Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mike Freer and Steve Webb(11 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)
What estimate has been made of the annual number of surviving civil partners who qualify for widow and widower pensions?
Steve Webb
As my hon. Friend knows, our data on the pension rights of people in civil partnerships are very patchy, but I can tell him that, in response to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, we have committed to a statutory review. We are gathering data as we speak and we will report back on our proposals by next July.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mike Freer and Steve Webb(11 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)
One of the barriers to pension planning is uncertainty. Does the Minister agree that auto-enrolment and the single-tier pension will give the certainty that both pensioners and the pension industry need?
Steve Webb
My hon. Friend is right: we cannot build a building on an uneven foundation. That is why we had to get state pension reform right with a single, simple, predictable state pension. That makes private saving and automatic enrolment far more effective, and I am grateful for his support for that principle.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Mike Freer and Steve Webb(12 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb)
We are obviously concerned when anybody does not get the pension they were expecting. The regulator has powers where corporate restructuring has been designed to avoid pension liabilities. If the hon. Gentleman gives me more details of the case, I will be happy to look into it.
Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)
T10. People with HIV report poor levels of understanding of their condition by Atos assessors. This may be because the guidance is outdated and lacks information on living with HIV. Will Ministers be monitoring the guidance issued on such conditions?