Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to implement the British Sign Language Act 2022.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The British Sign Language Act 2022 gained Royal Assent in April 2022 and does three things:
A BSL Advisory Board will be established to advise the government on the implementation of the BSL Act from the perspective of those who use BSL. The board will also advise on related matters such as how to increase the number of BSL interpreters. This board is a key first step in implementation of the Act, and it is anticipated that recruitment for the board will begin soon, with the first board meeting to be held in the Autumn.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help people understand their personal pensions.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is currently introducing several initiatives to assist people in understanding their pensions.
The Stronger Nudge to pensions guidance regulations, coming into force on 01 June 2022, ensure no-one will be able to access their savings through pension freedoms without having received Pension Wise guidance or opted out. As part of this, schemes will offer to book of a Pension Wise appointment for the member as part of the application process, removing the inertia introduced by members having to book their own appointment.
From October this year, new regulations come into force that require defined contribution schemes used for automatic enrolment to send simpler, 2-page maximum, statements to members. These short, simpler statements will give savers the key information they need to be able to better engage with and understand their pensions. They will help people plan for the retirement they want.
DWP published a consultation on the draft regulations for Pensions Dashboards, which closed on 13 March 2022. Following publication of its response, expected this summer, the department will lay regulations for dashboards when parliamentary time allows. Pensions dashboards can help make accessing pensions information easier by empowering people to see what they have in their various pensions, including their State Pension, at the touch of a button on their smartphone, laptop or computer at home. This will put the saver in control and help reconnect people with their lost pension pots, transforming how people think and plan for their retirement.
DWP regulates for trust-based workplace pensions. Individual and other personal pensions within the contract-based market are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of people who have moved off Universal Credit and into work as a result of the Way to Work campaign.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 22 May, we estimate that at least 347,300 unemployed Universal Credit claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 22 May 2022.
This total figure is composed of our into work measure to the end of April (over 297,500) and our internal management information for up to 22 May (49,800). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. These numbers will be higher than previously reported as it can take a number of weeks before all movements into work show in the data.
The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support more women over the age of 50 to return to the workplace.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the challenges faced by women aged 50 and over. Too many women feel forced either to leave work, reduce their hours, or take a step back in their careers because of the menopause. The Government will be responding shortly to the independent report on Menopause and the Workplace, commissioned from employer organisations who take part in the 50PLUS Roundtables, and which set out a series of recommendations for Government and employers. This will also examine the issues of Returners. The group will work collaboratively on a number of key issues outlining the evidence, barriers and recommendations.
The Restart Scheme is being delivered across England and Wales using 12 Contract Package Areas with providers working with employers, local government, and other partners to deliver tailored support for individuals, breaking down employment barriers that could be holding claimants back from finding work.
Alongside this, as part of the £500m Plan for Jobs expansion, we are funding a new enhanced support package for workers over the age of 50 to help them to stay in and return to work. This offer will ensure that older job seekers receive more intensive, tailored support as part of their Universal Credit claim and will give Work Coaches more time to spend with older job seekers who have recently become unemployed.
The 50PLUS Champions network also provides dedicated support to work coaches to enable them to effectively direct suitable support to claimants who are aged 50 and over.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been auto-enrolled in workplace pensions in Stockton South constituency since 2012.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the Stockton South constituency, since 2012, 8,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension and 1,470 employers have declared compliance with their automatic enrolment duties.
This data – which is based on the end of April 2022 – is updated by The Pensions Regulator each month and published on its website. This can be accessed via the following weblink:
https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on increasing the number of disabled people in work by one million between 2017 and 2027.
Answered by Chloe Smith
In 2017 the Government set a goal to see a million more disabled people in employment between 2017 and 2027. The latest figures released for Q1 (January to March) 2022 show that between Q1 2017 and Q1 2022 the number of disabled people in employment increased by 1.3m – meaning the goal has been met after five years.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many exempt accommodation premises there are in Stockton.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Providing the requested information would incur disproportionate costs to the Department.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many exempt accommodation premises there are in (a) Stockton, (b) Darlington, (c) Middlesbrough, (d) Redcar and (e) Hartlepool.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Providing the requested information would incur disproportionate costs to the Department.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department records instances of a person's National Insurance Number being used as a payment reference on benefits statements as a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation; and what steps her Department is taking to protect people's data.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not record instances of a person’s National Insurance Number (NINO) being used as a payment reference on benefits statement as a breach of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). DWP provide banks with a reference up to 18 characters which for most DWP Benefits incorporates the NINO. The Department is aware that banks use the information in the exact format provided to them by DWP, but ultimately how much of it appears on the customer’s statement is the responsibility of the bank.
It is also important to note that the use of the NINO in this way does not breach the Data Protection Act as customers are made aware on the claim forms that their NINO may be shown on bank / building society account statements when payments are made.
The Department takes the security of citizen data very seriously and its strategy is to treat it as an asset. We continue to embed data protection and security by design – ensuring we hold ourselves to the highest security and protection standards. The Department has a suite of security policies, supported by real time risk-based controls, procedures and education and awareness products to protect customer data from inappropriate access or disclosure to unauthorised third parties.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Plan For Jobs in supporting people into work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 114984.