Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many retired civil servants are members of the civil service classic scheme.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
A total of 660,782 individuals are in receipt of a pension under classic terms.
Of those, 552,327 are retired classic members, the rest are those in receipt of a dependent’s pension.
This is split as follows:
Male/Female | Dependent/Pensioner | Number |
Male | Dependent | 15,905 |
Male | Pensioner | 273,565 |
Female | Dependent | 92,550 |
Female | Pensioner | 278,762 |
MyCSP, the pension administrator, is unable to provide a split between active and deferred members due to how their data is held.
This is due to the fact that a large number of cases still in payment relate to members retiring or crystallising their benefits before the advent of bespoke administration and payroll systems that would hold this information. All historic, legacy cases were processed manually and unfortunately this level of detail is not available for this population.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of the total number of retired civil servants in receipt of the Civil Service Classic Scheme pension are women.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
A total of 660,782 Civil Servants are in receipt of a pension under classic terms.
Of those
92,550 are in receipt of a widows pension and;
15,905 a widowers pension.
552,327 are in receipt of the classic pension
50.47% (278,762) of retired Civil Servants in receipt of a classic pension are women.
The number of widows and widowers who have had their pensions suspended is given in the below table.
| Number of pensions suspended in year | |
Year in which pension suspended | Widows | Widowers |
2017 | 42 | 48 |
2018 | 22 | 13 |
2019 | 5 | 7 |
2020 | 1 | 3 |
2021 | 3 | 0 |
2022 | 0 | 0 |
MyCSP, the pension administrator, are unable to split the numbers based on those remarrying and those cohabiting as their system does not record it in this manner.
The numbers provided are based on MyCSP’s current data holding and include those that were suspended and have not since been restored on their system.
Where a spouse’s Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) remains payable and only the spouse pension in excess of this is suspended, MyCSP are unable to include these in the data provided because their system will show the benefit as ‘in payment’ although the excess element is suspended. Therefore, the record does not show as suspended.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many retired civil servants are in receipt of a pension via the civil service Classic scheme; and how many of those individuals are in receipt of a (a) widows and (b) widowers’ pension.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
A total of 660,782 Civil Servants are in receipt of a pension under classic terms.
Of those
92,550 are in receipt of a widows pension and;
15,905 a widowers pension.
552,327 are in receipt of the classic pension
50.47% (278,762) of retired Civil Servants in receipt of a classic pension are women.
The number of widows and widowers who have had their pensions suspended is given in the below table.
| Number of pensions suspended in year | |
Year in which pension suspended | Widows | Widowers |
2017 | 42 | 48 |
2018 | 22 | 13 |
2019 | 5 | 7 |
2020 | 1 | 3 |
2021 | 3 | 0 |
2022 | 0 | 0 |
MyCSP, the pension administrator, are unable to split the numbers based on those remarrying and those cohabiting as their system does not record it in this manner.
The numbers provided are based on MyCSP’s current data holding and include those that were suspended and have not since been restored on their system.
Where a spouse’s Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) remains payable and only the spouse pension in excess of this is suspended, MyCSP are unable to include these in the data provided because their system will show the benefit as ‘in payment’ although the excess element is suspended. Therefore, the record does not show as suspended.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) widows and (b) widowers that were in receipt of their partner's Civil Service Classic Scheme pension have seen their payments stopped as a result of (a) remarrying and (b) cohabiting with a partner over the last 5 years.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
A total of 660,782 Civil Servants are in receipt of a pension under classic terms.
Of those
92,550 are in receipt of a widows pension and;
15,905 a widowers pension.
552,327 are in receipt of the classic pension
50.47% (278,762) of retired Civil Servants in receipt of a classic pension are women.
The number of widows and widowers who have had their pensions suspended is given in the below table.
| Number of pensions suspended in year | |
Year in which pension suspended | Widows | Widowers |
2017 | 42 | 48 |
2018 | 22 | 13 |
2019 | 5 | 7 |
2020 | 1 | 3 |
2021 | 3 | 0 |
2022 | 0 | 0 |
MyCSP, the pension administrator, are unable to split the numbers based on those remarrying and those cohabiting as their system does not record it in this manner.
The numbers provided are based on MyCSP’s current data holding and include those that were suspended and have not since been restored on their system.
Where a spouse’s Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) remains payable and only the spouse pension in excess of this is suspended, MyCSP are unable to include these in the data provided because their system will show the benefit as ‘in payment’ although the excess element is suspended. Therefore, the record does not show as suspended.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many funds are allocated to local authorities by his Department through a process of competitive bidding; and if he will publish the names of those funds.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Within the Cabinet Office, one fund is allocated to local authorities through a process of competitive bidding.
The One Public Estate programme is a partnership between the Office of Government Property in the Cabinet Office, the Local Government Association, and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Through better use of land and property, it aims to deliver efficiencies, local economic growth (jobs and homes) and better, more-integrated public services. The programme offers early-stage project funding, support and expertise to cross-public sector projects, led by local authorities.
The One Public Estate programme also delivers the Land Release Fund on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. This capital fund enables local authorities to bring forward otherwise unviable land for housing development. Funding for the Land Release Fund is awarded to local authorities, through a competitive process, directly by DLUHC.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps he has taken to simplify trading arrangements between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Hon Members to the answers given in Cabinet Office orals on 11 February. Guidance and published information are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing cemeteries to remain accessible during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown to provide connecting footpaths for recreational walking in (a) inner city areas where no alternative is available and (b) other areas.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
On 5 November, the Government acted swiftly in accordance with growing evidence of virus prevalence to put in place new national COVID-19 restrictions in England. Under these new restrictions, crematoria and burial grounds remain open only for the fundamental purpose of carrying out a funeral or burial; a commemorative event to celebrate the life of someone who has died; or to pay respects to someone who has died. Limiting the use of crematoria and burial grounds allows the bereaved to mourn appropriately while minimising the spread of the virus, and many other outdoor public places remain open for exercise.
From 2 December, we will return to a regional approach and any guidance, including the use of crematoria and burial grounds, will be updated depending on the Local COVID alert level of the area in which you live. For further information on COVID-19 restrictions, please see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november. Please also refer to the Safer Public Places which provides advice on the safe use of outdoor public spaces.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that staff at polling stations to be used in the 2021 local elections will be able to socially distance.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is working with the electoral sector and Public Health England to identify and resolve challenges involved in delivering the May 2021 elections, including supporting Returning Officers to ensure polling stations and count venues are safe and covid-secure.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that staff at electoral counts for the local elections in 2021 will be able to socially distance.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is working with the electoral sector and Public Health England to identify and resolve challenges involved in delivering the May 2021 elections, including supporting Returning Officers to ensure polling stations and count venues are safe and covid-secure.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July to Question 160071 on Payment Performance Data, and with reference to the Second Joint report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Work and Pensions Committees of Session 2017–19 on Carillion, HC 769, when he plans to publish Payment Performance Data consolidated across all Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
As of 1 April 2015 all central government departments, including their executive agencies and non departmental public bodies, have been required to report on their prompt payment performance. They must publish the percentage of their invoices paid within 5 days and within 30 days on a quarterly basis on their GOV.UK pages.
The performance of central government departments in paying undisputed invoices for 2015/16 can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/central-government-prompt-payment-performance.