Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the pension review will consider adequacy.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government is committed to enabling tomorrow’s pensioners to have security in retirement– which is why we announced the landmark Pensions Review days after coming into office in July.
The first phase is focussed on boosting investment and economic growth and we are committed to a second phase that will include retirement adequacy within its considerations. We will provide further detail on the full scope and timetable for the second phase in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring a at least 25% of all new pension contributions to be invested in social and green infrastructure projects.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Investing in the right assets to deliver good saver returns, support growth and meet our environmental aims is key to the Government’s pensions initiatives. Proposals put forward by the November 2024 Interim Report of the Pensions Investment Review, aim to deliver a major consolidation of the defined contribution workplace market, and require 86 Administering Authorities of the Local Government Pension Scheme (of England and Wales) to delegate management of their investments to pools. Our objective is to enable schemes to invest in a wide range of assets including infrastructure, meeting social and green aims. The Government expects to publish its Final Report in Spring 2025.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of additional Pension Credit claims received since the announcement on changing the eligibility of the Winter Fuel Payment; and what proportion of these claims have been successful.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are unable to advise how many claims for Pension Credit have been made and then awarded since 29 July 2024. This is because the Department currently reports clearance times by the week the claim was cleared, rather than the week the claim was made. As such this information is not currently available.
However, statistics published on 28 November, show that 42,500 Pension Credit Claims were awarded between 29 July and 11 November Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with a frozen overseas state pension live in (a) Canada and (b) Australia.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data on State Pension caseloads that are not uprated overseas are published and this can be found on Stat-Xplore. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
As of the quarter ending May 2024, the number of individuals with an overseas state pension that live in a) Canada are 110,860 and b) Australia are 203,699.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the potential savings to the public purse of means testing the winter fuel payment.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is estimated that the changes to Winter Fuel Payments in England and Wales will save around £1.3 billion in 2024/25, rising to £1.5 billion by 2029/30.
This figure has been published in the Office of Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook (October 2024), available here: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_Oct_2024.pdf
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is for a successful Pension Credit claimant to start receiving winter fuel payments.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The department does not hold data on the average time taken for a successful Pension Credit claimant to receive their winter fuel payment. However, where the customer is eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment, the department aims to make this payment within 2 weeks of the award of Pension Credit.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will allow people in receipt of a state pension to claim carer’s allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Pensioners can claim Carer’s Allowance, but under overlapping benefit rules it is not normally payable. I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 17 December 2024 to question UIN 18844 which sets this out.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposals to allow investigators to access the bank accounts of people who claim benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP investigators cannot access anyone's bank accounts, including under the proposed Eligibility Verification Measures within the Fraud, Error and Debt Bill.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to introduce further legal protections for people affected by proposals to allow investigators to access the bank accounts of people who claim benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP investigators cannot access anyone's bank accounts, including under the proposed Eligibility Verification Measures within the Fraud, Error and Debt Bill.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
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 protect the privacy of people affected by proposals to allow investigators to access the bank accounts of people who claim benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP investigators cannot access anyone's bank accounts, including under the proposed Eligibility Verification Measures within the Fraud, Error and Debt Bill.