s regulatory perimeter be extended to cover the activities of investment consultants. A number of other priorities, including the urgent work required to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, meant that the work to develop this consultation has been delayed.

However, a number of other recommendations made by the CMA to address competition in this market have been taken forward, such as the Department for Work and Pensions’ legislation requiring pension scheme trustees to carry out a competitive tender for fiduciary management services.

HM Treasury works closely with the FCA and has held regular discussions with them on this matter.

The number of people aged over 60 in the UK who have ISAs as of the end of the 2019 to 2020 tax year is 9,273,000, with a total market value of £401 billion. The average market value per individual for this group is £43,274.

This issue is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from the Government.

These questions have therefore been passed to the FCA who will respond by letter. Copies of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

In February 2021 the government reconfirmed that normal minimum pension age (NMPA) will rise to 57 in 2028 (as announced in 2014) and published a consultation on the implementation of the increase and a proposed protection regime. That consultation received 117 responses. The government published draft legislation in July. Throughout these consultations the government has been in regular dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders about the proposals, including the design of the protection regime and the interplay between the implementation of the Normal Minimum Pension Age and the impact on other policy initiatives. We are considering these responses and representations carefully and will publish full details of the protection regime in due course.

In February 2021 the government reconfirmed that normal minimum pension age (NMPA) will rise to 57 in 2028 (as announced in 2014) and published a consultation on the implementation of the increase and a proposed protection regime. That consultation received 117 responses. The government published draft legislation in July. Throughout these consultations the government has been in regular dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders about the proposals, including the design of the protection regime and the interplay between the implementation of the Normal Minimum Pension Age and the impact on other policy initiatives. We are considering these responses and representations carefully and will publish full details of the protection regime in due course.

In February 2021 the government reconfirmed that normal minimum pension age (NMPA) will rise to 57 in 2028 (as announced in 2014) and published a consultation on the implementation of the increase and a proposed protection regime. That consultation received 117 responses. The government published draft legislation in July. Throughout these consultations the government has been in regular dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders about the proposals, including the design of the protection regime and the interplay between the implementation of the Normal Minimum Pension Age and the impact on other policy initiatives. We are considering these responses and representations carefully and will publish full details of the protection regime in due course.

In February 2021 the government reconfirmed that normal minimum pension age (NMPA) will rise to 57 in 2028 (as announced in 2014) and published a consultation on the implementation of the increase and a proposed protection regime. That consultation received 117 responses. The government published draft legislation in July. Throughout these consultations the government has been in regular dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders about the proposals, including the design of the protection regime and the interplay between the implementation of the Normal Minimum Pension Age and the impact on other policy initiatives. We are considering these responses and representations carefully and will publish full details of the protection regime in due course.

In February 2021 the government reconfirmed that normal minimum pension age (NMPA) will rise to 57 in 2028 (as announced in 2014) and published a consultation on the implementation of the increase and a proposed protection regime. That consultation received 117 responses. The government published draft legislation in July. Throughout these consultations the government has been in regular dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders about the proposals, including the design of the protection regime and the interplay between the implementation of the Normal Minimum Pension Age and the impact on other policy initiatives. We are considering these responses and representations carefully and will publish full details of the protection regime in due course.

The government is committed to both supporting individuals at all stages of life to save and delivering world-leading health and social care across the whole of the UK.

The government already provides extensive support to individuals to save for retirement and later life. Individuals are currently able to save up to £20,000 each year across the four types of Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), which offer a range of mechanisms to save or invest tax-free. This includes the Lifetime ISA which allows savers to benefit from a 25% government bonus on up to £4,000 of savings each year and supports saving towards later life. These savings, including the government bonus, can be withdrawn from the age of 60 and may be used to pay for care.

And more broadly, for the majority of savers, pension contributions made from income during working life is tax-free. Investment growth of assets in a pension scheme is also not subject to tax and, from age 55 (or when scheme rules allow a pension to be taken), up to 25 per cent of the pension can be taken tax-free, depending on scheme rules.

HMRC produces an Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) tables document as part of its Annual savings statistics publication on Gov.uk.

The amount invested in ISAs, how many individuals have invested in ISAs and the average amount invested in ISAs is in table 9.4. This information is on a per account basis; individuals may sign up to multiple ISA accounts.

The number of individuals that have invested in ISAs and average amount invested per person for the 2018 to 2019 tax year can be found in table 9.11.

An age breakdown of the money invested in ISAs can only be made available at a disproportionate cost. However, table 9.11 gives a breakdown of ISA market values by age.

The ISA Tables are found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics

Partner pension contributions are refunded with interest to members of the Classic section of the PCSPS when they leave at or after age 60 with immediate payment of pension in full if they neither married nor entered a civil partnership throughout their service, or in part for members who have been married or in a civil partnership for part of their service. The interest rate applied is currently 0.25%.

Partner pension contributions can also be refunded in the 1981 Judicial Pension Scheme and the Judicial Pension Scheme 1993 (JUPRA). The interest rate applied in the 1981 Judicial Pension Scheme is 4% while the interest rates used in JUPRA follow those in the PCSPS.

Data on refunds in the PCSPS in the years from 2015 to 2021 (year to date) is as follows:

Refunds in years prior to 2015 occurred under a previous administrative arrangement and so data could only be collected to a longer timeline.

Similarly, administrators for the judicial pension schemes do not keep cumulative records of refunds awarded by year, and the second part of the question could thus only be answered to a longer timeline.

The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. The Government committed in its manifesto to review this issue and published a Call for Evidence on 21 July 2020. The Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the relief at source method of tax relief for pension contributions.

The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is carefully analysing this issue and the responses received to understand what deliverable options for change may exist. These responses have raised technical points that we are continuing to explore with HMRC and others. The Government will respond to the Call for Evidence in due course.

The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. The Government committed in its manifesto to review this issue and published a Call for Evidence on 21 July 2020. The Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the relief at source method of tax relief for pension contributions.

The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is carefully analysing this issue and the responses received to understand what deliverable options for change may exist. These responses have raised technical points that we are continuing to explore with HMRC and others. The Government will respond to the Call for Evidence in due course.

The Government will legislate in a proportionate way to counter the detriment that customers could face as use of Buy Now Pay Later products grows. The Government is engaging stakeholders and will publicly consult to gather views as it develops its approach.

As noted in Regulation 158 of the Payments Services Regulations 2017, HM Treasury must from time to time carry out a review of the regulatory provision contained in these Regulations and publish the report setting out the conclusions of the review. The first report under this regulation must be published on or before 13 January 2023. HM Treasury will conduct this review in accordance with Regulation 158.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and ensuring that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are protected.

The Government recognises the work industry has undertaken to date, including the introduction of a voluntary reimbursement Code, which has demonstrably had a beneficial impact. However, the Code, whilst improving matters, comes with limitations, including disparity in how different payment service providers are interpreting their obligations under it, as well is its lack of comprehensive cover across providers.

The Government therefore welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) call for views on APP scams in February 2021, which set out various potential measures for reducing APP scams and improving customer outcomes. The Government is of the view that the introduction of Faster Payments Service rules setting reimbursement requirements on all scheme participants is the best possible solution to the issue of APP scams; this will ensure the rules underpinning Faster Payments are fit for purpose.

The PSR’s call for views has now closed and the Government is engaging with the PSR on next steps, including considering what further actions may be necessary to make progress on this issue.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) works closely with the Government and PSR through a range of channels to help combat APP scams. In January 2019, the FCA changed its rules to provide victims of alleged APP scams with prompt and fair complaints resolution, and access to dispute resolution through the Financial Ombudsman Service for complaints against payment service providers which receive payments relating to the alleged scam.

In February 2021, the FCA also updated its formal guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers to reinforce the significance of the Code’s provisions on how firms should take into account vulnerability in cases of APP scams.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and ensuring that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are protected.

The Government recognises the work industry has undertaken to date, including the introduction of a voluntary reimbursement Code, which has demonstrably had a beneficial impact. However, the Code, whilst improving matters, comes with limitations, including disparity in how different payment service providers are interpreting their obligations under it, as well is its lack of comprehensive cover across providers.

The Government therefore welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) call for views on APP scams in February 2021, which set out various potential measures for reducing APP scams and improving customer outcomes. The Government is of the view that the introduction of Faster Payments Service rules setting reimbursement requirements on all scheme participants is the best possible solution to the issue of APP scams; this will ensure the rules underpinning Faster Payments are fit for purpose.

The PSR’s call for views has now closed and the Government is engaging with the PSR on next steps, including considering what further actions may be necessary to make progress on this issue.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) works closely with the Government and PSR through a range of channels to help combat APP scams. In January 2019, the FCA changed its rules to provide victims of alleged APP scams with prompt and fair complaints resolution, and access to dispute resolution through the Financial Ombudsman Service for complaints against payment service providers which receive payments relating to the alleged scam.

In February 2021, the FCA also updated its formal guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers to reinforce the significance of the Code’s provisions on how firms should take into account vulnerability in cases of APP scams.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and ensuring that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are protected.

The Government recognises the work industry has undertaken to date, including the introduction of a voluntary reimbursement Code, which has demonstrably had a beneficial impact. However, the Code, whilst improving matters, comes with limitations, including disparity in how different payment service providers are interpreting their obligations under it, as well is its lack of comprehensive cover across providers.

The Government therefore welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) call for views on APP scams in February 2021, which set out various potential measures for reducing APP scams and improving customer outcomes. The Government is of the view that the introduction of Faster Payments Service rules setting reimbursement requirements on all scheme participants is the best possible solution to the issue of APP scams; this will ensure the rules underpinning Faster Payments are fit for purpose.

The PSR’s call for views has now closed and the Government is engaging with the PSR on next steps, including considering what further actions may be necessary to make progress on this issue.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) works closely with the Government and PSR through a range of channels to help combat APP scams. In January 2019, the FCA changed its rules to provide victims of alleged APP scams with prompt and fair complaints resolution, and access to dispute resolution through the Financial Ombudsman Service for complaints against payment service providers which receive payments relating to the alleged scam.

In February 2021, the FCA also updated its formal guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers to reinforce the significance of the Code’s provisions on how firms should take into account vulnerability in cases of APP scams.

The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of monetary policy. The Government does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.

Monetary policy, including decisions on Bank Rate and quantitative easing, is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England.

The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of monetary policy, so the Government does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.

The Bank of England’s estimates on the distributional impacts of monetary policy can be found in the Bank’s working paper: “The distributional impact of monetary policy easing in the UK between 2008 and 2014.”

The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. The Call for Evidence – in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of this issue – set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the relief at source method of tax relief for pension contributions.

The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is carefully analysing this issue and the responses received to understand what deliverable options for change may exist. These responses have raised technical points that we are continuing to explore with HMRC and others. The Government will respond to the Call for Evidence in due course.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and ensuring that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are protected.

The Government recognises the work industry has undertaken to date, including the introduction of a voluntary reimbursement Code, which has demonstrably had a beneficial impact. However, the Code, whilst improving matters, comes with limitations, including disparity in how different payment service providers are interpreting their obligations under it, as well as its lack of comprehensive cover across providers.

The Government therefore welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) call for views on APP scams in February 2021, which set out various measures that could improve customer outcomes. The Government is of the view that the introduction of Faster Payments Service rules setting reimbursement requirements on all scheme participants is the best possible solution to the issue of APP scams; this will ensure the rules underpinning Faster Payments are fit for purpose.

The Government looks forward to engaging with the outcomes of the PSR's call for views, including considering what further actions may be necessary to make progress on this issue.

The Government continues to engage closely with the PSR on this issue.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and ensuring that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are protected.

The Government recognises the work industry has undertaken to date, including the introduction of a voluntary reimbursement Code, which has demonstrably had a beneficial impact. However, the Code, whilst improving matters, comes with limitations, including disparity in how different payment service providers are interpreting their obligations under it, as well as its lack of comprehensive cover across providers.

The Government therefore welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) call for views on APP scams in February 2021, which set out various measures that could improve customer outcomes. The Government is of the view that the introduction of Faster Payments Service rules setting reimbursement requirements on all scheme participants is the best possible solution to the issue of APP scams; this will ensure the rules underpinning Faster Payments are fit for purpose.

The Government looks forward to engaging with the outcomes of the PSR's call for views, including considering what further actions may be necessary to make progress on this issue.

The Government continues to engage closely with the PSR on this issue.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud and ensuring that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are protected.

The Government recognises the work industry has undertaken to date, including the introduction of a voluntary reimbursement Code, which has demonstrably had a beneficial impact. However, the Code, whilst improving matters, comes with limitations, including disparity in how different payment service providers are interpreting their obligations under it, as well as its lack of comprehensive cover across providers.

The Government therefore welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) call for views on APP scams in February 2021, which set out various measures that could improve customer outcomes. The Government is of the view that the introduction of Faster Payments Service rules setting reimbursement requirements on all scheme participants is the best possible solution to the issue of APP scams; this will ensure the rules underpinning Faster Payments are fit for purpose.

The Government looks forward to engaging with the outcomes of the PSR's call for views, including considering what further actions may be necessary to make progress on this issue.

The Government continues to engage closely with the PSR on this issue.

The Government has been monitoring developments within the cryptoasset industry, including rising energy usage.

The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the FCA, and the Bank of England, explores the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response.

The Government has already taken actions to signal a commitment to green technology, including a pledge to make Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned financial disclosures mandatory across the economy by 2025, making the UK the first G20 nation to make such a commitment.

Additionally, the Government has committed to the implementation of a green taxonomy. This will allow us to accelerate our work towards a greener financial sector, by providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities.

The Government’s objective for the upcoming COP26 climate change forum is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. The recovery from COVID-19 will determine the mitigation and adaptation pathways for decades to come. We must all do our part – we are working with the financial services sector, international financial institutions, central banks, regulators, and finance ministries to unlock rapid action at scale.

The finance campaign will provide the conditions for a future that is genuinely greener, more resilient and more sustainable than the past. Action on finance underpins all the other COP campaigns: adaptation & resilience, energy transition, nature and zero-emission vehicles. Without the right levels of finance, the rest is not possible.

The Government stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor how cryptoassets are being used in the UK.

HMRC estimate that 1.3m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2017-18 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using relief at source arrangements. About 65% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 35% are estimated to be male.

The personal allowance in 2017-18 was £11,500.

HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available.

As indicated in HMRC’s statistics announcement, the 2018-19 Personal Incomes Statistics (Distributional analysis) is expected to be published on 31 March 2021 and the Personal Incomes Statistics (Regional analysis) is expected to be published on 28 April 2021.

HMRC estimates that 1.5m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2017-18 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using net pay arrangements. Around 75% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 25% are estimated to be male.

The personal allowance in 2017-18 was £11,500.

HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available. The SPI is updated annually.

As indicated in HMRC’s statistics announcement, the 2018-19 Personal Incomes Statistics (Distributional analysis) is expected to be published on 31 March 2021 and the Personal Incomes Statistics (Regional analysis) is expected to be published on 28 April 2021.

The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. At Budget 2020, the Government announced it would launch a Call for Evidence on pensions tax relief administration, in line with its manifesto commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of this issue.

This Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the RAS method.

The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is analysing the responses and will respond in due course.

The table below sets out the number of paid employees residing in each of region in England from April 2019 to March 2020, as recorded in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data.

The table below sets out the number of paid employees residing in each country of the UK, from April 2019 to March 2020, as recorded in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data.

Please note:

(1) These figures have been taken from the publication “Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information” published jointly by HMRC and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 15 December 2020^[1].

(2) These figures are as accurate as reported through PAYE RTI. However, PAYE schemes not paying any of their employees above the NICs threshold are not obliged to report employees' earnings through RTI. Therefore, some employees may be excluded from these statistics.

(3) The address information has been taken from individuals’ addresses as at March 2020.

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/realtimeinformationstatisticsreferencetableseasonallyadjusted

The table below sets out the number of paid employees residing in English regions who were paid below £12,500 from April 2019 to March 2020, from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data.

The table below sets out the number of paid employees in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from April 2018 to March 2019 who were paid below £11,850, from HMRC’s PAYE RTI data.

Please note:

(1) These figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand employees.

(2) These figures are as accurate as reported through PAYE RTI. However, PAYE schemes not paying any of their employees above the NICs threshold are not obliged to report employees' earnings through RTI. Additionally, PAYE RTI does not include income from self-employment, or any other source of income. Therefore, some employees may be excluded from these estimates and other employees may be included but have total income from all sources above the personal allowance.

The table below sets out the number of paid employees residing in English regions who were paid below £12,500 from April 2019 to March 2020, from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data.

The table below sets out the number of paid employees in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from April 2018 to March 2019 who were paid below £11,850, from HMRC’s PAYE RTI data.

Please note:

(1) These figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand employees.

(2) These figures are as accurate as reported through PAYE RTI. However, PAYE schemes not paying any of their employees above the NICs threshold are not obliged to report employees' earnings through RTI. Additionally, PAYE RTI does not include income from self-employment, or any other source of income. Therefore, some employees may be excluded from these estimates and other employees may be included but have total income from all sources above the personal allowance.

Official Statistics on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) were published on 11 June 2020 by HM Revenue and Customs. The statistics contain Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims by employer size, sector, region, Westminster parliamentary constituency and local authority.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has published estimates of the cost of the CJRS. These do not include separate estimates for the auto-enrolment pension contributions element of the scheme.

The latest OBR estimates are available in the OBR’s coronavirus policy monitoring database, which can be found at on the OBR website.

The Official Statistics on the Job Retention Scheme can be found on the gov.uk website.

HMRC estimate that 1.3m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2017-18 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using relief at source arrangements. About 65% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 35% are estimated to be male.

The personal allowance in 2017-18 was £11,500.

HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available. The SPI is updated annually.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) continues to issue long-dated conventional gilts and index-linked gilts (linked to the Retail Prices Index), which are instruments often used by pension funds to match longer term liabilities. Decisions on the exact composition of debt issuance are informed by an assessment of investor demand for debt instruments by maturity and type as reported by stakeholders, and as manifested in the shape of the nominal and real yield curves; and by the government’s appetite for risk. The former is noted at quarterly consultation meetings with market participants, held by the DMO.

At present, the UK Government does not have any plans to introduce any new debt financing instruments in response to Covid-19. The government remains open to the introduction of new debt instruments, but would need to be satisfied that any new instrument would meet value-for-money criteria, enjoy strong and sustained demand in the long-term and be consistent with wider fiscal objectives.

HMRC estimate that 1.5m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2017-18 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using net pay arrangements. About 75% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 25% are estimated to be male.

The personal allowance in 2017-18 was £11,500.

HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available. The SPI is updated annually.

The number of people in the age bands (1) 50–59, (2) 60–69, (3) 70–79, (4) 80–89, and (5) 90 or over, who own ISAs; and the average holding is set out in the table below for the most recent year for which we have data (2016/2017):

This table is based on information used in HMRC Individual Savings Account (ISA) statistics, which is available on the Gov.uk website.

The answer given on 15^th July 2019 to HL 16778, contains the information requested for the last tax year, 2018-19, and remains HM Revenue and Customs’ most recent estimate of the data requested.

HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates that follow. 2016-17 is the latest year where SPI data is available. The personal allowance in 2016/17 was £11,000, not £12,500 (which is the current personal allowance for 2019-20).

HMRC estimates that a total of 6.8m individuals made workplace pension contributions using relief at source via RTI in 2016-17. Around 45% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 55% are estimated to be male.

HMRC estimates that 1.3m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2016-17 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using net pay arrangements. Around 75% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 25% are estimated to be male.

HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates that follow. 2016-17 is the latest year where SPI data is available. The personal allowance in 2016/17 was £11,000, not £12,500 (which is the current personal allowance for 2019-20).

HMRC estimates that a total of 6.8m individuals made workplace pension contributions using relief at source via RTI in 2016-17. Around 45% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 55% are estimated to be male.

HMRC estimates that 1.3m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2016-17 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using net pay arrangements. Around 75% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 25% are estimated to be male.

HMRC publishes figures relating to tax relief for registered pension schemes in Table 6 of the publication series ‘Personal pensions: contribution and tax relief statistics’. Table 6 (published in 2019) contains information for the years 2012 to 2013 through 2017 to 2018. Please see below:

The above figures reflect the net cost of tax relief on pension contributions and any investment growth within pensions, less the tax paid on payments from pension schemes to those accessing their pensions that year. Also, please note:

i. The figures are based on HMRC administrative data and information compiled from a variety of sources by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Costs are subject to large revisions and have a particularly wide margin of error.

ii. The cost of the tax relief is calculated as the tax that would be paid on contributions to registered pension schemes presuming they were not registered and the payments were subject to the normal tax rules applying to individuals' remuneration. The estimates do not represent the yield from withdrawing tax relief as there would be significant changes in taxpayers' behaviour.

iii. Figures for tax liabilities on pensions in payment are now calculated using administrative taxpayer data on RTI payments made by pension schemes.

Historical figures relating to older years are available on the national archive (see relevant figures below), however due to substantial revisions to methodology, figures for these years are not comparable with 2012 to 13 onwards.