Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of retired Atomic Energy Agency Technology personnel who have died in the last (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years without having resolved matters relating to their pensions.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on members of the Atomic Energy Agency Technology pension scheme.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q329 of the oral evidence given to the Work and Pensions Committee by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions on 10 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on formulating an adequate means of redress for Atomic Energy Agency Technology pensioners; and what his time-scale is for implementing remedial action.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) on the 10 January, The Department of Work and Pensions officials have met with their Cabinet Office counterparts who have responsibility for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Conversations with Cabinet Office are ongoing. This is a complex issue requiring further consideration, therefore there is no set timescale.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the financial (a) impact upon and (b) assistance available to people of working age forced to leave their jobs following a diagnosis of terminal illness; and if she will make it her policy to enable such people to have early access to their state pension.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government wants to do all it can to alleviate the pressures on those nearing the end of their lives, and on their families.
The main way that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does this is through special benefit rules, sometimes referred to as “the Special Rules”. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. For many years, the Special Rules have applied to people who have 6 months or less to live and now they are being changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live.
Once the change has been fully rolled out across all benefits, each year, between 30,000 and 60,000 people may benefit from these changes to the Special Rules. This will mean that the Government is spending approximately £115 million a year more on people who are nearing the end of their lives.
There are no plans to allow early access to State Pension.
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it, including when they near or reach retirement. Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work or are on a low income but are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason UK pensioners who have (a) fully contributed throughout their working lives and (b) moved abroad after retirement have their state pension frozen at the rate which applied when they emigrated; and if she will (i) review the ethical basis of and (ii) take steps to bring an end to that practice.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions overseas is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. There are no plans to change this policy.
This Government continues to take the view that priority should be given to those living in Great Britain when drawing up expenditure plans for pensioner benefits.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's findings on the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication of changes to women's state pension age, published on 20 July 2021, that changes to the State Pension age for women were not satisfactorily communicated after 2004 affecting the notice period for those changes, what plans her Department has to compensate people affected by that maladministration.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has not completed his investigation. This a multi staged process and the report published on 20 July 2021 concludes stage-one of the investigation.
It would not be appropriate to comment on the PHSO’s report whilst the investigation is ongoing; and section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which principal factors her Department has identified as causing the shortage of (a) UK and (b) EU workers for reopening UK businesses, with particular reference to the impact of (i) the furlough scheme and (ii) travel restrictions; what steps she is taking to (A) vary or (B) bring to an end arrangements which are restricting the availability of workers for reopening businesses; and if she will publish a timetable for taking those steps.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Official data from the independent Office for National Statistics shows that the number of advertised vacancies across the UK economy was 657,000 in February to April 2021 – 154,000 (19%) below their pre-COVID-19 level.
Our Plan for Jobs is an ambitious programme of job creation and support to help people of all ages move into work or gain the skills that will open up job opportunities.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the extent to which the rise in retirement age for women has resulted in vulnerable 60 to 65 year-olds continuing to work during the covid-19 outbreak; what progress she has made in developing a fair transitional scheme to delayed retirement for women born in the 1950s; and what extra support will be given to the poorest women in that category.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Parliament set out in the Pensions Acts fair transitional arrangements when it introduced the changes to State Pension age, including measures in 2011, costing £1.1 billion, to ensure that no woman’s pension age changed by more than 18 months. It is not proposed to amend the Pensions Act of 1995, 2008 or 2011 or change the £1.1billion transitional provision. There are no plans for further transitional provisions. The government strengthened the financial safety net for those who need it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Support is available through the welfare system for people who are unable to work or are on a low income, including those that are nearing their State Pension age.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Child Maintenance Service standard practice of making reassessments when there is a 25 per cent reduction in income, if she will make it her policy to provide financial assistance to low-income, divorced parents on furlough at 80 per cent of their normal income to help them meet their child maintenance payments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises that the income of many separated parents is being impacted by the public health emergency. No one should use this time as an excuse to avoid their child maintenance payments however where parents experience a change in income, we can review their case and check if the amount paid should change. If it does not, they should continue to make payments.
The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those, including both paying and receiving parents, whose income drops as a result of the public health emergency and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These include increasing the standard rate of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by around £1000 per year. People who need money urgently continue to be able to access up to a month’s Universal Credit advance upfront by applying online. We are increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.
Taken together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system and, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support introduced by an advanced economy in response to the coronavirus outbreak.