Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the participation rate is in Ogmore constituency for private sector employees in the Automatic Enrolment pension scheme over the last five tax years.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
For private sector employees eligible for automatic enrolment in the Ogmore constituency over the last 5 years, the workplace pension participation rate is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Participation rate for eligible private sector employees in the Ogmore constituency
Participation rate | |
2017 | (73%) |
2018 | (85%) |
2019 | (91%) |
2020 | (93%) |
2021 | (84%) |
Source:
DWP estimates derived from ONS ASHE.
Statistical notes:
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the £6.4 million allocated to support disabled people at work will be apportioned to Wales.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The figure of £6.4m relates to a three-year programme of work to design, develop, and maintain the Support with Employee Health and Disability digital service which is a GB-wide service. This will provide online advice to help employers across GB to:
The Department for Work and Pensions are liaising with the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland during the service development, which is on-going.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the total Disability Cost of Living Payments due to people in Ogmore constituency have been paid as of 8 November 2022.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
In line with the code of practice, the number of Cost of Living Payments made to recipients of a specific constituency is the subject of an upcoming statistical release, and cannot be released before that publication is ready, subject to usual quality assurance.
It is not possible to determine how many people are due a Cost of Living Payment, as entitlement may not have been established at the time the payments were made. We will periodically make payments to people who have later been found to be eligible and have not yet received a payment. The payments will continue to be made automatically in the same way the qualifying benefit or tax credit is paid.
The timetable for when Cost of Living Payments are made is published here: Cost of Living Payment - GOV.UK.
The Department for Work and Pensions has published management information on the total number of Disability Cost of Living Payments made. As of 30 September 2022, 6,000,000 Disability Cost of Living payments had been made.
The information which will be updated as new payments are made can be found here: Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many £150 Disability Cost of Living Payments have been paid in Ogmore constituency as of 8 November 2022.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
In line with the code of practice, the number of Cost of Living Payments made to recipients of a specific constituency is the subject of an upcoming statistical release, and cannot be released before that publication is ready, subject to usual quality assurance.
The Department for Work and Pensions has published management information on the total number of Disability Cost of Living Payments made. As of 30 September 2022, 6,000,000 Disability Cost of Living Payments had been made.
The information which will be updated as new payments are made can be found here: Cost of Living Payment management information - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have claimed (a) Widowed Parent's Allowance and (b) the Bereavement Support Payment since the eligibility of those payments was extended to surviving cohabiting partners with dependent children who were not in a legal union with the deceased on the date of death.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
We cannot currently accept claims for Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Bereavement Support Payment from those who were not in a legal union with their deceased partner. This is because the draft Bereavement Benefits (Remedial) Order, which proposes to extend eligibility for these benefits to surviving cohabiting partners with dependent children, has not yet become law. We laid the draft Order in Parliament on 13 October 2022. It will lay in Parliament for a 60-day period, and will need to be debated and voted upon in both Houses of Parliament before it can become law.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been affected by the underpayment of benefits after transitioning from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance in Ogmore constituency.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th January to question number 104377.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to increase pension credit uptake.
Answered by Guy Opperman
DWP continues to use available channels to promote Pension Credit and reach potential recipients, and their family and friends. This includes using proactive press activity and planned social media posts to encourage older people to check if they are eligible by visiting the gov.uk website or calling the Freephone claim line 0800 99 1234.
The Department is currently sending letters to over 11 million pensioners informing them about the increase in their State Pension from April. In order to better promote Pension Credit and encourage eligible pensioners to make a claim, the accompanying leaflet includes specific information about Pension Credit, highlighting that an award of Pension Credit can mean being eligible for other benefits such as Housing Benefit or a free over-75 TV licence.
As part of an internal review of communication products, we have also identified improvements in our Pension Credit messaging at other key customer “touchpoints” and are updating the products used to claim Attendance Allowance and Carer’s Allowance accordingly.
We also continue to liaise regularly with stakeholders about ways to encourage take-up of Pension Credit, and working with the BBC on their messaging around free TV licences and Pension Credit.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has responded to the Canadian Government’s request for a reciprocal social security arrangement covering uprating; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Work and Pensions has not had any recent discussions on this issue with the Government of Canada. The Department plans to respond shortly to the request from Canada for a reciprocal social security agreement
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she last discussed a reciprocal social security agreement with the Government of Canada.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Work and Pensions has not had any recent discussions on this issue with the Government of Canada. The Department plans to respond shortly to the request from Canada for a reciprocal social security agreement
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government of Australia has made representations to the Government on negotiating a reciprocal social security agreement that includes the uprating of pensions.
Answered by Guy Opperman
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 December 2020, PQ UIN 121330.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-11-26/121330