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.
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 commission specialist support for carers who have not been in paid employment for some time on (a) managing finances, (b) work placements and (c) confidence building.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As we have promised in the recently published Get Britain Working White Paper, this government will be providing help more effectively by creating a new jobs and careers service to help people into work and get on at work, which will promote better joining up employment support.
This will build on what the Department for Work and Pensions already offer to support carers. Part time carers on Universal Credit receive tailored support from their Jobcentre Plus work coach, who will adjust work related requirements to fit around their caring responsibilities. Support also includes skills training, career advice, job search help, volunteering opportunities and access to the Flexible Support Fund to aid job entry.
Full time carers providing at least 35 hours caring per week, are not required to undertake any work-related activities, but they can access employment support voluntarily.
Additionally, the department launched the Jobhelp pages offering advice to help carers make informed decisions about combining work and caring responsibilities.
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 exempt military compensation as income when calculating entitlement to means-tested benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2024 to question UIN 16635.
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 review the planned increase in the state pension age to 68.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under Section 27 of the Pensions Act 2014, the Secretary of State has a statutory duty to periodically review whether the existing rules about State Pension age are appropriate.
To date, there have been two statutory Government reviews, one in 2017 and one in 2023.
The next review must be completed by March 2029.
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 assessment she has made of the potential merits of maintaining the state pension age at 67.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
State Pension age will rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, as set out in section 26 of the Pensions Act 2014.
Under Section 27 of the Pensions Act 2014, the Secretary of State has a statutory duty to periodically review whether the existing rules about State Pension age are appropriate. To date, there have been two reviews of State Pension age, one in 2017 and one in 2023 and both confirmed that the timetable for the rise to 67 remained appropriate.
The 2017 review can be found at: State Pension age review 2017: final report - GOV.UK. The 2023 review can be found at: State Pension age Review 2023 - GOV.UK
The next review of State Pension age must be completed by March 2029.
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 review the eligibility rules for carer's benefits to enable more carers to combine paid work and unpaid care.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting the elderly, disabled relatives or friends. Sometimes unpaid carers will need to turn to the benefit system for financial support, so it is right that we keep Carer’s Allowance under review, to see if it is meeting its objectives, and giving unpaid carers the help and support they need and deserve.
The Government has announced that from April 2025 the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit will be pegged to the level of 16 hours work at the National Living Wage (NLW) and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This means that unpaid carers will be able to earn up to £196 per week net earnings and still receive Carer’s Allowance compared to £151 now. This means that an additional 60,000 unpaid carers will gain eligibility for the benefit between 2025/26 and 2029/30.
This important change reduces a work disincentive inherent in the current Carer’s Allowance earnings system, but, as the Chancellor said at the Budget, we also need to look at the current “cliff edge” earnings rules. A taper, for example, could further incentivise unpaid carers to do some work. It could also reduce the risk of significant overpayments. However, introducing a taper in Carer’s Allowance is not without challenges and could significantly complicate the benefit as it currently stands and would mean a significant rebuild of the Carer’s Allowance computer system. DWP has begun some scoping work to see whether an earnings taper in Carer’s Allowance might be a feasible option in the longer term.
Many carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance and doing some work will also be receiving Universal Credit. For those receiving Universal Credit, the 55% taper rate and any applicable work allowance will help to ensure that people are better off in work.
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 her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on extending the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 to (a) include auto-enrolment for employees aged 18 and above, (b) enable pension contributions to to be applied from the first £1 of pay and (c) increase employer contribution rates for auto-enrolment.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Security in retirement is a key priority for this Government.
AE has seen over 11.1 million people automatically enrolled into a workplace pension to date and more than 2.4 million employers have complied with their legal duties. This has helped to deliver an additional £43 billion being saved into pensions in 2023 compared to 2012 (in 2023 earnings terms) for eligible individuals.
We will consider if and when to make changes to AE, balancing the need for improved pension outcomes with the effects on businesses
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 her Department plans to review the customer relations services of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continually reviews the service it provides to ensure it best meets the needs of its customers.
The aim of CMS is to create a modern, accessible service through our digital transformation and Service Modernisation programmes, allowing customers to have greater choice of how and when they contact us.
CMS regularly gathers feedback from customers through the Customer Experience Survey to understand their experiences. This insight is then used to inform ways to review and improve our service.