Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
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 that private pensions are accessible through the pensions dashboard.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Private Pensions information will be available through dashboards. Delivery of these will be led by industry and facilitated by government. We will set out and consult on our proposed approach to delivery, including how to maximise private pension schemes participation in the dashboard in our feasibility report, which will be published shortly.
People can already access the online ‘Check your State Pension’ service through GOV.UK to get a forecast of their State Pension. This includes information about how they may be able to improve the amount of State Pension they are entitled to, as well as providing a view of their National Insurance contribution record. Check Your State Pension service has provided more than ten million online estimates since its introduction in 2016.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that State Pension information is accessible through the pensions dashboard to enable (a) pensioners and (b) people approaching retirement age to make informed decisions.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Private Pensions information will be available through dashboards. Delivery of these will be led by industry and facilitated by government. We will set out and consult on our proposed approach to delivery, including how to maximise private pension schemes participation in the dashboard in our feasibility report, which will be published shortly.
People can already access the online ‘Check your State Pension’ service through GOV.UK to get a forecast of their State Pension. This includes information about how they may be able to improve the amount of State Pension they are entitled to, as well as providing a view of their National Insurance contribution record. Check Your State Pension service has provided more than ten million online estimates since its introduction in 2016.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what advice his Department provides to vulnerable customers switching from a Post Office Card account to a bank account in order to manage their benefits and tax credit payments.
Answered by Guy Opperman
A dedicated telephone service has been set up and aims to support Post Office card account users, who can, into mainstream banking. Customers who receive a letter about how their payments are made can call free to ask questions and if required will be provided with information to help them choose an account that’s right for their circumstances.
This could include continuing to receive payments into their POca, as while the majority of pension and benefit payments are paid into a bank account some customers, including those who are vulnerable, may remain unable to use or access such services.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to pay benefits and pensions into Post Office card accounts after 2021.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
In 2014 Government committed to maintain POca until at least 2021, to ensure that people who cannot use a mainstream account can continue to access their benefits and pensions.
Government’s existing POca contract with the Post Office, which expires in November 2021, has an option to be extended for up to 3 years to 2024. A decision on any extension will be taken at the appropriate time, informed by both customers’ needs and the need to make sure the taxpayer sees Value for Money.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Post Office card accounts have migrated to mainstream bank accounts to date.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Direct Payment into a bank, building society or credit union account is the most efficient, cost effective and preferred way to make pension and benefit payments. The department is writing to some Post Office card account users about receiving their payments this way and around 440,000 have provided alternative payment details.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to continue to pay benefits and pensions into Post Office card accounts until 2021.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
In 2014 Government committed to maintain POca until at least 2021, to ensure that people who cannot use a mainstream account can continue to access their benefits and pensions.
Government’s existing POca contract with the Post Office, which expires in November 2021, has an option to be extended for up to 3 years to 2024. A decision on any extension will be taken at the appropriate time, informed by both customers’ needs and the need to make sure the taxpayer sees Value for Money.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants his Department has written to since March 2016 to inform them that they may be affected by changes to the work allowances of universal credit.
Answered by Damian Hinds
We have contacted around 59,000 Universal Credit claimants. The actual number of claimants affected is expected to be significantly lower.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the number of employment coaches of the Work and Health Programme.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Significant Progress has been made in tackling unemployment, with dramatic falls in the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits, and in long-term unemployment.
Contracted provision will continue to play a crucial role in offering support at the right time to those who have difficulty accessing the labour market. The Spending Review in October 2015 announced funding rising to at least £130 million a year by 2019/20 for the new Work and Health programme, including funding to be devolved to Scotland. Support will focus on people with a disability, early access for priority groups and the long term unemployed. We expect the majority of people who start the programme to have a disability.
The number of employment coaches and other support required to deliver contracted employment support is a matter for providers. The process to select providers to deliver the Work and Health Programme is at an early stage and we expect potential providers to consider this as part of their service bids
The Work and Health Programme will have no impact on the number of work coaches in
DWP.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to announce what changes are required to comply with the terms of the Supreme Court ruling of November 2016 on the under-occupancy penalty.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Department is taking action to make changes to the regulations in order to comply with the terms of the judgment. The Social Security Advisory Committee and Local Authority Associations are being consulted about the changes in the usual way. The Department will also be issuing guidance to Local Authorities ready for when the changes are in place.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on halving the disability employment gap.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
In the last two years, the number of disabled people in work has increased by 365,000. But we recognise that the gap between the employment rates of disabled people and non-disabled people remains too large. That is why we are committed to halving it.
Progress against the disability employment gap is a key factor in progress towards full employment. This is consistent with the Government’s manifesto commitment which said ‘as part of our objective to achieve full employment, we will aim to halve the disability employment gap’. The annual report on progress towards full employment will include an update on the Government’s progress towards halving the disability employment gap.
We plan to produce a Green Paper later this year that starts to reframe the discussion with disabled people and their representative organisations and points towards long-term reform.