Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) other support her Department provides to teachers who retire unexpectedly due to ill health.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Teachers who are members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme who suffer ill-health such that they are assessed as being unable to continue working up until their Normal Pension Age, equal to State Pension Age, can access their accrued pension benefits without the usual actuarial adjustment being applied in view of early payment. In the most serious cases, an enhanced pension is payable, which is 50% of their projected accrual to their Normal Pension Age.
The department does not employ teachers, and it is the employer’s responsibility to offer any appropriate additional support to its employees.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an an assessment of the adequacy of the length of time taken by Teachers' Pensions to process applications for remedial service statements.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The information held on the number of complaints is provided in the table below.
Year (January to December) | Complaints category: Delivery of Service |
2020 | 2,436 |
2021 | 3,243 |
2022 | 1,730 |
2023 | 3,203 |
2024 | 6,386 |
2025 (covers January and February) | 1,268 |
596,000 members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme require Remediable Service Statements (RSSs), setting out member choices as part of the Transitional Protection remedy, for the age discrimination that was identified as part of the public service pension scheme reforms implemented under the previous government in 2015. Approximately 532,000 have been issued by the end of March 2025.
Departmental officials continue to work closely with the scheme administrator on plans to issue the remaining RSSs, as soon as is practical.
Where RSSs are taking longer to issue, affected members can be assured that any difference to pension in payment as a result of their remedy period choice is backdated to when the pension began, with interest applied.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of complaints made against the service provided by Teachers' Pensions in the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The information held on the number of complaints is provided in the table below.
Year (January to December) | Complaints category: Delivery of Service |
2020 | 2,436 |
2021 | 3,243 |
2022 | 1,730 |
2023 | 3,203 |
2024 | 6,386 |
2025 (covers January and February) | 1,268 |
596,000 members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme require Remediable Service Statements (RSSs), setting out member choices as part of the Transitional Protection remedy, for the age discrimination that was identified as part of the public service pension scheme reforms implemented under the previous government in 2015. Approximately 532,000 have been issued by the end of March 2025.
Departmental officials continue to work closely with the scheme administrator on plans to issue the remaining RSSs, as soon as is practical.
Where RSSs are taking longer to issue, affected members can be assured that any difference to pension in payment as a result of their remedy period choice is backdated to when the pension began, with interest applied.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has of the adequacy of the range of communication methods used by Teachers' Pensions to contact their customers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Teachers’ Pensions employs a wide range of communication methods to contact members of the scheme, including via member portal, website, telephone contact centre, webchat, text messaging, post, email and social media platforms.
The department regularly reviews contractual performance via an established management process to ensure the best possible service is provided to members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to provide funding to the West Midlands Ambulance Service Student's Paramedic Apprenticeship Programme.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Employers of all sizes can access funding for apprenticeships training and assessment when they need it. The department does not allocate funding to particular employers, apprenticeship standards or sectors.
As a levy paying employer, West Midlands Ambulance Service can utilise their levy funds to invest in the high-quality apprenticeships training they choose. The West Midlands Ambulance Service is also registered and approved to deliver apprenticeships training for other employers.
To support more employers across the country, including the National Health Service (NHS), to recruit new apprentices, the department is increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year.
The NHS have recently published their long-term workforce plan which puts apprenticeships and skills at the heart of the NHS workforce strategy. The proportion of paramedics who will be trained through apprenticeships will be between 25 – 50% by 2031/32.
These apprenticeships will make medical professions more accessible and help to build a highly skilled and diverse NHS workforce that is more representative of local communities.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to bring forward proposals on long-term funding for the PE and Sport Premium for primary schools.
Answered by Brendan Clarke-Smith
My right hon. Friend, the former Secretary of State for Education, confirmed on the 25 of June that the £320 million PE and sport premium will continue for the 2022/23 academic year, supporting primary schools to continue to improve the PE, sport and physical activity which they offer.
The position of the PE and sport premium beyond the 2022/23 academic year will be confirmed in due course. Any decisions beyond the 2024/25 financial year are subject to the outcome of future spending reviews in the usual way.