Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what alternative options his Department offers to personal independence payment (PIP) applicants unable to travel to PIP assessment centres.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Claimants attending an assessment by public or personal transport can claim back their travel costs. Where public transport is unavailable or the claimant is unable to use it, the claimant can contact their assessment provider to ask if taxi-fares would be payable for their journey.
Alternatively, the option of a face-to-face consultation in the claimant’s home is available if the claimant indicates that they are unfit to travel to a consultation or where travel would require high levels of support.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department offers to enable personal independence payment (PIP) applicants to attend PIP assessment centres.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Claimants attending an assessment by public or personal transport can claim back their travel costs. Where public transport is unavailable or the claimant is unable to use it, the claimant can contact their assessment provider to ask if taxi-fares would be payable for their journey.
Alternatively, the option of a face-to-face consultation in the claimant’s home is available if the claimant indicates that they are unfit to travel to a consultation or where travel would require high levels of support.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many home visit assessments were offered to personal independence payment claimants in Scotland in the last 12 months; and whether his Department has declined to provide such assessments to any claimants who have requested such assessments.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The information requested is not collated and could only be provided at disproportionate cost
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the costs of the contract for personal independence payment assessments is assigned to cover support and travel costs for claimants who need support to attend assessment centres.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is no apportionment for travel costs within the Personal Independence Payment contracts but the contractor is responsible for paying all travel expenses.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide support for women who have been affected financially as a result of changes brought about by the Pension Act 2011.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove current gender timetable inequality.
The equalisation of State Pension age was necessary to meet the UK’s obligations under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in social security provision. The Pensions Act 1995 contained legislation to equalise women’s State Pension age and, since April 2010, women’s State Pension age has been gradually increasing. Following sharp increases in life expectancy projections, and therefore the increase in the number of people living longer in retirement, this timetable was accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011.
A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth around £1 billion in total.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount foregone by women who will wait longer to receive their state pension was as a result of changes brought about by the Pension Act 2011.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Information on the average amount foregone by women who will wait longer to receive their state pension as a result of changes brought about by the Pensions Act 2011 is not available.
The impact on total lifetime pension income depends on income level, and whether an individual works up to their new State Pension age. The Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment presents modelled impacts using hypothetical examples of single individual male and female high, median and low earners. This analysis focuses on illustrating the impact on income in retirement. It therefore does not take account of gains in working-life income through earnings (or working-age benefits) received in the period up to the new State Pension age that will either wholly or partially replace the income a person would have received from their private and / or State Pensions.
The Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, is available at:
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how changes made as a result of the Pension Act 2011 were communicated to people affected.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Following the 2011 changes, which brought about faster equalisation of men’s and women’s State Pension ages and accelerated the timetable for the rise to 66, DWP wrote to all individuals directly affected to inform them of the change to their State Pension age, using the address details recorded by HMRC at the time.
In addition, the State Pension age equalisation changes were built into the State Pension statement IT system; introduced in 2001. Therefore, statements produced on request using this system would have included women’s new State Pension ages as determined by the 1995 Pensions Act and the 2011 Pensions Act.
DWP also made information on State Pension age changes and who they affect available on Gov.uk, and provided the online State Pension age calculator to give individuals a quick and simple way to check when they will reach State Pension age.
We have committed to completing a review of the State Pension age by May 2017. This is an important opportunity to ensure that State Pension age changes are fully considered by Government and well understood by those they affect.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women were affected by the changes made in the Pension Act 2011.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Estimates of the number (a) men and (b) women affected by the changes made to State Pension age are presented in Table 5 of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at
This shows that an estimated 2.34 million men and 2.64 million women would have an increase in the State Pension age under the Pensions Act 2011 compared to the legislated position prior to the passing of the Pensions Act 2011.
The Impact Assessment examines the fiscal costs and benefits of increasing women’s State Pension age from 63 to 65 between April 2016 to November 2018; and increasing men’s and women’s State Pension age from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. A Gender Impact assessment is provided in the Annex of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment.
Women born in 1952 were not affected by the changes to State Pension age in the Pensions Act 2011.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment his Department carried out on women directly affected by the Pension Act 2011 before those changes came into effect.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Estimates of the number (a) men and (b) women affected by the changes made to State Pension age are presented in Table 5 of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at
This shows that an estimated 2.34 million men and 2.64 million women would have an increase in the State Pension age under the Pensions Act 2011 compared to the legislated position prior to the passing of the Pensions Act 2011.
The Impact Assessment examines the fiscal costs and benefits of increasing women’s State Pension age from 63 to 65 between April 2016 to November 2018; and increasing men’s and women’s State Pension age from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. A Gender Impact assessment is provided in the Annex of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment.
Women born in 1952 were not affected by the changes to State Pension age in the Pensions Act 2011.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average change in income for a woman born in 1952 is as a result of the provisions of the Pension Act 2011.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Estimates of the number (a) men and (b) women affected by the changes made to State Pension age are presented in Table 5 of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at
This shows that an estimated 2.34 million men and 2.64 million women would have an increase in the State Pension age under the Pensions Act 2011 compared to the legislated position prior to the passing of the Pensions Act 2011.
The Impact Assessment examines the fiscal costs and benefits of increasing women’s State Pension age from 63 to 65 between April 2016 to November 2018; and increasing men’s and women’s State Pension age from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. A Gender Impact assessment is provided in the Annex of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment.
Women born in 1952 were not affected by the changes to State Pension age in the Pensions Act 2011.