Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to enforce the adoption by employers of required health and safety measures to protect their employees during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where it is found that employers are not complying with Covid-19 guidelines, then appropriate action will be taken by the relevant enforcing authority including the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local Authorities. Action can range from specific advice through to serving enforcement notices so as to ensure that practicable measures are implemented to protect workers and others.
In addition, HSE has been given access to additional funding to support their advice and regulatory activity as businesses implement the new guidance on working safely. HSE’s plans will develop as more businesses return to work and this will include checks that appropriate measures are in place to protect workers from Covid-19.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there are provisions to transfer out of defined benefit pension schemes into alternative investments in Pension Schemes Bill.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In answering this question, the term ‘alternative investments’ is assumed to refer to investments that the individual chooses themselves, either that are unconventional in that they carry more risk, or are not typical of investments offered by personal pension schemes.
The Pension Schemes Bill 2019-20 has no provisions that restrict how members transferring from defined benefits pensions should invest their pension rights.
Clause 124 of the Pension Schemes Bill contains provisions to amend the statutory right to transfer and thereby restricts the types of pension arrangements under which a member can compel trustees to approve a transfer request. Members can still use their statutory right to transfer to an authorised Master Trust or an FCA authorised pension arrangement.
In accordance with the principles of freedom and choice, members with defined benefit pension rights have the right to transfer to a defined contribution scheme to self-invest. These self-invested personal pension schemes can offer the member a range of investment funds, including alternative investments.
Members with a cash equivalent greater than £30,000 must seek financial advice before they transfer or convert their pension rights into flexible benefits, that can be used for alternative investments. FCA rules for pension transfer advisers require that the form of investment the member is considering on transfer is considered as part of their recommendation to the member to transfer or not. However, the member retains the right to follow or ignore the advice they receive. Where trustees’ have concerns with the alternative investments in a members’ choice of destination, they should make the member aware as part of their overall requirement to carry out due diligence in the member’s interest.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all recipients of personal independence payment (PIP) aged 65 or above will no longer receive reassessments to ensure continued receipt of PIP unless they inform her Department that their needs have changed.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
From 31 May this year, new claimants to PIP - whose review would have been scheduled after they had reached State Pension age - are now receiving an ongoing award with a light touch review after the ten-year point. From 9 July this year, we began moving existing PIP claimants, who have reached state pension age, onto ongoing awards with a light touch review after the ten-year point. All claimants who report a change of circumstance will be reviewed in order to ensure that the claimant is receiving the correct level of award.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to tackle the use of shape shifting practices by employers to avoid meeting pension obligations to employees; and if he will make a statement .
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The vast majority of employers are meeting their pension obligations under automatic enrolment, consistent with the legal framework established under the Pensions Act 2008. Where employers fail to comply with the law however, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has a full range of powers to ensure employees get the pensions they are due.
TPR is aware of some employers that appear to have tried to avoid meeting their pension obligations by hiding behind a new name. TPR investigators are working to take action against offenders that try to use this tactic, and are carrying out short-notice inspections on employers that are suspected of breaching their automatic enrolment duties.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
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 level of coordination between the Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to defined benefit pension transfer advice.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The DWP are urging the two organisations to work much more closely together. The Pension’s Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority carry out their functions independently. The Pension’s Regulator launched a joint protocol with Financial Conduct Authority in January 2019. The Protocol is intended to improve coordination between the Financial Conduct Authority, The Pension’s Regulator and the Pensions Advisory Service to help pension scheme trustees to ensure their members are adequately and fully informed when considering transferring their defined benefit pensions.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2019 to Question 204471 on Personal Independence Payment: Blaenau Gwent, what information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) value of hardship payments made to claimants from Blaenau Gwent while awaiting payment for arrears as a result of a successful Tribunal decision.
Answered by Sarah Newton
We aim to pay arrears on overturned cases as soon as we can, providing we have all the required information to do so, for example, up to date claimant bank details.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not an income replacement benefit; it can be received in or out of work therefore hardship payments are not made in these circumstances.
The Department for Work and Pensions administers a wide range of benefits and allowances for which there are a range of conditions for entitlement. Some of these benefits may be of help, including Universal Credit.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
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 effect on the financial circumstances of universal credit claimants who receive their wages on a fixed day each month and therefore have multiple pay days during an assessment period; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Universal Credit payments reflect, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period. Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income falls, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.
Some claimants receive earnings from work multiple times within an assessment period if they are paid via four-weekly, fortnightly, or weekly patterns. This in turn may reduce, or in some cases, nil the Universal Credit award the claimant receives that month. Claimants can always discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.
If a claimant’s Universal Credit claim is closed due to this, claimants can re-claim the following month via a more simplified process than for an initial claim. We have produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles. This is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles
The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers. HMRC have recently updated guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2018 to Question 195064, what the maximum length of time was between the date of a successful First Tier Tribunal personal independence payment decision and arrears being paid for claimants in Blaenau Gwent during 2017-18.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2018 to Question 188789 on Social Security Benefits: Blaenau Gwent, what the total number of appeals made for both those benefits were in that same (a) constituency and (b) timeframe; and what proportion of those appeals were successful.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals
In the Blaenau Gwent constituency, 170 appeals were completed in relation to PIP in 2017-18. Of these, 79% (130 appeals) were successful.
40 appeals were completed between April and June 2018, the latest date for which statistics have been published. Of these, 79% (30 appeals) were successful.
These figures include all PIP appeals; so they will contain appeals where claimants appealed for a higher PIP award as well as those appeals against a disallowance decision.
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Appeals data taken from the DWP PIP computer system’s management information. Therefore this appeal data may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics.
The Parliamentary Constituency geography relates to the origin of the claim (i.e. derived from claimant’s postcode) rather than the location of where the tribunal was.
Decisions overturned at appeal may include a number of appeals that have been lapsed (which is where DWP changed the decision after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at Tribunal).
Since PIP was introduced 3.5m decisions have been made nationally up to June 2018, of these 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned.
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) appeals
Information on appeal outcome by claim start date and Parliamentary Constituency is available on Stat-Xplore under “ESA Work Capability Assessments”.
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html
Between April 2014 and March 2018, 3.5m ESA (post WCA) decisions have been made nationally, of these 8% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure the same claimant data sharing arrangements under universal support currently extended to local authorities will be extended to the Citizens Advice network when the delivery of that service moves to Citizens Advice in April 2019.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland are designing their new service at present ready to begin delivery in April 2019, and that includes developing specifications to access the data that they need in order to deliver.